Head start Program

Introduction

The Head Start Program is the program of United States Department of Health and Human Services. This program deals with health, comprehensive nutrition, education and involvement services for low income families. This program was launched in 1964 by its director and creator Jule Sugarman. It was at first conceived as a summer school program that helped in teaching low income children in few weeks to start their kindergarten. Experience showed that six weeks of preschool did not help in making 5 years of poverty. The Head Start Act of 1981 expanded the program which was them reauthorized in 2007. This program is considered as one of the longest program to take in hand the issues of poverty in US. In 2005, more than 22 million children participated in this program. This paper will discuss about history and success and failure of Head Start Program.

History of Head Start Program

Head Start promotes enhances the social and cognitive development of children for promoting school readiness. The children are provided health, education nutritional and other social services. Head Start program began as President Lyndon Johnson's campaign. The validation for this program came from President Council of Economic Advisors who were interested in investing in education during the administration of Johnson and Kennedy. The Community Action Program belonging to the Community Action Program launched project Action program in 1965. It was at first authorized by congress as 1 year program. Furthermore, in 1968 Head start started funding Sesame Street Program which was a project by Carnegie Corporation Preschool Television Program. Head Start was enacted in 1981.

In 1961 this program was transferred to the office of Child Development in the Health, Welfare and Education Department by Nixon Administration. Today this program is within the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) in HHS. In 1994, this program was started to serve the children from birth to 2 years of age as these years are considered as critical to child development. These programs are administered by nonprofit organizations and school systems of local background.

Early Head Start Program helped in promoting healthy outcomes such as parental and healthy family's infants who are young as newborns. This program also helps in healthy development of children and infants belonging to age group 3-5. It offers services to family cultures and experience to affect the learning and child development. Established in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, Project Head Start is a national early childhood program promoting school readiness for children age three to five in low-income families. Funding is provided by federal grants to local public and private nonprofit and for-profit agencies to administer Head Startprograms. Enrolled children and their families receive educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Parents are often enlisted as Head Start volunteers and administrators of local Head Start programs. Its history thus serves to highlight vital themes in American disability history, including family life, education, policy, and economics.

Disability activism played a central role in the creation of Head Start. Of note ...