Tennessee Head Start State Collaboration Office

A Brief History

Since 1965, the federal Head Start program has provided low-income 3-and 4-old children and their families with comprehensive early education and support services.  In 1994, federal policymakers authorized the Early Head Start program to address the needs of children under age 3 and pregnant women.  All Head Start programs focus on the “whole child” and include:

• early education that addresses cognitive, developmental, and socio-emotional needs;
• medical and dental screenings, referrals and treatment;
• nutritional services;
• parental involvement activities;
• referrals to social service providers for the entire family; and
• referrals for mental health services, as needed.

In 1990, the availability of federal funds for competitive grants for collaboration between Head Start and the States was announced.  All States were eligible to compete for a collaboration project, and eligibility was limited to States only.  The purpose of the Head Start State Collaboration Projects is to create significant, Statewide partnerships between Head Start and the States in order to meet the increasingly complex, intertwined, and difficult challenges of improving services for economically disadvantaged children and their families.  Tennessee applied for the Collaboration Project in 1996 and was funded; the Tennessee Head Start State Collaboration Project has been in existence since that time and was housed in the Tennessee Department of Education, Office of Special Projects.  In July, 2005 the Tennessee Head Start State Collaboration Project was moved into the newly developed Office of Early Learning.

The goals of the Collaboration Project are to:

• facilitate the involvement of Head Start in State policies and plans which affect the Head Start population and other low-income families;
• facilitate collaboration between Head Start and a wide range of State-level activities which, in turn, will support local community coordination; and
• highlight mutual Federal and State commitment to children and their families.

For more information about Tennessee Head Start grantees and delegates please go to www.tnheadstart.org.