Led by Drs. Rachel Chazan Cohen and Caitlin Lombardi at the University of Connecticut, the goal of this project is twofold: 1) to understand what early impacts of EHS lead to better social emotional well-being at age 5 and grade 5 for Black children and 2) to explore whether the findings are similar across primary mode of EHS service delivery, home visiting or child care. We will accomplish these goals by addressing three aims utilizing the subsample of Black children from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, an experimental evaluation of EHS. First, we will examine how early impacts of EHS on children at age 36 months lead to later social emotional outcomes at age 5 and grade 5. Second, we will investigate how early impacts of EHS on parenting and family well-being when children are 36 months old lead to later social emotional outcomes at age 5 and grade 5. Finally, we will examine how these associations between early impacts of EHS and later social emotional outcomes vary by children’s EHD experiences (center based child care or home visiting).

This study will contribute to our understanding of the role of EHS in children’s development and parenting within Black families. Findings will inform the design and targeting of EHS services and help to inform other programs and policies aimed at supporting low-income children’s development and the capacities of their parents.  (author abstract)