Early Head Start provides comprehensive services to children ages 0-3 and pregnant women. Its mission is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, to enhance the development of very young children, and to promote healthy family functioning.

Wellness is recognized as a significant contributor to each child’s ability to thrive and develop. Accordingly, health screenings evaluate the child’s overall health status and regular health check-up and good practices in oral health, hygiene, nutrition, and personal care.

Child care workers are essential to children’s learning and development and serve as a vital support for families.  Effective, nurturing, and responsive teaching practices and interactions are key for all learning in early childhood settings. Early Head Start staff work with children to build on their patterns of development and learning to support social, emotional, behavioral, and language development.

To address the urgent need to care for and support pregnant women, infants, and toddlers through a major expansion of Early Head Start to 500,000 additional children and families, the National Head Start Association launched its Early Head Start Rising Project in October 2021.  As a result, Georgia Early Head Start data briefs were compiled to show the impact of Early Head Start Services on Georgia’s children, families, and workforce and to highlight the need for expansion of these services.  https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/transform.consulting.group/viz/GeorgiaEarlyHeadStartDashboard/GeorgiaEarlyHeadStartDashboard