Federal guidance allows Head Start grant recipients to convert enrollment slots to Early Head Start by requesting approval from the Office of Head Start. This involves shifting funding from services for preschool-age children to providing services for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. Upon approval, recipients must prepare to implement or expand existing Early Head Start services, including establishing necessary processes to serve pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
The HS2EHS project is a five-year descriptive study supported by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Ongoing since 2020, the project has two main study components:
- case studies of Head Start grant recipients designed to answer questions about the process of converting enrollment slots from Head Start to Early Head Start
- substudies using secondary data analysis to answer questions about Head Start grant recipients that convert enrollment slots
The project aims to build the knowledge base about the conversion of enrollment slots from Head Start to Early Head Start and provide useful information to the Office of Head Start and other key stakeholders. Explore this website for more information on each study component, including the study publications.
The Urban Institute is conducting the HS2EHS project in partnership with MEF Associates.
Project Leadership
Diane Schilder, principal investigator, Urban Institute
Kate Stepleton, co–principal investigator, MEF Associates
Catherine Kuhns, project manager, Urban Institute
