“Head Start and the Changing Demographics of Today’s Young Children” (July 2011), a new paper by Olivia Golden for the Urban Institute and published in NHSA’s Dialog Briefs (vol. 14, no, 1), describes recent changes in both the racial/ethnic composition of the nation’s young children and shifts in where young children live.
The paper outlines increases in the number of Hispanic and Asian children in the nation and also that less children are living in northeastern and midwestern states while the number of children in southern and southeastern states is rapidly growing.
Since Head Start & Early Head Start programs operate under the assumption that high-quality services are grounded in a thorough understanding of the children and families in their communities, the author asserts that these demographic trends necessarily have implications for how local Head Start programs and practitioners can best meet the needs of today’s young children and their families. The paper closes with the following four recommednation for local Head Start programs:
- Collect and analyze up-to-date information about the young children in your community.
- Seek out the professional development you and your staff need to provide high-quality services—in particular, to support language acquisition for young children who are dual language learners.
- Think through your program’s role as a safe place for children.
- Tell your community’s story.
