Families are safe and healthy. They also have opportunities for educational advancement and economic mobility. Programs also ensure families have access to physical and mental health services, housing and food assistance, and other support services.
Key Resources
Family Safety
Domestic Violence
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Promising Futures: Best Practices for Serving Children, Youth, and Parents Experiencing Domestic Violence
- National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC)
- Casa de Esperanza and the National Latina Network for Healthy Families and Communities (NLN)
Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness
- State Coordinators for the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
- Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness
Healthy Relationships
- Encouraging Strong Parent-Child Relationships
- Family Engagement and School Readiness: Building on Family Strengths to Promote Success
- Family Well-Being: Strategies to Support Family Safety, Health, and Financial Stability
- Parent-Child Relationships Infographic
Building Foundations for Economic Mobility
Life Goals and Aspirations
- PFCE Simulation: Boosting School Readiness through Effective Family Engagement Series
- Family Engagement and School Readiness: Building on Family Strengths to Promote Success
Understanding Family Engagement Outcomes: Research to Practice Briefs
- Family Well-being
- Family Well-being: A Focus on Parental Depression
- Family Well-being: Strategies to Support Family Safety, Health, and Financial Stability
Research
Building Foundations for Economic Mobility
- Ayoub, C., O'Connor, E., Rappolt-Schlictmann, G., Vallotton, C., Raikes, H., Chazan-Cohen, R. (2009). Cognitive skill performance among young children living in poverty: Risk, change, and the promotive effects of Early Head Start
- Caughy, M. O., Campo, P. J. (2006). Neighborhood poverty, social capital, and the cognitive development of African American preschoolers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(1/2), 141-154
- Joo, M. (2010). Long-term effects of Head Start on academic and school outcomes of children in persistent poverty: Girls vs. boys. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(6), 807-814
Parental Mental Health
- Ammerman, R. T., Putnam, F. W., Bosse, N. R., Teeters, A. R., Van Ginkel, J. B. (2010). Maternal Depression in Home Visitation: A Systematic Review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(3), 191-200
- Beardslee, W. R., Ayoub, C. A., Avery, M. W., Watts, C. L., O'Carroll, K. L. (2010). Family Connections: An approach for strengthening early care systems facing depression and adversity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(4), 482-495
- Beeber, L. S., Holditch-Davis, D., Belyea, M. J., Funk, S. G., Canuso, R. (2004). In-home intervention for depressive symptoms with low-income mothers of infants and toddlers in the United States. Health Care for Women International, 25(6), 561-580
- Chazan-Cohen, R., Ayoub, C., Pan, B. A., Roggman, L., Raikes, H., McKelvey, L., Hart, A. (2007). It Takes Time: Impacts of Early Head Start that Lead to Reductions in Maternal Depression Two Years Later. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28(2), 151-170
- National Research Council and Institute of Medicine [NRC IOM] (2009). Depression in Parents, Parenting, and Children: Opportunities to Improve Identification, Treatment, and Prevention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. [On-line]
- Understanding Family Engagement Outcomes: Research to Practice Series – Family Well-being
- Understanding Family Engagement Outcomes: Research to Practice Series – Family Well-being: A Focus on Parental Depression
- Love, J. M., Kisker, E. E., Constantine, J., Boller, K., Chazan- Cohen, R., Brady-Smith, C., Vogel, C. (2005). The Effectiveness of Early Head Start for 3-Year-Old Children and Their Parents: Lessons for Policy and Programs. Developmental Psychology, 41(6), 885–901.
- Green, C. L., Walker, J. M. T., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Sandler, H. M. (2007). Parents' Motivations for Involvement in Children's Education: An Empirical Test of a Theoretical Model of Parental Involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 532–544. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.532
- Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Walker, J. M., Sandler, H. M. (2005). Parents' Motivations for Involvement in Their Children's Education. In E.N. Patrikakou, R.P. Weissberg, S. Redding, H.J. Walberg (Eds.), School-Family Partnerships for Children's Success. (pp. 40–56). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
- Powell, D. R., Son, S. H., File, N., San Juan, R. R. (2010). Parent-School Relationships and Children's Academic and Social Outcomes in Public School Pre-Kindergarten. Journal of School Psychology, 48(4), 269–292.
