Head Start Programs: Participant Characteristics, Services, and Funding

Head Start has served over 16 million children at a cost of $35 billion in the 30+ years of its existence. Funding for Head Start has tripled in the past 10 years. Growing out of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, Head Start was created to provide comprehensive educational, health, social, & mental health services to disadvantaged preschool children. This report describes the (1) number & characteristics of those served, (2) services provided & the way they are provided, (3) federal & nonfederal program dollars received & spent by programs delivering Head Start services, & (4) other programs providing similar early childhood services.