EDC and Georgetown to Lead National Head Start Center

Education Development Center (EDC) and partner Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD) have been selected by the Office of Head Start (OHS) to lead the new National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (the Center).

Over the next five years, EDC, GUCCHD, and a consortium of multidisciplinary experts will support Head Start and Early Head Start programs in enhancing the well-being of over 1 million young children and families in low-income communities. The Center’s services and support will reach all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and American Indian and Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start communities.

Working closely with consortium experts, EDC and GUCCHD will design evidence-based resources and deliver innovative training and technical assistance to help programs accomplish the following:

• Support children’s healthy development and school success
• Promote the safety of children, families, and staff
• Provide inclusive, culturally and linguistically responsive services
• Address disaster preparedness and response, including for COVID-19
• Mitigate adversity through trauma-informed care
• Advance health equity by improving child and family well-being

For over 40 years, EDC and GUCCHD have collaborated with OHS and the Head Start community to build on families’ strengths and foster young children’s school readiness and resilience. Recently, the two nonprofits partnered in the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness, producing hundreds of resources and trainings to improve the knowledge, skills, and practices of Head Start leaders and program staff.

“EDC is honored to carry out OHS’s vision for this vital new national center,” said Nancy Topping-Tailby, co-principal investigator. “These are challenging times for Head Start children, families, and staff, and we are eager to work proactively to meet their needs.”

EDC’s and GUCCHD’s consortium partners include C4 Innovations; Child Trends; Children’s Equity Project; Illuminate Colorado; Center for Childhood Resilience, Lurie Children’s Hospital; National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center; National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education; Prevent Blindness; Pyramid Model Consortium; Sesame Workshop; UCSF California Childcare Health Program; UCSF Child Trauma Research Program; and University of Miami, Mailman Center for Child Development.

Learn more about EDC’s Early Childhood Development and Learning work.