Head Start Impact Study Research Articles

Latino Family Engagement and Student Outcomes in Early Elementary School: Evidence from Two National Datasets

ABSTRACT Family engagement in children’s schooling is important. Research indicates that Latino families often utilize home-based practices (e.g. reading, telling stories, singing, counting) over school-based involvement (e.g. participating in school events and committees, volunteering in the classroom). Using an assets-based approach, the present study considers both school- and home-based forms of engagement for Latino families. Drawing upon data from two large, nationally representative datasets, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011; N = 4,590) and the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS; N = 1,670), this study seeks to examine national patterns of Latino family school- and home-based engagement in kindergarten, and how such engagement relates to child academic, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes in early elementary school. Descriptive findings show high levels of Latino family participation in a variety of both home-based academic activities and school-based activities. Regression analyses indicate an association between Latino family engagement and child outcomes, most evident in school-based engagement. Implications for educators, schools, and research are discussed.

Do preschool investments depreciate and fadeout or result in dynamic complementarities? An assessment using the Head Start Impact Study

Do preschool investments depreciate and fadeout or result in dynamic complementarities? An assessment using the Head Start Impact Study

Family Well-Being and Self-Sufficiency Service Use in Head Start: The Impact of Family Participation and Demographic Predictors of Service Use

ABSTRACT Two-generation programs are designed to provide services to children and their parents, yet the extent to which parents use family well-being and self-sufficiency services is not widely known. We used data from the Head Start Impact Study to examine the effect of early care and education on parents’ use of family services. Demographic characteristics of parents were also examined in relation to service use. Research Findings: Results indicate that participation in Head Start had a positive significant effect on family service use. Parents with certain demographic characteristics (e.g., teen mother, not married, not employed, less than a high school degree), regardless of Head Start participation, were more likely to use services related to their families’ well-being. Practice or Policy: Early care and education programs can learn from the Head Start family service delivery approach to bolster the use of family well-being and self-sufficiency services.

Racial Disparity of Mental Health Service Utilization Among Low-Income Head Start Eligible Parents.

Based on the Head Start Impact Study, 1706 parents who had mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms were selected to examine the following questions: (1) Are there racial disparities in mental health service utilization among low-income parents? (2) Does Head Start have an impact on mental health service utilization across white, African American, and Hispanic parents? The present research found that, compared to white parents, African American and Hispanic parents are significantly less likely to utilize mental health services. Head Start impact was found for white parents but not for African American and Hispanic parents. Furthermore, parents who spoke a language other than English had higher household risk factors, and reside in rural areas are less likely to utilize mental health services. Mental health providers should deliver patient-centered services that consider cultural and linguistic competency as well as the personal life context of their patients to remove any barriers to accessing mental health services.

Associations between adverse childhood experiences and non‐parental care placement among head start‐eligible low‐income children

AbstractThe aim of this study is to determine if adverse childhood experience (ACE) is a predictor for non‐parental care status based on the Head Start Impact Study data. ACEs consisted of parental alcohol/drug use, depression, neglectful parenting practices, family violence and single parenthood. Children's non‐parental care status was based on whether children lived in a placement away from their biological parents. This study examined (i) if each of the ACEs have any association with the status of non‐parental care and (ii) if the cumulative number of ACEs have any impact on these associations. Each of the ACEs was associated with the likelihood of children living apart from their biological parents except parental alcohol/drug abuse. As children's ACE scores increased, so did the likelihood of them being in non‐parental care. Children whose mothers had less than a high school education, those speaking English at home and children living in rural areas were more likely to be in non‐parental care, whereas recently immigrated families were less likely to be in non‐parental care. ACEs screening and family‐focused trauma‐informed care should be implemented within early childcare and education programs, such as Head Start, to ensure wellbeing among young at‐risk children with ACEs.

The Effects of Head Start on Low-Income Mothers

Head Start is a federal antipoverty program that provides free childcare, preschool, and related services to disadvantaged families. Research on Head Start has focused almost exclusively on impacts among children. Using data from the Head Start Impact Study, a nationally representative field experiment, the authors estimate treatment effects on maternal employment, economic hardship, and depression. The authors find that Head Start admission generates some improvements among Black mothers but not among other subpopulations. In analyses accounting for treatment intensity, noncompliance, and program substitution, the authors find suggestive evidence that Head Start participation may lead to even greater improvements in these outcomes specifically among Black mothers who would otherwise look after their children at home and when they participate in the program full-time. In conclusion, Head Start likely improves outcomes for some groups of low-income mothers, but these effects are heterogeneous, and they may be small, dose-dependent, or otherwise difficult to detect for many women.

