Established in 1965, Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low-income families by offering educational, nutritional, health, social, and other services. Since its inception, Head Start has served more than 35 million children, birth to age 5, and their families. In 2017, Head Start was funded to serve nearly 1 million children and pregnant women in centers, family homes, and in family child care homes in urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the nation.

The appropriate use of the Head Start name and logo maintains high public trust in the program. Authorized users must follow these instructions to use them. The name "Head Start" and logo are protected by trademark.

The Head Start program is administered by the Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Office of Head Start (OHS) administers grant funding and oversight to the agencies that provide Head Start services. OHS also provides federal policy direction and a training and technical assistance (T/TA) system to assist grantees in providing comprehensive services to eligible young children and their families.

Dr. Deborah Bergeron is the director of the Office of Head Start. Known as "Dr. B" to former students and teachers, she has spent three decades in pre-K–12 public education as a classroom teacher and elementary and high school administrator.

Established in 1965, Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low-income families by offering educational, nutritional, health, social, and other services. Since its inception, Head Start has served more than 34 million children, birth to age 5, and their families. In 2016, Head Start was funded to serve nearly one million children and pregnant women in centers, family homes, and in family child care homes in urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the nation.

The Office of Head Start (OHS) is holding 2018 Tribal Consultations with leaders of Tribal Governments operating American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start (including Early Head Start) programs.

The Department of Health and Human Services invites leaders of Tribal Governments operating Head Start and Early Head Start programs to participate in a formal Consultation Session with the Office of Head Start leadership.