Skip Navigation

Head Start & Early Head Start

Ask your representatives to protect federal child care and early learning funding for families, providers, and the economy.

Resource

Head Start and Early Head Start: The Program Overview

April 23, 2024

Head Start is a federally funded program that delivers comprehensive early learning, health, nutrition, and family support services to children ages 3 through 5 experiencing  poverty and their families.

Resource

The Biden Administration Gives Added Flexibility to Serve More Children in Head Start

April 8, 2024

On March 23, 2024, President Biden signed into law two changes that give Head Start programs additional flexibility to enroll children in Tribal communities and children of farmworkers.  Tribal Head …

Resource

The Fundamental Role of Child Care in Supporting Women

April 2, 2024

Last month, the Center for American Progress (CAP) published a new report, “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy.” Aligning with Women’s History Month, this “playbook” provides a …

Resource

GAO Report: Opportunities Within Head Start to Better Align Resources with Child Poverty

March 11, 2024

Recently, GAO released a report on the availability of Head Start throughout the nation. The report finds that the availability of Head Start programs varies widely across states and counties …

Resource

2024: ABCS of Federal Early Learning and Child Care Funding Streams

March 5, 2024

Every year, millions of children who range in age from birth through five benefit from an array of federal early learning and care programs. While there are different early learning …

News

ED and HHS Urge States to Make Headway on Mixed Delivery Preschool

March 1, 2024

Earlier this week, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) released a joint Dear Colleague letter urging leaders to work with local education agencies (LEAs) …

News

FFYF Submits Comments on 2023 Head Start NPRM

January 23, 2024

Last week, the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) submitted comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Supporting the Head Start Workforce and Consistent Quality Programming, published by …

Resource

Report: “The Next Generation of Head Start”

November 2, 2023

Recently, the Children’s Equity Project, in partnership with the Equity Research Action Coalition, and the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED), released a report, “The Next Generation of Head …

Resource

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: A Deep Dive Into Dual Language Learners

October 13, 2023

As FFYF commemorates Hispanic Heritage Month, we take a moment to reflect on the remarkable contributions of Latinx communities across the United States.  In recognizing and celebrating our nation’s Latinx …

News

STATEMENT: FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling on Senate Markup of FY24 Funding Levels for Child Care and Early Learning Programs

July 27, 2023

WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a bipartisan mark up on proposed funding levels for child care and early …

News

STATEMENT: First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling on Proposed FY24 Funding Levels for Child Care and Early Learning Programs

July 14, 2023

“Federal funding provides the foundation for child care and early learning programs. Now is the time to bring greater support for working families and children, not reverse course. We urge …

Stay Updated

Receive monthly updates on the latest news, policy, and actions to advance federal investment in children and their families.