There are various ways to meet the developmental screening requirements for premature infants. Program staff and partners who conduct these screenings may find this guidance useful. This resource also includes applicable Program Performance Standards and resources.
This Tip Sheet discusses the qualification requirements for EHS center-based teachers. This resource also includes applicable Program Performance Standards and resources.
The differences between the screening of a child and the assessment of a child are explained in this resource. Program administrators, staff, parents, and disability personnel will find the information useful. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources are included.
Improved curricula and lesson plans based on the child’s interests should guide Early Head Start programs. Staff and T/TA Network members can use their knowledge of the child to create lesson plans and provide experiences that each child needs for development.
This Tip Sheet discusses the key elements for successful Early Head Start and child care partnerships. This resource also includes applicable Program Performance Standards and resources.
This Tip Sheet explores considerations for addressing infant/toddler staff development. This resource also includes applicable Program Performance Standards and resources.
EHS programs may choose to include non-Head Start families in socialization and parent activities for a variety of reasons. The guidance provided is useful to program managers, coordinators, and staff. Program Performance Standards and additional resources are included.
This Tip Sheet explores how to provide formula for infants and toddlers during socialization activities. Administrators, staff, parents, and support staff will find this information useful. Applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources are also discussed.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 18: Why Does EHS Address Oral Health Care for Infants and Young Children?
To ensure the prevention of dental disease, oral health care for infants and young children should be incorporated into well-child care as soon as possible. Using this resource, program directors and staff gain insight for promoting prenatal oral health, infant oral care, good dietary habits, and dental visits to the families and children they serve. Applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources are included.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 19: How Do the Requirements Regarding Enrolling at Least 10% of Children With Disabilities Apply for an Agency That Has Both a Head Start and an Early Head Start Program With One Grant Award?
This Tip Sheet discusses the requirements and considerations for enrolling children with disabilities into Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This resource also includes applicable Program Performance Standards and resources.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 20: How Do Infant and Toddler Sleeping Arrangements Meet the Head Start Performance Standards and Incorporate Best Practices?
The Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to consider the family's sleeping patterns and practices in infant and toddler sleeping arrangements. This Tip Sheet encourages program directors to build positive parent–staff relationships, provide room and furniture arrangements, and individualize care to meet the sleeping patterns of the children they serve. The Sheet also provides guidance on applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 21: What Do We Mean by Continuity of Care in Out-of-Home Settings?
Building secure bonds between very young children and their primary caregiver is important. Caregivers and teachers may learn how to develop a system of care that lasts until the child turns three years old or leaves the program. Program Performance Standards and other resources are also included.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 22: What Does Infant Mental Health (IMH) Mean? And, How Do EHS Programs Implement Quality IMH Services?
Several variables are considered when addressing the mental health needs of infants, toddlers, and their parents. EHS and Migrant HS staff learn strategies for providing quality infant mental health services. Program Performance Standards and resources are included.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 23: As Early Head Start Programs Design and Adapt Their Program Models Based on the Needs of the Families They Serve, How Do They Determine Which Program Option(s) to Offer, and the Flexibility Within Those Program Options?
According to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, Head Start programs must conduct a community assessment every three years to determine the needs of the families they serve. Program directors and staff use this assessment to determine if a center-based option, a home-based option, or a combination of the two is best for the families in their community. The benefits and challenges of a mixed-model approach are also discussed.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 24: What is the Head Start Governance Structure When the Agency is: a. A Grantee for EHS and a Grantee for Preschool Head Start?; b. An EHS Grantee and a Delegate Agency for Preschool Head Start?; c. A Delegate for EHS and a Delegate Agency for a Preschool Head Start?
Examine three examples of Head Start governance structures. Grantees and delegate agencies operating an Early Head Start program and a Head Start program will find this tip sheet useful. Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources are included.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 25: How Do We Support Services for Infants and Toddlers in a Birth-to-Five Program?
Learn how to meet the unique needs of infants and toddlers enrolled in a birth-to-five Head Start program. Caregivers and teachers are asked to consider areas like transition planning, continuity of care, culture, language and literacy as they plan and implement services. Related Head Start Program Performance Standards are included.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 26: How Do You Create an Effective Environment of Infant/Toddler Socializations in an Early Head Start Home-Based Program?
Learn strategies for creating an effective environment for group socializations with infants, toddlers, and their parents. EHS home visitors will find this information useful. This material expands specific areas addressed in ACYF-IM-HS-00-22: Child Development Services During Home Visits and Socializations in the Early Head Start Home-Based Program Option.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 27: What Are "Behavioral Skills" in Infants and Toddlers? How Do We Screen Them?
