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The Head Start program has been effective since
the beginning in improving the lives of numerous families, in Illinois and across
the nation, facing economic hardship. The following program factors are critical
to Head Start's success:
- Head Start programs have a proven track
record of helping families move toward economic self-sufficiency and at the same
time providing high quality comprehensive services for children.
- Head Start is the leader in involving
parents in program governance, a part of the program since its inception in 1965.
- For decades, Head Start has been a change
agent in local communities and a leader in collaboration.
- Head Start's benefits greatly outweigh
its cost, as seen in the many positive outcomes and use of preventive care.
Head Start's success in preparing children for school
motivated most states, including Illinois, to develop other preschool programs. Yet
across the nation, most other early childhood programs do not provide the comprehensive
services necessary to help economically disadvantaged children achieve in school
(Adams & Sandfort, 1994; Layzer et. al., 1993. The General Accounting Office
(1995b) found that most of these programs fell short of Head Start in terms of their
scope of services as well as the degree to which they involve and support parents.
Head
Start is cost-effective. The positive results of Head Start have saved school systems,
government, and service providers countless sums of money throughout the years. The
evidence is overwhelming that children leave the program better prepared for school
than they would have been without the experience. Head Start improves lives. Far
beyond saving money, Head Start saves families. Every child born into poverty who
attends Head Start has a greater opportunity for lifelong success than a child without
such an experience.
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