| FY 2008 Actual | FY 2009 Appropriation | |
|---|---|---|
| Local Head Start Projects | ||
| Projects in States and Territories | $6,169,256,494 | $6,358,232,508 |
| American Indian-Alaska Native, and Migrant and Seasonal Programs | $474,604,336 | $509,733,842 |
| Subtotal | $6,643,860,830 | $6,867,966,350 |
| Support Activities | ||
| Training and Technical Assistance | $174,928,304 | $180,819,650 |
| Research, Demonstration and Evaluation | $19,752,234 | $20,000,000 |
| Program Support | $38,590,000 | $42,000,000 |
| Subtotal | $233,270,538 | $244,819,6501 |
| Head Start, Recovery Act2 | [$1,000,000,000] | |
| Early Head Start, Recovery Act | [$1,100,000,000] | |
| TOTAL | $6,877,131,368 | $7,112,786,000 |
1This subtotal also includes $2,000,000 appropriated in FY 2009 for the Centers of Excellence. These funds are available for two years.
2The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriated a total of $2.1 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs to expand enrollment by 64,000 children and families. These funds are available for two years.
Fiscal Year 2009
ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Office of Head Start
1250 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20024
February 10
Head Start Facts
The Head Start program is administered by the Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Grants are awarded by the ACF Regional Offices and the Office of Head Start's American Indian-Alaska Native, and Migrant and Seasonal Program Branches directly to local public agencies, private non-profit and for-profit organizations, Indian Tribes and school systems for the purpose of operating Head Start programs at the community level.
FY-2008 Program Statistics
| ENROLLMENT | 906,992 |
|---|---|
| Ages | |
| Number of 5 year olds and older | 3% |
| Number of 4 year olds | 50% |
| Number of 3 year olds | 37% |
| Number under 3 years of age | 11% |
| Racial Composition | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 4.0% |
| Black/African American | 29.4% |
| White | 39.1% |
| Asian | 1.8% |
| Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial | 6.5% |
| Unspecified/Other | 18.1% |
| Ethnic Composition | |
| Hispanic/Latino | 35.7% |
| NUMBER OF GRANTEES | 1,591 |
| Number of Classrooms | 49,400 |
| Number of Centers | 17,975 |
| AVERAGE COST PER CHILD | $7,326 |
| PAID STAFF | 213,000 |
| VOLUNTEERS | 1,384,000 |
* Each enrollee is reported in both an ethnicity and a race category, which correlates to what the U.S. Census Bureau measures. For example, a family that identifies their child as Black and Cuban will be counted in the "Hispanic or Latino" ethnicity category and also counted in the "Black or African American" race category.
During the 2007–2008 Head Start Program Year:
- 11 percent of the Head Start enrollment consisted of children with disabilities, (mental retardation, health impairments, visual handicaps, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, speech and language impairments, orthopedic handicaps and learning disabilities).
- 47,165 children participated in home-based Head Start program services.
- 75 percent of Head Start teachers have at least an AA degree in Early Childhood Education.
- 26 percent of Head Start program staff members were parents of current or former Head Start children. Nearly 894,000 parents volunteered in their local Head Start program.
- 94 percent of Head Start children had health insurance. 82 percent of those with health insurance were enrolled in the Medicaid/Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program or a state sponsored child health insurance program.
- In Fiscal Year 2008, $688 million was used to support approximately 700 programs which provided Early Head Start child development and family support services in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These programs served nearly 62,000 children under the age of three.
