This report presents a review and analysis of Region V's Fatherhood Special Initiative (FSI) and Early Head Start Fatherhood Demonstration grants. The grant awards were designed to promote father involvement and children's early literacy and language development (In this document, the terms "father involvement" and "male involvement" are used interchangeably). The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) spoke with Head Start and Early Head Start staff members over a four-month period to identify unique and innovative practices utilized by these grantees. (Author abstract)
Young children are not physically fit just because they are young. Head Start programs can make a major contribution to promoting good health and strong bodies for children by intentionally integrating appropriate physical activity and wise nutrition choices into their daily routines. A deliberate and "active start" in Head Start can improve children's physical, mental and social development - all of which are critical to school readiness. Through greater intentionality, we can increase children's protective factors against chronic disease and obesity across their entire lifespan, and build a…
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This website contains information about the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, a large-scale, random-assignment evaluation of Early Head Start. The project was designed to carry out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers for a strong research and evaluation component to support continuous improvement within the Early Head Start program and to meet the 1994 reauthorization requirement for a national evaluation of the new infant-toddler program. The project was funded in two waves. The Congressionally-mandated Birth to…
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This PowerPoint presentation provides information on the benefits of healthy marriages and father involvement for children and explains the goals of the federal Healthy Marriage initiative. It cites statistics that indicate 45% of children raised by divorced mothers and 69% raised by never-married mothers live in or near poverty. It discusses culturally competent strategies for providing services to couples, the challenges faced by fatherless children, and the common vision of the Healthy Marriages and Responsible Fatherhood initiatives. Slides then highlight the corporate strategy of the…
This framework is a road map for progress in achieving the kinds of outcomes that lead to positive and enduring change for children and families. It is a research-based approach to program change that shows how an agency can work together as a whole--across systems and service areas--to promote parent and family engagement and children's learning development. (Author abstract)
This paper addresses the perspectives of parents and program staff in the sharing of child assessment information through the formation of partnerships and suggests strategies for bringing those perspectives together. It outlines a framework for building partnerships between program staff and parents that establish ongoing communication, enhance teacher-child and parent child relationships, and help prepare children and families for transitions to later schooling. This will assure that 1) families have access to information about their children, 2) the information is understandable and…
