Head Start Centers Supported Families' Well-Being during the Pandemic
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| Title: | Head Start Centers Supported Families' Well-Being during the Pandemic |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Christina M. Padilla, Audrey Franchett, Child Trends |
| Source: | Child Trends. 2025. |
| Availability: | Child Trends. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue Suite 1200W, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 240-223-9200; Fax: 240-200-1238; Web site: http://www.childtrends.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 18 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Administration for Children and Families (ACF) (DHHS) |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Social Services, Low Income Students, Federal Programs, Pandemics, COVID-19, Child Development, Family Programs, Stress Variables, Child Care, School Closing, Employed Parents, Job Layoff, Unemployment, Health, Family Financial Resources, Psychological Patterns, Enrollment, Depression (Psychology), Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Parent Child Relationship, Well Being |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Head Start |
| DOI: | 10.56417/852e1284r |
| Abstract: | Head Start is a two-generation program that supports children and families with low incomes through comprehensive child development and family support services. Family services include providing families with direct services and supports (e.g., free meals, screenings and assessments, parenting programs) and connecting them to needed resources in the community. As a well-established and trusted direct service provider for families with low incomes and young children, Head Start was well positioned to be a crucial source of support for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families, and particularly families with low incomes, faced a host of stressors during the pandemic, including child care closures, employment disruptions, employment loss, income loss, health challenges, and others. These stressors are a source of instability that disrupt family routines and strain family economic and psychological resources in ways that can pose a threat to family and child well-being. For Head Start families, however, it is possible that having access to additional supports through their Head Start centers could have protected family well-being--thereby promoting stability--during the pandemic. In this study, the authors examined: (1) the degree to which families enrolled in Head Start in the 2019-2020 program year had access to various services and support strategies provided through their centers; and (2) over-time changes in family well-being in two domains (depressive symptoms and parent-child learning-related activities). The authors also explore whether there were associations between access to family supports and changes in family outcomes. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED674566 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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