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The study was a randomized controlled trial. To be eligible for the program, families had to have a family income at or below the federal poverty threshold, have a child under 3 years old or be expecting a child, and live in one of the areas served by the program. The program gave priority to pregnant women, to families with infants or toddlers, and to families with certain needs (such as barriers to employment). Evaluators randomly assigned 610 eligible families (that consented to participate in the program by completing a baseline data form) to the intervention or comparison conditions on a rolling basis, with equal probabilities. All participants who were able to complete a survey in English were eligible to participate in the 18-month survey that was the focus of the 18-month report.
Random assignment into the program occurred between July 2004 and December 2006. This study examines data for up to 42 months following random assignment.
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Most primary parents in the families enrolled in the study were female (90 percent), were White (86 percent), and held a GED or high school diploma (67 percent). On average, the primary parent was 26 years old and had never been married (54 percent).
A community-based agency that served 12 rural counties in southeastern Kansas administered the program in Kansas. A multiservice agency that served three suburban counties and one rural county administered the program in Missouri.
EHS predated the evaluation, but the programmatic enhancements for the evaluation were introduced starting in 2004.
Enhanced EHS consisted of the intensive early childhood development services and family supports typical of the EHS program, plus program enhancement designed to address parents’ employment and self-sufficiency needs. The enhancements included training with on-site self-sufficiency specialists who worked directly with families on achieving self-sufficiency goals, parent training in employment and self-sufficiency issues, establishing partnerships with local agencies that provided employment and training services, and training EHS staff so they could help parents attain employment and self-sufficiency goals. EHS also offered health and mental health services to families.
Families could receive other services in the community but were not eligible to receive Enhanced EHS services.
None.
EHS serves families with children under age 3; presumably, a family could receive services until then. Intervention group members participated in Enhanced EHS for an average of nine months.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The study was conducted in two Early Head Start (EHS) programs in Girard, KS, and St. Charles, MO. A community-based agency that served 12 rural counties in southeastern Kansas administered the program in Kansas. A multiservice agency that served three suburban counties and one rural county administered the program in Missouri.
Mental health, Parenting and co-parenting, Child well-being, Child care