Infants and toddlers exhibit many behaviors as they grow and develop. Through early screening, Head Start grantees and program staff learn when infant and toddler behaviors are developmentally appropriate and when they are not.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 28: What is the "Care for Their Air" Campaign? Does It Apply to Early Head Start?
The Care for Their Air campaign raises awareness of the negative impact secondhand smoke has on infants and toddlers. The considerations of this Tip Sheet serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 29: Does Early Head Start Support Math and Science Development With Infants and Toddlers?
This Tip Sheet describes the role Early Head Start plays in developing the math and science skills of infants and toddlers. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 30: Do Infant and Toddler Screenings Need to be Standardized?
This Tip Sheet provides guidance on when to screen infant and toddlers for developmental, health, or sensory concerns. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 31: What is the Maximum Number of EHS Children for a Home Visitor’s Caseload?
Considerations for maintaining an Early Head Start home-visitor caseload include ensuring that each enrolled child is receiving appropriate and individualized services. These considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 32: What Types of Play Materials Can be Used From the Home to Create Purposeful Learning Experiences for Infants or Toddlers During a Home Visit?
This Early Head Start Tip Sheet identifies play materials in the home that create unique learning opportunities for children. Grantees and program staff may find this information useful. This resources also addresses the Program Performance Standards relating to children's development and play.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 33: If a Family Has More Than One Child Enrolled in the EHS Home-Based Program, is a Home Visit Required for Each Child?
Considerations for planning and ensuring that each child within a family receives appropriate and individualized services during Early Head Start home-visits are identified. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 34: How is Working With Teen Parents Different Than Working With Older Parents?
This Early Head Start Tip Sheet identifies the unique needs of teen parents. Early Head Start grantees and program staff may use this resource to better serve young parents and their families. This resource also addresses the Program Performance Standards related to supporting and partnering with parents.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 35: What is CSEFEL? Can EHS Programs Use the Infant and Toddler Materials?
This EHS Tip Sheet discusses how the framework created by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) can support social and emotional competence in children and toddlers. This resource may be useful to grantees and program staff. Program Performance Standards are also addressed within the context of infant and toddler issues.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 36: What Are “Challenging Behaviors” When Working With Infants and Toddlers?
This Tip Sheet identifies considerations for understanding and defining challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 37: How Do You Know If Infants or Toddlers With Challenging Behavior Need an Individualized Support Plan? What is the Process of Developing a Plan? What If It Doesn’t Work?
This Tip Sheet offers considerations for implementing an individualized support plan for infants and toddlers with challenging behaviors. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 38: Can Grandparents be Included in EHS Home Visits or Socializations?
Considerations for including grandparents in home visits and socialization activities are identified. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 39: Is It Required for a Newly Funded EHS Program to Hire a Start-Up Planner?
This Tip Sheet discusses how start-up planners may help newly funded EHS programs plan and implement Early Head Start services. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 40: Does EHS Enroll Pregnant Women Within a Specific Program Option?
Considerations for the enrollment process of pregnant women are identified. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 41: What is "Tummy Time" and Why is It Important?
This Tip Sheet discusses the importance of “tummy time,” instances babies spend awake and playing on their stomachs. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 42: How Can Early Head Start Programs Support Language and Communication Development When Staff Members Do Not Speak the Child's Home Language?
This Tip Sheet offers considerations for supporting infant and toddler language development when staff members speak a language other than a child’s home language. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 43: Does Early Head Start Teach English to Infants and Toddlers Whose Home Language is Not English If That is What the Family Wants?
This Tip Sheet offers considerations for supporting infants and toddlers who are dual language learners. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators to help them support the home language and culture of each child they serve. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 44: Can Early Head Start Programs Move Empty Cribs to Create More Usable Floor/Play Space?
This Tip Sheet offers considerations for moving unoccupied cribs to maximize usable indoor floor space. The considerations serve as a useful guide for grantee and program administrators. Applicable Program Performance Standards and resources provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 45: Can Early Head Start Programs Use High Chairs?
This Tip Sheet is under review.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 46: Are Early Head Start Programs Required to Buy Specific Brands of Formulas for Each enrolled Infant and Toddler?
This Tip Sheet offers considerations that Early Head Start grantees and administrators may use when purchasing infant formula for the infants and toddlers they serve. The guide also lists applicable Head Start Program Performance Standards and other resources that provide additional information.
EHS Tip Sheet No. 47: What is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day? How might Head Start programs serving infants and toddlers participate and use this day to support the mental health of infants, toddlers, and families year-round?
This tip sheet describes National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. It provides a rationale for why administrators, directors, and other program staff should consider participating in this yearly event, resources for participation, and considerations for extending mental health awareness year-round. Relevant Program Performance Standards and related resources are also provided.
