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Quality child care enables parents to work or go to school while also providing young children with the early childhood education experiences needed for healthy development. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal program that provides funding for child care assistance for low-income working parents. Child care assistance is a vital public investment that increases the sustainability of employment for low-income parents and provides stability for parents struggling to gain economic security. It also allows many parents to access higher quality care than they could otherwise afford. In spite of several years of post-recession economic recovery, the percentage of Americans living in poverty remains high. The majority of parents with young children work. More than 30 percent of poor children and half of low-income children--living in families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level--lived in families with at least one worker employed full-time, year round. For parents working in low-wage jobs, paying the high costs of child care is a struggle. The average annual costs of center-based care for a 4-year-old ranges from $4,312 in Mississippi to $12,355 in New York. Nationwide, families living below poverty who pay for child care spend approximately 30 percent of their income, which is significantly higher than families not in poverty who pay 8 percent of their incomes. This brief highlights why child care assistance is an essential work support program for low-income working families and provides evidence that these subsidies are associated with sustainable employment for parents and improved child outcomes. It makes the case for why additional investments at the federal and state level are critical.

Since 1965, the Head Start program has served low-income 3- and 4-year-old children and their families with comprehensive early education and support services. Programs provide services focused on the "whole child," including early education addressing cognitive, developmental, and socio-emotional needs; medical and dental screenings and referrals; nutritional services; parental involvement activities; referrals to social service providers for the entire family; and mental health services. All Head Start programs are required to complete the Program Information Report (PIR) on an annual basis. The PIR collects data on all children and pregnant women who participate in Head Start at any point during the program year, including those who do not complete the year. This fact sheet uses information reported through PIR to describe the children and families enrolled in the Head Start preschool program and the services provided to them during the 2013-2014 program year.

In 1994, the federal Early Head Start (EHS) program was created to address the comprehensive needs of low-income pregnant women and children under age 3. EHS was launched almost 30 years after Head Start was established in 1965 to serve low-income 3- and 4-year-old children and their families with comprehensive early education and support services. Both programs provide services focused on the "whole child," including early education addressing cognitive, developmental, and socio-emotional needs; medical and dental screenings and referrals; nutritional services; parental involvement activities; referrals to social service providers for the entire family; and mental health services. All Head Start programs are required to complete the Program Information Report (PIR) on an annual basis. This fact sheet uses information reported through the PIR to describe the children and families served in Early Head Start and the services provided to them during the 2013-2014 program year.

Head Start programs provide poor children and their families with comprehensive early education and support services. Each year, programs are required to submit a Program Information Report (PIR) to the Office of Head Start on participating children, pregnant women, and families, as well as the staff serving the Head Start population. In 2013, the Head Start program served more than 1.1 million children, approximately 166,000 of whom were under the age of 3, and 15,400 pregnant women through Head Start (HS) preschool, Early Head Start (EHS), and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs combined. HS preschool served 85 percent of all federally funded slots, with EHS and MSHS each serving 12 and 3 percent of slots respectively. The 2013 appropriation for all Head Start programs was just over $8 billion; however, federal budget cuts (known as sequestration) were in effect during this school year, resulting in reduced funding for this and other federal programs. While some Head Start programs managed sequestration by reducing the number of children served, others cut back schedules or made other cuts in their budgets.

In 1994, the federal Early Head Start (EHS) program was created to address the comprehensive needs of low-income pregnant women and children under age 3. EHS was launched almost 30 years after Head Start was established in 1965 to serve low-income 3- and 4-year-old children and their families with comprehensive early education and support services. Both programs provide services focused on the "whole child," including early education addressing cognitive, developmental, and socio-emotional needs; medical and dental screenings and referrals; nutritional services; parental involvement activities; referrals to social service providers for the entire family; and mental health services. All Head Start programs are required to complete the Program Information Report (PIR) on an annual basis. This fact sheet uses information reported through the PIR to describe the children and families served in Early Head Start and the services provided to them during the 2012-2013 program year. EHS spending in 2013 totaled $1.3 billion. In 2013, the EHS program served 150,100 children under age 3 and 15,459 pregnant women through 1,020 grantees/delegates throughout the country. Additional key findings from the 2013 PIR are provided herein.

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) provides child care and other services to migrants to ensure that young children from birth to age 5 are not with their parents in the fields, where they can be exposed to pesticides, hazardous equipment, extreme heat, and other health dangers. MSHS provides services focused on the "whole child," including early education addressing cognitive, developmental, and socio-emotional needs; medical and dental screenings and referrals; nutritional services; parental involvement activities; referrals to social service providers for the entire family; and mental health services. MSHS programs serve children from birth to five years old. All Head Start programs are required to complete the Program Information Report (PIR) on an annual basis. This fact sheet uses information reported through the PIR to describe the children and families served in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and the services provided to them during the 2013-2014 program year.