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Established in 1965, Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low-income families by offering educational, nutritional, health, social, and other services. Early Head Start (EHS) launched in 1995 and, together with Head Start, has served more than 29 million children, birth to age 5, and pregnant women. In 2011, Head Start was funded to serve nearly one million children and pregnant women in center-based, home-based, and family child care programs in urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the nation.

Head Start Program Facts Fiscal Year 2010

Head Start Program Facts: Fiscal Year 2009

Head Start Program Facts: Fiscal Year 2008

Head Start Program Facts Fiscal Year 2007

Head Start Program Facts Fiscal Year 2006

Head Start Program Facts Fiscal Year 2005

Head Start Program Facts Fiscal Year 2004

At the end of a speech several years ago, a woman raised her hand. When I acknowledged her, she stood and asked, "Do you know what Head Start did for my child?" "I don't know," I said. "Tell me." "They loved her!" she answered enthusiastically. "She knew she was special; and every day when she went to that school, she knew she was loved.” The mother went on to tell how she watched her daughter’s confidence blossom; and today, that little Head Start preschooler is a teacher. The proud mother told how Head Start had influenced her life, as she herself had become a Head Start teacher, went on to obtain a master's degree, and is now the principal of an elementary school.