Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Project

Based on President Obama's commitment to early learning and the groundswell of investments in states and local communities, the National Head Start Association has been working to realize the vision of a high-quality continuum of care for our country’s most vulnerable children, with a particular focus on the role of Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships in this continuum.

The National Head Start Association and the California Head Start Association worked together to create the EHS-CC Partnership Project, which convened several groups of national practitioner and leadership groups to inform the design of the partnerships and their successful implementation.

NHSA's recommendations emerged from a year’s worth of discussions and research and are grounded in what child care and Head Start practitioners believe is necessary for the partnerships to become a strong and effective component of the early learning continuum of care. Recommendations were submitted jointly to the Administration for Children and Families with the National Association for Family Child Care and state and regional Head Start Associations representing more than 25 states.

The National Head Start Association and our collaborators applaud the Administration’s commitment to increasing investments in high-quality early learning experiences for the children and families who most need this window of opportunity for success both in school and throughout their lives.