- More than 237,000 Head Start fathers participated in organized regularly scheduled activities designed to involve them in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
FY 2008 Head Start Program State Allocations and Enrollment
| STATE | FUNDING | ENROLLMENT |
|---|---|---|
| ALABAMA | 106,910,747 | 16,284 |
| ALASKA | 12,505,529 | 1,631 |
| ARIZONA | 103,773,998 | 12,946 |
| ARKANSAS | 64,696,986 | 10,661 |
| CALIFORNIA | 833,853,590 | 97,942 |
| COLORADO | 68,519,283 | 9,820 |
| CONNECTICUT | 52,035,272 | 7,036 |
| DELAWARE | 13,270,758 | 2,059 |
| District of Columbia | 25,173,901 | 3,403 |
| FLORIDA | 263,828,726 | 35,402 |
| GEORGIA | 168,952,317 | 23,359 |
| HAWAII | 22,946,443 | 3,049 |
| IDAHO | 22,873,982 | 2,903 |
| ILLINOIS | 271,476,845 | 39,534 |
| INDIANA | 96,453,542 | 14,190 |
| IOWA | 51,685,391 | 7,677 |
| KANSAS | 51,060,945 | 8,324 |
| KENTUCKY | 108,129,820 | 16,030 |
| LOUISIANA | 146,286,727 | 21,663 |
| MAINE | 27,683,563 | 3,820 |
| MARYLAND | 78,239,829 | 10,347 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 108,635,529 | 12,742 |
| MICHIGAN | 235,167,867 | 34,949 |
| MINNESOTA | 72,193,111 | 10,306 |
| MISSISSIPPI | 162,115,749 | 26,633 |
| MISSOURI | 119,305,226 | 17,433 |
| MONTANA | 21,004,313 | 2,919 |
| NEBRASKA | 36,153,536 | 5,059 |
| NEVADA | 24,343,835 | 2,754 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 13,421,239 | 1,632 |
| NEW JERSEY | 129,353,152 | 14,850 |
| NEW MEXICO | 52,437,413 | 7,249 |
| NEW YORK | 434,333,488 | 48,084 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 141,647,045 | 18,903 |
| NORTH DAKOTA | 17,220,056 | 2,353 |
| OHIO | 247,546,666 | 36,975 |
| OKLAHOMA | 81,263,182 | 13,474 |
| OREGON | 59,625,878 | 10,175 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 228,773,267 | 35,456 |
| RHODE ISLAND | 22,073,130 | 3,083 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 82,719,421 | 12,248 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | 18,874,909 | 2,827 |
| TENNESSEE | 119,654,435 | 16,339 |
| TEXAS | 479,971,393 | 67,680 |
| UTAH | 37,863,769 | 5,518 |
| VERMONT | 13,595,041 | 1,552 |
| VIRGINIA | 99,358,903 | 13,578 |
| WASHINGTON | 100,626,555 | 11,277 |
| WEST VIRGINIA | 50,776,400 | 7,610 |
| WISCONSIN | 91,117,239 | 13,476 |
| WYOMING | 12,403,894 | 1,792 |
| INDIAN TRIBES | 183,470,996 | 22,913 |
| MIGRANT PROGRAMS | 291,133,340 | 36,286 |
| AMERICAN SAMOA | 2,155,838 | 1,532 |
| GUAM | 2,169,311 | 500 |
| NO. MARIANAS | 1,668,615 | 462 |
| PALAU | 1,336,971 | 509 |
| PUERTO RICO | 249,973,812 | 36,842 |
| VIRGIN ISLANDS | 8,018,007 | 942 |
HEAD START ENROLLMENT HISTORY
| FISCAL YEAR | ENROLLMENT | APPROPRIATION |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 (summer only) | 561,000 | $ 96,400,000 |
| 1966 | 733,000 | 198,900,000 |
| 1967 | 681,400 | 349,200,000 |
| 1968 | 693,900 | 316,200,000 |
| 1969 | 663,600 | 333,900,000 |
| 1970 | 477,400 | 325,700,000 |
| 1971 | 397,500 | 360,000,000 |
| 1972 | 379,000 | 376,300,000 |
| 1973 | 379,000 | 400,700,000 |
| 1974 | 352,800 | 403,900,000 |
| 1975 | 349,000 | 403,900,000 |
| 1976 | 349,000 | 441,000,000 |
| 1977 | 333,000 | 475,000,000 |
| 1978 | 391,400 | 625,000,000 |
| 1979 | 387,500 | 680,000,000 |
| 1980 | 376,300 | 735,000,000 |
| 1981 | 387,300 | 818,700,000 |
| 1982 | 395,800 | 911,700,000 |
| 1983 | 414,950 | 912,000,000 |
| 1984 | 442,140 | 995,750,000 |
| 1985 | 452,080 | 1,075,059,000 |
| 1986 | 451,732 | 1,040,315,000 |
| 1987 | 446,523 | 1,130,542,000 |
| 1988 | 448,464 | 1,206,324,000 |
| 1989 | 450,970 | 1,235,000,000 |
| 1990 | 540,930 | 1,552,000,000 |
| 1991 | 583,471 | 1,951,800,000 |
| 1992 | 621,078 | 2,201,800,000 |
| 1993 | 713,903 | 2,776,286,000 |
| 1994 | 740,493 | 3,325,728,000 |
| 1995 | 750,696 | 3,534,128,000 |
| 1996 | 752,077 | 3,569,329,000 |
| 1997 | 793,809 | 3,980,546,000 |
| 1998 | 822,316 | 4,347,433,000 |
| 1999 | 826,016 | 4,658,151,000 |
| 2000 | 857,664 | 5,267,000,000 |
| 2001 | 905,235 | 6,199,123,000 |
| 2002 | 912,345 | 6,536,570,000 |
| 2003 | 909,608 | 6,667,533,000 |
| 2004 | 905,851 | 6,774,848,000 |
| 2005 | 906,993 | 6,843,114,000 |
| 2006 | 909,201 | 6,872,062,000 |
| 2007 | 908,412 | 6,888,571,000 |
| 2008 | 906,992 | 6,877,975,000 |
The Head Start program has enrolled more than 26 million children since it began in 1965.
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Last Updated: September 30, 2022