Preschool | Early Childhood

NCHE Resources

Early Care and Education for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
Given the detrimental effects on development caused by homelessness, young homeless children benefit from receiving quality early care and education services; yet, many barriers limit homeless children's access to these services. This NCHE brief provides information and suggests best practices to facilitate collaboration between schools, service provider agencies, and early childhood programs, and to increase the enrollment of and provision of services to families with young children experiencing homelessness.
Download Early Care and Education for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness.

Other Resources

Access to Early Childhood Development Services for Homeless Families with Young Children: An Exploratory Project

This policy brief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families(ACF) summarizes selected literature on homeless families with young children, and incorporates findings from a project prepared for ACF on the challenges facing families with young children who are temporarily staying with others or in motels/hotels. The brief examines the following questions: 1 - What are families' current living arrangements, and do they have alternative plans for shelter if they cannot stay at their current temporary location and are unable to receive the services of a shelter? 2 - What conditions are homeless families and children exposed to when they cannot or do not access the services of a shelter? 3 - To what extent are families knowledgeable about the federally sponsored early childhood support services available to them?
Download the Access to Early Childhood Development Services for Homeless Families with Young Children: An Exploratory Project.

Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive!

Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! is a coordinated federal initiative to encourage healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for children, and support for families and providers caring for young children. The initiative consolidates materials from a wide array of federal agencies and non-federal partners, and includes tools designed specifically for a variety of audiences, including housing and homeless shelter providers.
Visit the Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! website.

Building Partnerships to Address Family Homelessness

This resource from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families provides background information on Head Start and Early Head Start programs, shares highlights of how strong partnerships have addressed family homelessness, offers resources to encourage Head Start grantees and housing service providers to work together to expand services for children experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness, and presents resources to help providers connect families to other services they may need.
Download Building Partnerships to Address Family Homelessness.

ChildCare.gov

HHS just launched a new website, ChildCare.gov. It includes a lot of helpful information for parents seeking childcare and other resources. It also includes a state-specific page with links to things like:

  • Understanding and Finding Child Care 
  • Financial assistance for families 
  • Health and social services 
  • Child development and early learning 
Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health

This joint brief from Children's Health Watch and the Center for Housing Policy at the National Housing Conference examines the effects of the timing and duration of homelessness on young children's health and development. According to the brief, the earlier and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll on his or her brain and body functions and the greater the likelihood he or she will suffer from a stress-related chronic disease later in life.
Download Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health.

Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles

This 2020 report from the U.S. Department of Education compiles data from multiple sources from the 2017-18 school year to provide information on the extent of early childhood homelessness and the availability of federally-funded early childhood education for young children experiencing homelessness across the United States.
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles. (2021)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles. (2020)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles 2019. (June 2019)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles 2018. (December 2018)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness in the United States: 50-State Profile. (updated Jun 2017)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness in the United States: 50-State Profile. (original, Jan 2016)

Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters

This tool from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is designed to help shelter staff members create shelter environments that are safe and developmentally appropriate for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The tool provides recommendations and information on how shelter environments, programming, policies, and staff can support early childhood safety and development.
Download the Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters.

Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Supportive Housing

This tool, developed collaboratively by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, is designed to help supportive services and property management staff create environments and supportive services that are safe and developmentally appropriate for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The tool includes recommendations and information on how the physical spaces, programming, supportive services, policies and procedures, and staff can support early childhood safety and development.
Download the Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Supportive Housing.

Early Education Home Visiting: Supporting Children Experiencing Homelessness

This brief from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) discusses the benefits of early education home visiting programs for support families experiencing homelessness and offers several suggested models for implementing this type of program.
Download Early Education Home Visiting: Supporting Children Experiencing Homelessness.

