The 2021-2022 Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start FACES Programs

The 2021-2022 Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start FACES Programs

The 2021-2022 Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) Programs (the 2021-2022 Study) builds on FACES 2019, a national study of children and families participating in Head Start programs. In the year following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need to understand how children, families, and Head Start staff were faring. The 2021-2022 Study explores child, family, and staff well-being, primarily in the programs that participated in FACES 2019.

Since 1997, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) has been a source of information on the population in Head Start; staff qualifications, credentials, and opinions; Head Start classroom practices and characteristics; and the outcomes of children and families. The most recent nationally representative study was conducted in the 2019-2020 program year (entered as NCT03971435).

The motivation and goals of the Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey Programs (the 2021-2022 Study) came from a need that arose as the COVID-19 pandemic continued affecting Head Start families' and staff's lives into another program year. The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funded Mathematica and its partner-Juárez and Associates-to conduct a new data collection effort, the 2021-2022 Study, in fall and spring of the 2021-2022 Head Start program year. The goal was to provide data on the characteristics and needs of families and staff starting 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and given heightened interest in the Head Start workforce.

The 2021-2022 Study includes data from a large multistage sample of Head Start programs, centers, teachers, and families from across the United States. Although the 2021-2022 Study selected a nationally representative sample of programs, centers, teachers, and children, fewer participated in the 2021-2022 Study than expected. Data from the 2021-2022 Study provide a window into the experiences of a sample of Head Start children, their families, and staff who were able to participate in data collection between October 2021 and July 2022. Readers should not assume the data are nationally representative of all Head Start programs, centers, teachers, families, or children. The data provide a snapshot of the experiences of Head Start staff, families, and children during this difficult time.

The Head Start programs participating in the 2021-2022 Study were a probability sample selected from among 3,400 study-eligible programs on the 2017-2018 Head Start Program Information Report (PIR). To be eligible for the study, a program had to be:

• in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia
• providing services directly to children ages 3 to 5 The Head Start Program Performance Standards require that children turn 3 by date used to determine eligibility for public school in the community in which the Head Start program is located. Therefore, some study children were 2 years old at the time of sampling if sampling occurred before the date used for public school eligibility.
• not be in imminent danger of losing its grantee status. Probability samples of centers were selected within each program, teachers within each center, and children within each teacher. Eligible teachers needed to have at least one Head Start child in their class.

Exclusion Criteria: American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs (Region XI) or Migrant and Seasonal Worker Head Start programs (Region XII) were not eligible.