Moving Forward: Head Start Children, Families, and Programs in 2003

Publication Date: June 2004

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Katherine Hart; Rachel Schumacher

Research Area: Health; Social conditions

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This eight-page policy brief, the fifth in a series, offers the latest data available from Program Information Reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by all federal Head Start grantees. In 2003, Head Start continued to serve a diverse population of low-income children, mostly in working families.

Head Start provided early education and a range of services to poor children and their families, including developmental and mental health screenings and special education and early intervention services. In 2003, more Head Start children had access to continuous medical and dental care than in previous years. Early Head Start children showed a particularly dramatic increase in access to dental care, rising from 47 percent in 2002 to 64 percent in 2003.