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Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low incomes get ready to succeed in school. It does this by working to promote their early learning and health and their families' well-being. The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) provides national information about Head Start programs and participants. Mathematica and its partners--Educational Testing Service and Juárez and Associates--conducted the study under contract to the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Data from the study respond to current policy questions and support programs and practitioners working with Head Start families. This report includes information on the FACES 2019 study design, and presents key findings from the study's spring 2020 data collection. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide information about the FACES 2019 study, including the background, design, methodology, assessments, and analytic methods; and (2) report detailed descriptive statistics (averages, response ranges, and percentages) and related standard errors (the estimate of the standard deviation of each statistic) in a series of tables. [For "Descriptive Data on Head Start Children and Families from FACES 2019: Fall 2019 Data Tables and Study Design," see ED613786.]

Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low income get ready to succeed in school. It does this by working to promote their early learning and health and their families' well-being. The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) provides national information about Head Start programs and participants. This report includes information on the FACES 2019 study design, and presents key findings from the study's spring 2020 data collection. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide information about the FACES 2019 study, including the background, design, methodology (including the impact of COVID-19 on data collection), assessments, and analytic methods; and (2) report detailed descriptive statistics (averages, response ranges, and percentages) and related standard errors (the estimate of the standard deviation of each statistic; see accompanying technical appendix for standard errors) in a series of tables. In total, 165 programs, 318 centers, and 590 classrooms participated in the study in spring 2020. The tables provide information from separate surveys of program directors, center directors, and teachers.

Since 1997, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) has been a major source of information on the Head Start program and the preschool children ages 3 to 5 who attend the program. As part of its management of Head Start, the federal government divides Head Start programs into 12 regions. Regions XI and XII are not based on geography; instead, Head Start defines the regions by the populations they serve. Region XI serves children and families in programs operated by federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. In 2015, a new study--the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES 2015)--focused on the children and families in Region XI. AIAN FACES 2019 is the second round of this national study in Region XI Head Start. Mathematica and its partner, Educational Testing Service, conducted the study for the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The tables in this report describe the children enrolled in Region XI Head Start programs in fall 2019 who were still enrolled in spring 2020; their families' backgrounds and home environments; and the characteristics of their classrooms, centers, and programs. In addition, the report provides information on the AIAN FACES 2019 study methodology, sample, and analytic methods. The study design is the same one used for AIAN FACES 2015. The purpose of this report is to: (1) provide information about the AIAN FACES study, including the background, design, methodology (including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on data collection), and analytic methods; and (2) report detailed descriptive statistics (averages, response ranges, and percentages) in a series of tables containing information on children, their families, their classrooms, and their programs. Specific topics examined include: (1) Children's characteristics, families' backgrounds, and home environment; (2) Children's social-emotional skills; (3) Children's physical health and disability status; (4) Children's classroom, center, and program cultural and language environment; (5) Children's classroom and teacher characteristics; (6) Children's center and program characteristics; and (7) Children's center and program response to COVID-19. [For the Fall 2019 report, see ED617157.]

This research brief draws upon the fall 2019 data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2019. FACES provides information at the national level about Head Start programs, centers, and classrooms as well as the children and families that Head Start serves. Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low incomes get ready to succeed in school. It does this by working to promote early learning, health, and family well-being. Head Start connects families with medical, dental, and mental health services to ensure that their children are receiving the services they need to develop well. Head Start not only involves parents in their children's learning and development but also supports parents' own goals, such as stable housing, continuing education, and financial security (Administration for Children and Families 2020). Head Start operates by providing grants to local public and private, nonprofit and for-profit agencies that deliver comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and their families.

Since 1997, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) has been a major source of information on the Head Start program and the preschool children ages 3 to 5 who attend the program. As part of its management of Head Start, the federal government divides Head Start programs into 12 regions. Regions XI and XII are not based on geography; instead, Head Start defines the regions by the populations they serve. Region XI serves children and families in programs operated by federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. In 2015, a new study--the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES 2015)--focused on the children and families in Region XI. AIAN FACES 2019 is the second round of this national study in Region XI Head Start. Mathematica and its partner, Educational Testing Service, conducted the study for the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The tables in this report describe the children enrolled in Region XI Head Start programs in fall 2019, their family backgrounds and home environments. In addition, the report provides information on the AIAN FACES 2019 study methodology, sample, and analytic methods. The study design is the same as the design for AIAN FACES 2015. The purpose of this report is to: (1) provide information about the AIAN FACES study, including the background, design, methodology, assessments, and analytic methods; and (2) report detailed descriptive statistics (averages, response ranges, and percentages) in a series of tables on children and their families. Specific topics examined include: (1) Children's characteristics, family background, and home environment; (2) Children's cognitive skills; (3) Children's social-emotional skills; and (4) Children's physical health and disability status. [For the Fall 2015-Spring 2016 report, see ED617161.]

Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low income get ready to succeed in school. The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) is the premier source of national information about Head Start programs and participants. For more than two decades, FACES has been advancing the knowledge base about what matters in providing quality early care and education (ECE). Mathematica and its partners--Educational Testing Service and Juárez and Associates--conducted the study under contract to the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Data from the study respond to current policy questions and support programs and practitioners working with Head Start families. This report includes key information on the FACES 2019 study design. The tables in this report describe the children enrolled in Head Start programs in fall 2019 and their family backgrounds and home environments. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide information about the FACES study, including the background, design, methodology, assessments, and analytic methods; and (2) report detailed descriptive statistics (averages, response ranges, and percentages) and related standard errors (the estimate of the standard deviation of each statistic) in a series of tables on children and their families.