1302.45 Supports for mental health and well-being.
Head Start programs must use a multidisciplinary approach to support a program-wide culture that promotes children’s mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health and safety.
These resources support preventing suspensions and expulsions in center-based Head Start programs. Suspensions and expulsions of young children are not developmentally appropriate practices, yet according to recent data, they occur regularly in early childhood settings. These exclusionary practices disproportionately impact children of color, deprive children of valuable learning experiences, and have a negative impact on children’s development that extends into grade school and beyond.
Head Start programs must use a multidisciplinary approach to support a program-wide culture that promotes children’s mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health and safety.