Effects of Head Start Enrollment Duration for Children with Adverse Childhood Experiences

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of Head Start enrollment duration on developmental outcomes for children who have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This study utilizes randomized control Head Start Impact Study data, to address three primary questions: 1) Do children’s ACE scores have any impact on cognitive, socio-emotional and health care service outcomes? 2) Do the number of years enrolled in Head Start have any impact on children’s outcomes? 3) Does the impact of enrollment duration in Head Start on children’s outcomes differ depending on number of ACEs? The current study finds that children with higher ACE scores had lower cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes. Additionally, longer Head Start enrollment duration was significantly associated with children’s positive outcomes and was more significant for children with fewer ACEs. IMPLICATIONS: Head Start should recruit younger children for longer durations and should provide trauma-informed care for children with multiple ACEs to increase positive developmental outcomes.

Assessment of the predictive power of a causal variable: An application to the Head Start impact study

In a study attempting to estimate a causal effect of a causal variable, an assessment of the predictive power of the causal variable can shed light on the heterogeneity around its average effect. Using data from the Head Start Impact Study, a randomized controlled trial of the Head Start, a nation-wide early childhood education program in the United States, we provide a parallel comparison between measures of average effect and predictive power of the Head Start on five cognitive outcomes. We observed that one year of the Head Start increased scores for all five outcomes, with effect sizes ranging from 0.12 to 0.19 standard deviations. Percent variation explained by the Head Start ranged from 0.56 to 1.62%. For binary versions of the outcomes, the overall pattern remained; the Head Start on average improved the outcomes by meaningful magnitudes. In contrast, in a fully adjusted model, the Head Start only improved area under the curve (AUC) by less than 1% and its influence on the variance of predicted probabilities was negligible. The Head-Start-only model only achieved AUC ranging from 50.22 to 55.24%. Negligible predictive power despite the significant average effect suggests that the heterogeneity in effects may be large. The average effect estimates may not generalize well to different populations or different Head Start program settings. Assessment of the predictive power of a causal variable in randomized data should be a routine practice as it can provide helpful information on the causal effect and especially its heterogeneity.

The Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Social Services Use among Head Start-Eligible Low-Income Families.

This study examined the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on parental social services use among Head Start-eligible low-income families. Based on the Head Start Impact Study data (N = 3,562), three questions were addressed: (1) Does the number of ACEs impact parental social services use? (2) Do family characteristics have any association with parental social services use? and (3) Does parental social services use differ between Head Start and non-Head Start parents? Regression indicated that parents with more ACEs tended to use more social services. Compared with parents with one ACE, parents with two ACEs and parents with three or more ACEs used more social services with income assistance, food and nutrition assistance, and housing and utility assistance programs. Parents with three or more ACEs tended to use more social services related to alcohol and drug use, mental health, and foster care payments than parents with one ACE. Barriers to social services use were identified and include racial disparities, native language, immigration status, and geographical location. Head Start was not found to have a significant impact on whether parents used more social services. Recommendations include increasing effective collaboration between social workers and services, assessing barriers to receiving services, and implementing ACE screenings.

Longitudinal relations among child care stability during the prekindergarten year and behavior problems

The goal of the present study was to examine associations among parent perceptions of child care stability during the prekindergarten year and behavioral outcomes (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) that same year and during the early elementary grades in a sample of children from low-income households. A second aim was to explore the extent to which the relation between parent perceptions of child care stability in prekindergarten and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in the early elementary years is mediated by prekindergarten behavior problems. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 4442 children (50% male) who were eligible for Head Start. At the start of prekindergarten, children were on average a little over 4-years-old (M = 4.16 years, SD = 0.43). The sample was ethnically/racially diverse and had a range of maternal education levels. Data were collected at baseline (fall of 2002) and in the spring of prekindergarten, kindergarten and 1st grade. When controlling for a set of demographic, family, and child covariates, results indicated that prekindergarten parent perceptions of child care stability was directly associated with externalizing and internalizing problems that same year and was also directly associated with 1st grade internalizing problems. In addition, stability had small indirect relations with internalizing behaviors in kindergarten and 1st grade, mediated through these same skills in prekindergarten. Implications of study findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Distributional effects on children's cognitive and social-emotional outcomes in the Head Start Impact Study: A quantile regression approach

