Federal Partnerships
The Office of Head Start (OHS) partners with other federal agencies to publicize and expand the services, resources, and funding available to programs and their local partners. These collaborative efforts help to promote the economic and social well-being of children and families so that they can lead healthy, successful lives. Federal agencies also provide free resources that are relevant to Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Many of our partnering agencies are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of HHS.
The following list highlights initiatives and resources developed through federal collaborative efforts.
Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) partners with OHS on a number of initiatives to improve health and achieve health equity. These include the:
- Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program
- Migrant Health Center Program (MHCP)
- Early Head Start (EHS) – Healthy Start Collaboration
- Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative
HRSA also funds the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC). They provide free resources to promote healthy and safe child care and early education programs.
Office of Child Care, ACF, HHS
The Office of Child Care (OCC) supports low-income working families through child care financial assistance. They work to promote children's learning by improving the quality of early care and education and afterschool programs. OHS and OCC partner to provide extended, seamless services to children and improve program quality, most recently through the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grants. They both also partner with the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Where's Baby? Look Before You Lock campaign.
Children's Bureau, ACF, HHS
The Children's Bureau (CB) provides support and guidance to programs that focus on strengthening families, preventing child abuse and neglect, and protecting children when abuse or neglect has occurred. The CB partners with OHS and other federal agencies to promote Early Childhood and Child Welfare (ECCW) partnerships and the Child Welfare Information Gateway, which offer information on ways child welfare and child abuse prevention programs can work with early childhood programs.
Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and OHS have worked together to deliver health risk reduction messages to nearly a million families nationwide, such as the Care for Their Air campaign.
Resources
The following resources are available at no cost through coordinated federal efforts.
- HHS's Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! encourages healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for children, early identification of concerns or delays, and support for the families and providers who care for young children.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Learn the Signs. Act Early. can help improve early identification of children with autism and other developmental disabilities so children and families can get the services and support they need
- CDC's Let's Move! Child Care. works to prevent early childhood obesity.
- The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) and the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse at www.fatherhood.gov offers resources for practitioners, programs, federal grantees, states, and communities who want to support strong fathers and families.
- HRSA promotes healthy and safe child care and early education programs through:
- Caring for Infants and Toddlers in Early Care and Education
- CFOC: National Health and Safety Performance Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd Edition
- Stepping Stones to CFOC, 3rd Edition
- HRSA's Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative provides early childhood hearing screening and follow-up.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) serves nutritious meals and snacks through:
- ACF's Child Welfare Information Gateway helps child welfare and child abuse prevention programs work together with early childhood programs to improve services to children and families.
- EPA's Care for Their Air campaign works to promote smoke-free homes and reduce environmental asthma triggers.
- NHTSA's Where's Baby? Look Before You Lock. prevents children from being left unattended in cars and buses. Know the dangers of heatstroke.
Related Links
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): http://www.hhs.gov/
- Administration for Children and Families (ACF): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/
- Office of Head Start (OHS): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): http://www.hrsa.gov/index.html
- Office of Child Care (OCC): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/about/what-we-do
- Children's Bureau (CB): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/about
- Office of Family Assistance (OFA): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/about/what-we-do
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): http://www.epa.gov/
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): http://www.nhtsa.gov/
Federal Partnerships. HHS/ACF/OHS. 2014. English.
Last Reviewed: October 2014
Last Updated: June 24, 2015