The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES 2018)

Overview

Early Head Start (EHS) Family and Child Experiences Survey - 2018 (Baby FACES 2018) will answer new questions about EHS programs, staff, and families that can guide program technical assistance, management, and policy. It will provide information about EHS programs in the context of the adoption of the new Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Baby FACES 2018 will consist of two nationally representative cross-sectional samples of programs, centers, classrooms, home visitors, and children and families. It will include surveys of program directors, center directors, teachers, home visitors, and parents; conduct observations of classrooms and home visits, and ask staff and parents to report on children's development.

The overarching purpose of the Baby FACES studies is to provide knowledge about Early Head Start children and families, and the EHS programs and staff who serve them. The ongoing series of Baby FACES data collections is aimed at maintaining up-to-date core information on EHS over time while also focusing on different areas of interest. The Baby FACES studies began with Baby FACES 2009, a longitudinal descriptive study that followed two cohorts of children and families through participation in the program and focused on program services and participation, and child and family wellbeing and outcomes over time. Baby FACES 2018 (and a future round in 2022) have been redesigned to provide cross-sectional descriptive information and a point in time picture of EHS. The present study will focus on understanding the processes in EHS core services (classrooms and home visits) that support infant and toddler development; namely, nurturing and responsive relationships between children and caregivers. With this new focus, Baby FACES 2018 will take a more in depth look at classrooms while a future study, Baby FACES 2022, will take a more in depth look at home visiting. The Baby FACES team will carry out a descriptive study that includes a nationally representative sample of EHS programs, centers, classrooms, teachers, home visitors, and children and families (including pregnant women) and answers new questions about how EHS programs function. The study is guided by a comprehensive conceptual framework that illustrates how EHS program processes and activities are expected to lead to high quality service delivery and enhanced family and infant/toddler outcomes for the program overall. The overarching research question for Baby FACES 2018 is: How do EHS services support infant/toddler growth and development in the context of nurturing, responsive relationships? The study will address this question through the collection of rich information using interviews, self-administered questionnaires, classroom observations, and administrative data sources. This approach will allow the Administration for Children and Families to capture important information about EHS services, families, and children across all service options (e.g., center-based, home-based, or those providing both service options), as well as in depth information about how EHS classrooms and teacher-child relationships support infant/toddler development.