Head start: Program and legislative update

Abstract

EAD START is a federally funded child development program created to assist lowincome families. This article will give a brief overview about Head Start, its requirements, and its eligibility criteria. Recent legislative changes as well as strategies to assist pediatric nurses in working with their local Head Start program will also be discussed. Society has long been aware that a child's early preschool years are critical to growth and development and a successful transition to adult life. Several factors can adversely affect this process, but probably none as greatly as poor health and environmental limitations. Results of standardized testing have consistently shown an educational performance gap between children of low-income households as compared with those from more privileged backgrounds (Argetsinger, 1999). In an effort to provide some measure of equal opportunity for children who may be at risk, certain advocates for children and families in the 1960s sought ways to level the playing field for lowincome children by developing a program called Head Start.