Facilitating Access to Early Care and Education for Children Experiencing Homelessness
This brief was prepared under OPRE’s Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Analysis Project with Child Trends. The purpose of this brief is to: (1) discuss the barriers to accessing early care and education among families experiencing homelessness, and (2) describe ways in which states and communities support the enrollment of children experiencing homelessness in early care and education.
Helping Young Children Grow and Learn: A Guide for Families and Shelter Providers
This guide from Project HOPE will help parents and shelter providers support children's early learning. Goals of the booklet include helping those working with young children to use everyday activities to encourage learning and growth, notice any concerns in a child's development, and locate resources for more information about early development.
Download Helping Young Children Grow and Learn: A Guide for Families and Shelter Providers.
Leveraging Data to Support Children Experiencing Homelessness
This brief was prepared under OPRE’s Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Analysis Project with Child Trends. The purpose is to understand the challenges that states and communities face in using data, as well as potential opportunities for strengthening data collected to estimate rates of early childhood homelessness and identify young children experiencing homelessness. 
Meeting the Child Care Needs of Homeless Families: How Do States Stack Up?
This report from the Institute for Children, Poverty, & Homelessness (ICPH) explores the extent to which child care assistance for low-income families provided through the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is meeting the needs of homeless families with young children. The report examines each state's CCDF plan for federal Fiscal Years 2014-15 and analyzes the state's approach to serving young homeless children under that plan in key areas related to barriers and challenges faced by homeless families.
Download Meeting the Child Care Needs of Homeless Families: How Do States Stack Up?.
Promising Practices for Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Look at Two States
This brief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families provides an overview of the effects of homelessness on young children; federal initiatives that have expanded access to early care and learning for young children experiencing homelessness including Head Start and Early Head Start, the Child Care and Development Fund, Early Childhood State Advisory Councils, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education programs, and the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge; and how two states - Massachusetts and Oregon -have implemented innovative policies to improve early childhood outcomes for young children experiencing homelessness. The brief also presents recommendations for how states can learn from the policies established in Massachusetts and Oregon to develop their own interventions.
Download Promising Practices for Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Look at Two States.
Resources for Young Parents and Children Experiencing Homelessness
This youth.gov webpage gives practitioners, policymakers, and young parents access to resources about programs, guidance, practices, and supports available to young homeless parents and their children, including resources on parenting supports, such as fact sheets for parents and providers and a review of relevant home visiting research; resources related to mental health and substance use issues, ranging from evidence-based practices to fact sheets on Medicaid eligibility for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and webinars on topics such as engaging young fathers, integrating early childhood home visiting and homelessness systems, and access to health care for pregnant and parenting youth. 
State and Community Homelessness Maps
New from the Office of Head Start, you can explore state and community interactive homelessness maps with data and key contact information to support Head Start programs in their efforts to recruit and serve children and families experiencing homelessness.
State Early Childhood Profiles: Improving the Odds for Young Children
These state profiles from the National Center for Children in Poverty provide a unique picture of the policy choices states make to promote healthy development and school readiness. It reviews policies that promote healthy development, high-quality early care and education, and effective parenting for young children.
Visit the State Early Childhood Profiles: Improving the Odds for Young Children webpage.
Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness
This interactive learning series from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is intended for professionals in Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care, including early childhood and school-age child care providers, CCDF Lead Agency or designated entity staff, and other key stakeholders. Learn how to identify families experiencing homelessness, conduct community outreach, and much more.
Visit the Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness learning module webpage.
Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children
Funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children is under the guidance of a Coordinating Center consisting of American Institutes for Research (AIR), the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) and ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families(ZTT). The Initiative seeks to improve the housing, health, and development of homeless and at-risk mothers and children, and provides valuable resources to assist other groups addressing similar issues on its website.
Visit the Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children webpage.
Too Small to Fail
A joint initiative of The Clinton Foundation and Next Generation, Too Small to Fail aims to help parents and communities take meaningful actions to improve the health and well-being of children ages zero to five. Too Small to Fail provides a variety of resources in English and Spanish to help families and educators support young children's early learning and literacy.
Visit the Too Small to Fail website.
Using the Best That We Know: Supporting Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
This publication, developed by Project HOPE, explores the effects of homelessness on preschool-aged children and discusses best practices in early intervention for young children experiencing homelessness.
Download Using the Best That We Know: Supporting Young Children Experiencing Homelessness.
Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness
This research brief from the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services examines the well-being of young children 20 months after staying in emergency homeless shelters with their families. Using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Family Options Study, the brief explores young children's pre-reading skills, pre-math skills, developmental delays, and behavior challenges. It also examines housing instability, child care instability, and enrollment in center-based care and Head Start, and associations between housing and child care stability and child well-being.
Download Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness.
When the Bough Breaks: The Effects of Homelessness on Young Children
This brief, developed by Child Trends, highlights the effects of homelessness on children, with a particular emphasis on young children, and notes several policies and practices that could help mitigate negative outcomes.
Download When the Bough Breaks: The Effects of Homelessness on Young Children.

Sample Forms, Materials, and Policies

ESSA Title I, Part A and Head Start Act: LEA (Local Education Agency)/Head Start Coordination Guidance

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act) and the Head Start Act, require LEAs receiving Title I funds and Head Start programs, respectively, to coordinate both with each other and other early childhood providers. This guidance from North Carolina provides a framework for developing formal memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for coordination across local programs, and may be adapted by other states to develop their own guidance.
Download ESSA Title I, Part A and Head Start Act: LEA (Local Education Agency)/Head Start Coordination Guidance.

Georgia Memorandum of Agreement
This memorandum of agreement between the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Head Start Association outlines how local Head Start and Early Head Start Programs will collaborate with the State Coordinator for Homeless Education and local homeless education liaisons to serve young homeless children more effectively in early care and education settings.
Download the Georgia Memorandum of Agreement.
Illinois Preschool for All Plan for Serving McKinney-Vento Eligible Children and Families
This plan template, developed by the Illinois State Board of Education will assist school districts in establishing how they will serve McKinney-Vento eligible children and families effectively under the state-funded Preschool for All program.
Download the Illinois Preschool for All Plan for Serving McKinney-Vento Eligible Children and Families.
Serving Children in Temporary Housing: A Tip Sheet for Head Start Programs (New York)
This tip sheet, developed collaboratively by the New York State Head Start Collaboration Project and the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students, provides helpful hints for serving young homeless children in Head Start programs. The tip sheet provides an overview of the definition of homeless, Head Start rights and protections for homeless children, strategies for identifying and verifying the eligibility of homeless children, and strategies for prioritizing homeless children for services.
Download Serving Children in Temporary Housing: A Tip Sheet for Head Start Programs.