BOCYF Projects

Head Start Research

Publications: Beyond the Blueprint: Directions for Research on Head Start's Families (1996)

The Administration on Children, Youth, and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked the Board on Children, Youth, and Families to convene a roundtable of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to provide a neutral convening ground for debate and analysis of emerging issues. It did not make recommendations. The Roundtable on Head Start Research was focused on three issues:

The need for a long-term strategy for research that accurately reflects what is happening in Head Start and as a result of Head Start

The role that research on Head Start can play in broadening our understanding of what is involved in making constructive changes in children's and families' lives through interventions such as Head Start

The importance of establishing models of collaboration between Head Start and other developments within relevant fields of research, and between those who conduct research and those who apply it in Head Start programs

The Roundtable on Head Start Research held 11 meetings from 1994 to 1997. A report published in April 1996, Beyond the Blueprint: Directions for Research on Head Start's Families, synthesizes discussions from the first three meetings of the roundtable, with a focus on research on Head Start's families.