Early Head Start is a pre-natal / infant-cored program funded by the federal government. The program was formed in 1994 when the Secretary of Health and Human Services created an Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers. The committee’s primary function was to design the program.

Early Headstart aims to provide assistance to pregnant women and low-income families with infants and toddlers. The program’s goals revolve around the following:

• To promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women;
• To improve the development of very young children, and;
• To promote healthy family functioning.

A part of the Head Start initiative, the Early Head Start project reaches out to qualified families through Migrant Head Start programs, Parent Child Centers, and Comprehensive Child Development Centers (CCDPs).

To determine the eligibility of families seeking the benefits of the Early Headstart program, several income and poverty guidelines need to be considered. Such guidelines vary from one state to another. Aside from income, other criteria for eligibility include:

• Be at or below Federal Poverty Guidelines or have a child with a diagnosed disability ;
• Have a child under age 24 months, or be expecting a child ;
• Live in the designated catchment areas.

As of 2006, Head Start has serviced 61,500 children and developed into a nationwide project of 708 community-based programs. Aside from providing developmental activities that aid in early childhood development such as the Headstart preschool programs, parents and future parents are also encouraged to get involved in activities and projects that develop parenting skills.