According to the National Head Start Association, Head Start serves hundreds of thousands of children each year, providing early learning, health, and nutrition services, including:

• 392,344 Behavioral Screenings for Newly Enrolled Children
• 70,578 Children Receiving Care for a Chronic Health Condition
• 685,665 Children Receiving Preventative Dental Care

This combination of early learning and wrap-around services help set children on the path to success in school and in life. Research shows Head Start alumni are more likely to be kindergarten ready, graduate from high school, and secure stable jobs. [NHSA]

Federal funds go directly to local grantees who operate programs in rural, urban, and suburban communities nationwide.

• There are Head Start and Early Head Start Centers in every congressional district, operating approximately 17,000 sites. [FFYF]

In many rural districts and states, Head Start is the only licensed child care option.

• Analysis from the Center for American Progress (CAP) found 86% of rural counties nationwide had Head Start centers, and in 10 states, 48 rural counties would have no child care options without Head Start. [CAP]
• On the county level, a report from the Children’s Equity Project found Head Start is serving upwards of 90% of children in poverty in some counties, specifically rural counties. [CEP]

Many other state and local early learning systems are built around Head Start, allowing them to serve children from a variety of backgrounds. According to NIEER, eliminating Head Start funding would lead to a decline in public preschool access in states by more than 10 percentage points, and in some, by 20 percentage points. [NIEER]