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Early Head Start (early + head_start)
Selected AbstractsPathways to prevention: A training and technical assistance initiative to increase program capacity to address infant mental health issues in Early Head StartINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007Tammy L. Mann This article provides an overview of a training and consultation program aimed at enhancing the capacity of Early Head Start (EHS) and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs to address infant mental health issues from a promotion, prevention, and treatment perspective. This program was implemented by the Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHS NRC), operated by ZERO TO THREE. The EHS NRC is funded by the Head Start Bureau to provide a diverse array of training and technical assistance support services to Early Head Start programs throughout the country. In the fall of 2001, ZERO TO THREE was funded to design and implement the Pathways Initiative. While ZERO TO THREE was not funded to test the efficacy of the Pathways Initiative as a research intervention similar to other papers described in this special issue, we worked creatively to identify resources that allowed us to engage an external evaluator to look at both process and outcome measures. This paper describes the consultation program, evaluation activities, and key lessons learned. [source] The early promotion and intervention research consortium (E-PIRC): Five approaches to improving infant/toddler mental health in Early Head StartINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007Linda S. Beeber One planned consequence of the national Infant Mental Health Forum held in the United States in 2000 was the funding of five research projects conducted in Early Head Start (EHS) programs. Each project strengthened existing programs by integrating infant/toddler mental health approaches and testing the outcomes on infant/toddler development, behavior, and parent-child interactions. In two of the projects, the effect of offering enrichment for EHS staff was tested. The other three projects tested the effect of services offered directly to parents and children. This article describes the five projects and the theories, methods, and outcome measures used. In order to understand more fully the elevated risk factors in these families and the consequences for mental health in their infants and toddlers, a common set of measures was developed. Data have been used to explore the common threats to mental health and the factors that moderate the impact on infants and toddlers. [source] The role of training and technical assistance in supporting the delivery of high quality services in Early Head StartINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 1-2 2002Tammy L. Mann Training and technical assistance services have been an integral part of the fabric of support that Early Head Start (EHS) programs have utilized as they have worked to implement quality programs. In the same way that EHS has continued to evolve with increased program expansion, so too have the training and technical assistance support services. This article examines that nature of the early system of support and notes challenges that EHS programs faced during their first year of funding and the impact of these challenges on training and technical assistance support. The present day system is composed of a network of national and regional providers and federal staff working in partnership to support EHS programs. The nature of this network is described and recommendations for future areas of emphasis for training and technical assistance support are offered. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source] Improving child care quality in Early Head Start programs: A partnership modelINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 1-2 2002Lenna L. Ontai Many Early Head Start (EHS) programs do not provide child care directly but instead contract with existing community child care agencies to provide services. Such arrangements challenge EHS programs to create unique ways to ensure quality in the child care component of the program. The current research project reports on the efforts of a partnership between an EHS program and community child care agency to improve child care quality. The goal was to systematically identify changes in quality made within the EHS program as the result of a system of monitoring and assessment carried out under the partnership. The current study utilized ITERS and Arnett scales to assess the quality of the community center-based infant child care at the beginning of the EHS program and nine months later. The results indicate a significant improvement in some areas of child care whereas other areas appeared to be more difficult to enhance with the current method. Additionally, differential areas of improvement were found between infant and toddler classrooms. The discussion focuses on aspects of the partnership that most likely contributed to quality improvements. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source] Early Head Start: Investigations, insights, and promiseINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 1-2 2002JoAnn L. Robinson The authors review the significance of the research summarized in this special issue, including activities that contribute to successful university,community partnerships. The promise of Early Head Start (EHS) will be realized if investigators focus on moderators and mediators of program effects, program quality, and linkages between Early Head Start and community resources. Key factors that must be taken into account in the analysis of EHS program outcomes include assessing children's transitions to preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school; changes in family personal and social resources; the role of fathers in early child development; and the impact of family bilingualism. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source] Caries Risk Assessment and Prevention: Strategies for Head Start, Early Head Start, and WICJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 3 2000Michael J. Kaneilis DDS Abstract Objective: This review updates the evidence regarding caries risk assessment for infants, toddlers, and preschool children and formulates recommendations for preventive strategies for WIC, Head Start, and Early Head Start. Methods: Literature on caries risk assessment and preventive strategies for infants, toddlers, and preschool children were reviewed and synthesized. Recommendations for WIC, Head Start, and Early Head Start were made based on the review. Results: Individual caries risk for children in WIC, Head Start, and Early Head Start should be based on: (1) previous caries experience, (2) precavity lesions, (3) visible plaque, and (4) perceived risk by examiners. Recommended preventive strategies for WIC and Head Start populations include: (1) daily toothbrushing in Head Start centers using fluoridated toothpaste; (2) fluoride varnish application to children enrolled in WIC, Head Start, and Early Head Start; (3) use of chlorhexidine gets and varnishes (following FDA approval); and (4) increased use of sealants on children with precavity pit and fissure lesions. Conclusions: Early screening, risk assessment, and preventive programs in WIC, Head Start, and Early Head Start populations hold a great deal of promise for preventing dental decay in high-risk children. [source] Response to Kanellis: Caries Risk Assessment and Prevention, Strategies for Head Start, Early Head Start, and WICJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 3 2000Maria-Rosa Watson DDS No abstract is available for this article. [source] From Head Start to Sure Start: Reflections on Policy TransferCHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 2 2010John Welshman This article uses the history of debates over the US Head Start programme (1965), Early Head Start (1994) and the UK Sure Start initiative (1998), as a window on to policy transfer. In all the three, the aim was that early intervention could offer a means of boosting children's educational attainment and of countering the wider effects of poverty on development. Nevertheless, there were also important differences between them. The first part of the article looks at UK responses to Head Start, the second at Early Head Start and the creation and subsequent direction taken by Sure Start. In the Conclusion, we sum up the arguments relating to Head Start and Sure Start and offer some broader reflections on policy transfer. [source] |