Heterogeneity in treatment effects of the Head Start, a federally funded early childhood development program in the United States, has previously been found in the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), a nationally representative randomized controlled trial. While individual characteristics have been extensively examined as sources of effect heterogeneity, treatment effects may vary as a function of outcome distribution (i.e., distributional effect). Using quantile regressions, we investigated distributional effects of the Head Start on eight child developmental outcomes for first year, second year, third year, and the 3rd grade year follow-up in the HSIS data. For PPVT and Applied Problems, the effects varied substantially across quantiles in the first follow-up, but they were positive overall. The effects at the lower quantiles were larger and were sustained beyond the first follow-up (PPVT [95% CI] at 10th and 90th quantiles: 8.74 [6.22, 11.27], 3.32 [0.82, 5.81]) in the first follow-up and 5.72 [2.66, 8.77], −1.66 [-3.69, 0.37] in the second follow-up). For Behavior Problems, the effects were only positive for the lower quantiles in the first follow-up, but they became null in the latter follow-ups. For Letter-Word Identification, Spelling, and Pre-Academic, the effects were positive in the first follow-up with moderate variation across quantiles. In the second follow-up, only the effects at the lower quantiles were statistically significant, although they faded in the latter follow-ups. For Oral Comprehension and Social Skills, effects were null for all follow-ups. The Head Start had meaningful distributional effects for a range of child developmental outcomes, and distributional effects should be routinely assessed for better understanding of child developmental programs.

An Instrumental Variable Approach for Head Start Attendance on Low Income Children

Purpose: This study examined (1) the causal impact of Head Start on children’s comprehensive outcomes and (2) why families did not comply to the original assignment. Method: Based on the Head Start Impact Study data, children between the ages of 3 and 4 years ( N = 3780) were examined for assignment, attendance, and causal impacts on outcomes. Results: Effect of instrumental variable analysis was greater than that of assignment and attendance for measured outcomes. Assignment to the Head Start, older child age (age 4 over age 3), urban residence, and higher family income were associated with non-compliance. Inclusion of care quality into the model illustrated important nuances in predicting families’ compliance with Head Start versus control condition. Discussion: Head Start participation among low income children should be maintained for its positive causal effects on children. Quality of childcare as well as several child and family barriers to access to Head Start needs to be addressed to enhance Head Start enrollment.

Assessment of heterogeneous Head Start treatment effects on cognitive and social-emotional outcomes

Head Start is a federally funded, nation-wide program in the U.S. for enhancing school readiness of children aged 3–5 from low-income families. Understanding heterogeneity in treatment effects (HTE) is an important task when evaluating programs, but most attempts to explore HTE in Head Start have been limited to subgroup analyses that rely on average treatment effects by subgroups. This study applies an extension of multilevel modelling, complex variance modelling, to data from a randomized controlled trial of Head Start, Head Start Impact Study (HSIS). The treatment effects on the variance, in addition to the mean, of nine cognitive and social-emotional outcomes were assessed for 4,442 children aged 3–4 years who were followed until their 3rd grade year. Head Start had positive short-term effects on the means of multiple cognitive outcomes while having no effect on the means of social-emotional outcomes. Head Start reduced the variances of multiple cognitive and one social-emotional outcomes, meaning that substantial HTE exists. In particular, the increased mean and decreased variance reflect the ability of Head Start to improve the outcomes and reduce their variability. Exploratory secondary analyses suggested that larger benefits for children with Spanish as a primary language and low parental educational level partly explained the reduced variability, but the HTE remained and the variability was reduced even within these subgroups. Routinely monitoring the treatment effects on the variance, in addition to the mean, would lead to a more comprehensive program evaluation that describes how a program performs on average and on the entire distribution.

High residential mobility and young children's healthy development in low-income families: Exploring the moderating role of Head Start

Moving can be detrimental to the development of children from low-income families. Quality public early care and education programs, such as Head Start, may be a possible mechanism to support low-income children living in residentially unstable circumstances. Using data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), we explored whether Head Start participation (via random assignment) moderates how residential mobility is associated with children's health, cognitive development, and socioemotional functioning prior to school entry among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income families (N = 3419). Results of propensity-score weighted instrumental variable analyses indicated a moderate effect size of Head Start attenuating the adverse link between prior multiple residential moves and parent-reported child health. Future directions for research and policy implications are discussed.

Treatment effect heterogeneity in the head start impact study: A systematic review of study characteristics and findings.

There have been consistent efforts to assess treatment effect heterogeneity (TEH) of Head Start using the data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), a randomized controlled trial of a federally funded child development program for a nationally representative sample of low-income parents and their 3- and 4-year-old children in the United States. Including 28 studies on TEH of Head Start, this review found that multiple high-risk subgroups (e.g., children with lower cognitive abilities, Spanish-speaking dual language learners) experienced larger gains across a range of developmental and parental outcomes, but mixed results for several subgroups. Most studies focused on subgroup analyses, cognitive and social-emotional outcomes, and short-term effects. Further studies on distributional effects, health and parental outcomes, and long-term effects are warranted. Finally, suggestions for future research on TEH of Head Start are discussed, which are applicable to other child development programs and policy evaluations.

Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Developmental Outcomes for Head Start Eligible Low Income Children

This study examined the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE)s on Head Start eligible low-income children’s developmental outcomes based on the Head Start Impact Study data (n = 4442). The ACEs consisted of parental alcohol/drug use, parental depression, neglectful parenting practices, family violence, and household risk factors. Children’s developmental outcomes were cognitive, socio-emotional, and health outcomes. The following questions were explored: (a) Do ACEs have an impact on children’s cognitive, social, and health outcomes? (b) Does the Head Start program have any impact on the effects between ACEs and children’s cognitive, social and health outcomes? Regression analysis indicated that children who had more ACEs had significantly lower cognitive test scores, lower socio-emotional scores, and negative health outcomes. Children who enrolled Head Start had higher cognitive, social, and health outcomes than those who did not enroll Head Start. Further, Head Start impact differed depending on number of ACEs. More Head Start eligible children should attend Head Start and Head Start participant children need to be accessed for their risk factors. Head Start impact should consider ACEs to measure developmental outcomes for children in poverty and provide trauma-informed care by considering adverse childhood experiences. A future study was suggested to address additional impacts and possible implication, in the context of pandemic stress that affect preschool aged children and their families, from this similar demographic background.

Long-Term Head Start Impacts on Cognitive Outcomes for Children With Disabilities

Based on the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) data, the current study examines Head Start’s long-term impacts on cognitive outcomes for children with disabilities: (a) Do children with disabilities who enroll in Head Start at age 4 years have better cognitive outcomes when they are 4 to 9 years old? (b) Are there other factors associated with long-term cognitive development for children with disabilities? Linear regression analysis indicated that Head Start enrollment had positive impacts on children’s short-term outcomes. However, the difference between Head Start and non-Head Start children became insignificant for cognitive scores measured at age 9 years. Children who were Black or Hispanic, without an individualized education plan, were non-English speaking at home, and who had lower preacademic skills prior to Head Start enrollment had significantly lower cognitive outcomes at age 9 years.

Parental Experiences for Teenage Mothers Living in Poverty: Associations of Head Start

This study utilizes Head Start Impact Study data to examine whether Head Start is associated with teenage mothers’ experiences. Among 3,576 participants, 579 mothers were identified as teenage mothers (under 19 years old). Research questions included (1) compared to nonteenage mothers, do teenage mothers have different maternal experiences such as informal social support, formal social service use, mental health, and child-rearing skills? (2) does Head Start have any association with the experiences of teenage mothers? Teen mothers had less education, lower family incomes, and were less likely to be married than nonteenage mothers. Teenage mothers were most likely to identify as black and least likely to identify as Hispanic. Teenage mothers were more likely to speak English at home and live in rural areas. Further, regression analysis indicated that teenage mothers used less formal social services and displayed less mental health problems than nonteenage mothers. There was not a significant association on parental experiences for teenage mothers participating in Head Start. Study implications include using teen mothers’ voices to inform service needs, increasing strengths-based interventions, and raising awareness or creating nonstigmatizing programs for teen mothers.

Beyond Just the Average Effect: Variation in Head Start Treatment Effects on Parenting Behavior

Parent engagement has been a cornerstone of Head Start since its inception in 1965. Prior studies have found evidence for small to moderate impacts of Head Start on parenting behaviors but have not considered the possibility that individual Head Start programs might vary meaningfully in their effectiveness at improving parenting outcomes. The present study uses the Head Start Impact Study to examine the average effect of random assignment to and participation in Head Start on parenting outcomes as well as variation in that effect across Head Start programs. Findings reveal that Head Start is effective on average at promoting parents’ daily reading and overall literacy and math activities with children but that effects vary significantly for parents’ literacy and math activities, with some programs much more and some much less effective than their local alternatives. Findings also demonstrate that Head Start has consistent near-zero impacts across centers on parents’ disciplinary interactions with children.

Forecasting Accuracy of Earliest Assessment Versus Transitional Change in Early Education Classroom Problem Behavior Among Children at Risk

ABSTRACTThis study compared the relative contribution of earliest assessment of preschool children’s context-specific problem behaviors with subsequent observations of those behaviors for the prediction of later academic and sociobehavioral performance in first grade. Using a nationally representative sample of low-income children from the Head Start Impact Study (N = 3,827), children’s problem behaviors in 22 classroom situational contexts were assessed annually through 2 years of prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade. Results from a two-stage analytical approach support the use of earliest assessment as a suitable strategy for the identification and intervention of children’s classroom problem behaviors, where subsequent observations did not increase predictive accuracy over earliest assessment alone. Implications are discussed for assessment theory and practice.