- Rosenblatt, Z., Peled, D. (2002). School Ethical Climate and Parental Involvement. Journal of Educational Administration, 40(4), 349–367.
Regulations
- Attendance, 45 CFR § 1302.16 (a), (1-2) (i-iv), (3) (b-c) (2)
- Suspension and expulsion, 45 CFR § 1302.17 (a), (a)(1)-(4), (a)(1)(i)-(iv), (b),(b)(1)-(2), (b)(2)(i)-(ii), (b)(3)
- Teaching and the learning environment, 45 CFR § 1302.31 (a), (b)(1)(i)-(iv), (b)(2)(i)-(iii), (c)(1)-(2), (d), (e), (e)(1)-(4)
- Child screenings and assessments, 45 CFR § 1302.33 (a), (a)(1)-(3), (a)(3)(i)-(ii), (a)(4)-(5), (a)(5)(i)-(ii), (a)(5)(ii)(A)-(B); (b)(1)-(3), (c)(1)-(2), (c)(2)(i)-(iii), (c)(3)-(4), (c)(4)(d)
- Collaboration and communication with parents, 45 CFR § 1302.41 (a), (b), (b)(1)-(2)
- Child health status and care, 45 CFR § 1302.42 (a), (a)(1)-(2), (b), (b)(1)(i-ii), (b)(2)-(4), (c), (c)(1)-(3), (d), (d)(1)-(3); (e), (e)(1)-(2)
- Oral health practices, 45 CFR § 1302.43
- Child nutrition, 45 CFR § 1302.44 (a), (a)(1)-(2), (a)(2)(i)-(ix), (b)
- Child mental health and social and emotional well-being, 45 CFR § 1302.45 (a), (a)(1)-(4), (b), (b)(1)-(6)
- Family support services for health, nutrition, and mental health, 45 CFR § 1302.46 (a), (b), (b)(1), (b)(1)(i)-(v), (b)(2), (b)(2)(i)-(iii)
- Safety practices, 45 CFR § 1302.47 (a), (b), (b)(1), (b)(1)(i)-(ix), (b)(2), (b)(2)(i)-(v), (b)(3)-(4), (b(4)(i), (b)(4)(i)(A)-(K), (b)(4)(ii), (b)(5),(b)(5)(i)-(v), (b)(6), (b)(6)(i)-(iii), (b)(7), (b)(7)(i)-(vi), (b)(8), (c)
- Family engagement, 45 CFR § 1302.50 (a), (b), (b)(1)-(6)
- Parent activities to promote child learning and development, 45 CFR § 1302.51 (a), (a)(1)-(3), (b)
- Family partnership services, 45 CFR § 1302.52 (a), (b), (c), (c)(1)-(4), (d)
- Community partnerships and coordination with other early childhood and education programs, 45 CFR § 1302.53 (a), (a)(1)-(2), (a)(2)(i)-(viii), (b), (b)(1)-(2), (b)(2)(i)-(iii), (b)(3)-(4)
- Additional services for parents, 45 CFR § 1302.62 (a), (a)(1)-(2), (b), (b)(1)-(4)
- Enrolled pregnant women, 45 CFR § 1302.80 (a)-(d)
- Prenatal and postpartum information, education, and services, 45 CFR § 1302.81 (a), (b)
- Family partnership services for enrolled pregnant women, 45 CFR § 1302.82 (a), (b)
- Personnel policies, 45 CFR § 1302.90 (a), (b), (b)(1), (b)(1)(i)-(ii), (b)(2), (b)(2)(i)-(ii), (b)(3)-(6), (c), (c)(1), (c)(1)(i)-(ii), (c)(1)(ii)(A)-(I), (c)(1)(iii)-(v), (c)(2), (d), (d)(1)-(2)
- Training and professional development, 45 CFR § 1302.92 (b), (b)(2)
- Staff health and wellness, 45 CFR § 1302.93 (a), (b)
- Volunteers, 45 CFR § 1302.94 (a), (b)
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Last Updated: February 10, 2025