The Ohio State University Early Head Start Partnership Program has received a five-year, $23 million expansion grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funds will enable 189 Head Start slots to be added to the program, which currently serves 263 Columbus children and families enrolled in Early Head Start, a more than 70% increase in children served.
Continuum of care from pregnancy to kindergarten
Head Start and Early Head Start are free, federally funded programs designed to promote school readiness for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Early Head Start programs support pregnant women and families with children from birth to age 3, while Head Start programs serve children between 3 and 5 years old. By expanding services beyond age 3, the Ohio State Early Head Start Program will create a continuum of care for children and families that can start when a mother is pregnant through to when that child is ready to enter kindergarten.
Consistency during the critical birth-to-5 years can help families build trust and rapport with their service providers and their child’s teacher, creating a connection between the home and care environments that is essential to children’s healthy development. Additionally, parents and caregivers can also benefit from the stability of this relationship with someone who understands their background, goals for their family, and who is able to help them locate resources and support as they navigate the challenges and stress that can come with managing a household with low income.
By adding 189 Head Start child care slots to our existing program, we will create a birth-to-five model of high-quality early education and services to ensure continuity of care for children and their families. We hope to enhance brain development at a crucial time of life and create supportive relationships that will have a long-lasting impact on families.
— Don Fuzer, principal investigator of the Ohio State Early Head Start Program
Comprehensive support for families
The Ohio State Early Head Start Program has received national attention from the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., for its innovative approach to a partnership model that leverages existing community expertise to support the comprehensive needs of families, beyond early education for their child. Utilizing a two-generational approach, families receive supportive services to reach personal and career goals to move economically from poverty to self-sufficiency. Quality early education, health, mental health, nutrition, and developmental and behavioral services are delivered to families within the Ohio State Early Head Start Program through a partnership network with community agencies and Ohio State colleges and departments including Nursing, Optometry, Speech and Hearing, and the Nisonger Center, which offers services for children with developmental delays.
We strive to meet the needs of families who live in zip codes that have the highest rates of poverty, infant mortality, and lack of resources. Our goal is to promote school readiness for the children we serve by engaging parents in their role as primary caregivers while assisting families to become more self-sufficient.
— Sherrie Sutton, executive director of the Ohio State Early Head Start Program
The Ohio State Early Head Start Partnership Program has been improving the lives of Columbus families since its inception in 2015.
