Research Report

State(s) of Head Start and Early Head Start

Looking at Equity

children in class

The States(s) of Head Start and Early Head Start: Looking at Equity is NIEER’s second state-by-state report on Head Start and Early Head Start. The report focuses on the 2020-2021 program year and also includes data beginning with the 2011-2012 program year, overlapping with NIEER’s first State(s) of Head Start report that went up to 2014-2015. This new report finds many areas of inequitable access to Head Start but also areas where Head Start is excelling for all children and families. Head Start access, funding, quality, and program components vary across states as well as within states by child race and ethnicity.

Prior to the pandemic, Head Start enrolled just 40% of children in poverty, showing no progress over the last decade despite declines in child poverty, in part due to more children receiving full day services, higher funding per child, and shift of funding to Early Head Start. Early Head Start enrolled 9% of income-eligible infants in toddlers prior to the pandemic, an increase from 4% a decade ago.

Similar to other early childhood education programs, the pandemic hit Head Start and Early Head Start hard with 279,000 fewer children enrolling in 2020-2021. Enrollment has started to rebound but has not reached pre-pandemic levels.

In the report, NIEER highlights additional inequities across states as well as between children of different races and ethnicities within states. We also lay out our recommendations to increase federal funding for Head Start by $10 billion over four years to equalize access to quality Head Start for all children in all states.

Table of Contents

State Profiles

Alabama

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Alaska

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Arizona

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Arkansas

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California

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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Delaware

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District of Columbia

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Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

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Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

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Maine

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Maryland

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey

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New Mexico

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Dakota

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Tennessee

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Texas

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Utah

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Vermont

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Virginia

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Washington

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

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Wyoming

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Territory Profiles

American Samoa

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Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

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Guam

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Republic of Palau

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Puerto Rico

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Virgin Islands

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The Authors

Jennifer K. Duer, Ph.D. is an Assistant Research Professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Her work focuses on both federal and state policies designed to improve the health and development of young children and their families with an emphasis on finance, quality, and prenatal-to-three policies. 

Allison Friedman-Krauss is an Assistant Research Professor at NIEER where she is also the Associate Director for Policy Research and Director of the Infant and Toddler Policy Research Center. 

W. Steven (Steve) Barnett is a Board of Governors Professor and the founder and Senior Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Dr. Barnett’s work primarily focuses on public policies regarding early childhood education, child care, and child development.

Suggested Citation

Friedman-Krauss, A. H., Barnett, W. S., & Duer, J. K. (2022). The State(s) of Head Start and Early Head Start: Looking at Equity. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.