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Giving Children the Earliest Start: Developing an Individualized Approach to High Quality Services for Pregnant Women
Technical Assistance Paper No. 3
 

Through profiles of individual programs presented in this document, ideas are provided on how best to implement Head Start Program Performance Standards mandates. Directors and program staff will find an overview of the requirements set forth in the standards with regard to services provided for pregnant women. A bibliography lists resources for pregnant women.

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Giving Children the Earliest Head Start: Developing an Individualized Approach to High-Quality Services for Pregnant Women

The prenatal period of growth and development is critical to optimal child development in the first three years of life and beyond. From conception to age three, human development occurs more rapidly then at any other time in life. Fetal development, like all stages of development, is progressive, involves critical periods, and benefits from supportive practices administered through a range of supports and services offered as early as possible. Inadequate prenatal care is associated with a host of health and developmental problems - low birth weight, premature delivery, birth defects, poor growth. Furthermore, these babies are at an increased risk of learning, social, and behavioral problems. Thus, Early Head Start (EHS) is poised to make a significant and longlasting impact on the future of America's most vulnerable children. More>> [PDF, 1.27MB]

Giving Children the Earliest Start: Developing an Individualized Approach to High Quality Services for Pregnant Women. Technical Assistance Paper No. 3. Early Head Start National Resource Center @ZERO TO THREE. DHHS/ACF/ACYF/HSB. 2000. English. [PDF, 1.27MB].