Early Head Start Partnership Program

The Early Head Start Partnership Program is a collaboration of Columbus’ leading community agencies focused on the education and welfare of children and their families. Our goal is to ensure that children from infancy to age 3, receive a healthy and enriching start in life. Early Head Start provides high-quality early education, along with comprehensive child development, health, nutrition, social and other services to families who qualify. We work with families, partners and providers in a comprehensive approach to meet the needs of the whole child and whole family. This generational approach supports stability and long-term success for families who are at most risk.In 2015, the partnership received $18 million in federal and non-federal funding for a five year period. The goal? To expand access to high quality services for 160 infants and toddlers from low-income families; nearly 80 percent earning less than $800 per month, on average.

The Bipartisan Policy Center has released their Spotlighting Early Successes Across America report highlighting the success of 12 Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) across the country. EHS-CCP was created by Congress in 2014 to address the lack of high-quality, affordable child care in the U.S., and assist in building capacity for quality child care options especially for low-income families. Early Head Start grantees partner with local child care providers who then receive funding and resources to improve the quality of services offered. The children they serve receive access to higher-quality early care and education, as well as comprehensive services like nutritious meals, health and dental care, mental health supports, family engagement opportunities, and screenings to identify developmental delays or disabilities early. This report by the BPC highlighted 12 such programs across the country, including one here in Columbus, Ohio, housed within Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology and located within the Schoenbaum Family Center. According to the report, The Ohio State Early Head Start Partnership Program represents the best of the early childhood community to innovate and solve local problems. Ohio State’s integrated approach involves 19 childcare providers and 17 community partners operating collectively to improve childcare quality, expand access to comprehensive services, and promote learning and development to 160 children and their families, annually. The report also highlights Ohio State’s partnership with the Franklin County Department of Jobs and Family Services that has led to 100 families benefiting from caseworker assistance with the child care subsidy process, and recognizes the mixed-income delivery system as a cornerstone of the Columbus site. Read the report here.