THE AAMFT-HEAD START TRAINING PARTNERSHIP PROJECT: ENHANCING MFT CAPACITIES BEYOND THE FAMILY SYSTEM

This paper summarizes the experience of a two-year project to promote partnerships between 12 graduate Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training programs and their 12 local Head Start partners. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) awarded 9 grants to MFT-Head Start partnerships that had established relationships with each other prior to the project. Three MFT-Head Start pairs that had no preexisting relationship but wanted to develop one received planning grants. The partnership project provided an exciting opportunity for MFT faculty and interns to integrate family systems theory into larger organizational settings and to enhance the capacity of MFTs to serve disadvantaged, low-income, culturally diverse families and the community agencies that work with them. Preparing MFT students to intervene and respond systemically both in organizations and with the families they serve represents a viable alternative to more traditional approaches to MFT that limit the focus to the family system. Survey results and interview data reflect the rich experiences of MFT faculty and supervisors, MFT interns, and Head Start staff. Implementation issues are discussed and recommendations are made to improve the collaboration between MFTs and community-based agencies such as Head Start.     

Action-oriented evaluation of an in-home family therapy program for families at risk for foster care placement

The purpose of this study was to conduct an action-oriented evaluation of an in-home family therapy program serving families deemed at risk for the placement of children in foster care. In this study, feedback was solicited from both clients and therapists. Results indicate "duality" associated with several aspects of in-home family therapy, including the opportunity to observe families in their own homes versus the vulnerability some families feel when therapy is conducted in-home; therapists suggesting that sufficient training is required for in-home family therapy to be effective versus clients' opinions that therapists' lived experiences are more relevant; and the importance of the therapeutic alliance versus feelings of abandonment upon termination. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

THE USE OF CHILD-CENTERED PLAY THERAPY AND FILIAL THERAPY WITH HEAD START FAMILIES: A BRIEF REPORT

Play therapy and filial therapy show promise as effective ways to provide direct services to Head Start, addressing the needs of the children, the families, and the Head Start teachers and staff. This paper examines the utility of play and filial therapies for the Head Start population, presents a systemic explanation for the benefit of filial therapy, and provides a case example for illustration.     

SYSTEMS CONSULTATION AND HEAD START: AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL FAMILY THERAPY

As Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) enter Head Start programs, systems consultation emerges as a viable alternative to providing therapy to enrolled children and families. As systems consultants, family therapists can offer organizational consultation, training, and support to Head Start staff, classroom interventions, and direct work with families. This article describes a multidimensional model for providing comprehensive mental health consultation to Head Start programs. It explores the skills necessary for MFTs to work effectively as systems consultants. Finally, recommendations are made for applying the model in both university and private settings.     

Estimating the effects of Head Start on parenting and child maltreatment

We examine the effects of Head Start participation on parenting and child maltreatment in a large and diverse sample of low-income families in large U.S. cities (N = 2807), using rich data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). To address the issue of selection bias, we employ several analytic approaches, including logistic regressions with a rich set of pretreatment controls as well as propensity score matching models, comparing the effects of Head Start to any other arrangements as well as specific types of other arrangements. We find that compared to children who did not attend Head Start, children who did attend Head Start are less likely to have low access to learning materials and less likely to experience spanking by their parents at age five. Moreover, we find that the effects of Head Start vary depending on the specific types of other child care arrangements to which they are compared, with the most consistently beneficial protective effects seen when Head Start is compared to being home in exclusively parental care.     

Early care and education arrangements and young children's risk of foster placement: Findings from a National Child Welfare Sample

A primary goal of the U.S. child welfare system (CWS) is to maintain children investigated for maltreatment in their parents' homes whenever safely possible. This study explores the possibility that early care and education (ECE) services (e.g., child care, preschool, day care) can help the CWS achieve this goal by using a nationally representative sample of children referred to CWS for suspected maltreatment to measure the relationship between ECE receipt and the likelihood that 0–5 year olds in the CWS will be placed in foster care approximately 18 months later. Specifically, logistic regression analyses explore the relationship between: (1) regular ECE participation (yes/no), and (2) type of ECE arrangement (Head Start, other center- or home-based ECE, family/friend/relative ECE, other ECE, and multiple types of ECE) and foster placement risk. After controlling for multiple socio-demographic characteristics and foster placement risk factors, children who received ECE (yes/no) were no less likely to be placed in foster care than children who received no ECE. However, when exploring type of ECE arrangement, children who received Head Start were 93% less likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. Children who participated in multiple types of ECE were almost seven times more likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. These results suggest that Head Start may help maltreated children avoid foster placement and that experiencing multiple types of ECE is a risk factor for foster placement. It is recommended that caseworkers routinely assess the ECE service history and needs of families with young children who come in contact with the CWS, paying attention to the type and number of ECE services used.     

The Association between head Start Enrollment and Children's Mental Health Scores

This study examined the association of the children's entry age and enrollment duration of Head Start on children's mental health, using secondary data analysis. Children were of three groups: one group of children entered Head Start at age 3 and maintained enrollment for 1 year (Group 1), the second group of children entered Head Start at age 4 and stayed for 1 year (Group 2) and the third group of children entered at age 3 and stayed in Head Start for 2 years (Group 3). Research questions are (1) Do child and family characteristics have any association with mental health scores? (2) Do children's mental health scores differ among the three groups? Compared with children who entered at age 4 and stayed for 1 year, children who entered Head Start at age 3 and stayed in Head Start both for 1 year and for 2 years had higher mental health scores. Controlling for other factors, boys and children with special needs had higher mental health scores. Black and dual bilingual children had lower mental health scores.     

Internships for Future Faculty: Meeting the Career Goals of the Next Generation of Educators in Marriage and Family Therapy

A key component of a doctoral education in marriage and family therapy (MFT) is the completion of an internship. Virtually all MFT doctoral internships are focused on advanced clinical practice and often are located in agencies unconnected with an academic setting. This article describes an MFT doctoral internship specifically designed to foster the skills needed as a faculty member. The primary purpose of this "future faculty" internship is to expose doctoral interns to faculty life, including participation in graduate teaching, clinical supervision, research, and faculty service—while still meeting typical clinical requirements. Results of semistructured qualitative interviews with five doctoral interns associated with the site are reported. Guidelines for the development of other doctoral internships designed for future MFT faculty members are discussed.     

INVESTING IN HEALTH: THE LONG‐TERM IMPACT OF HEAD START ON SMOKING

Head Start is a comprehensive, early childhood development program designed to augment the human capital and health capital levels of disadvantaged children. Evaluations of Head Start have tended to focus on cognitive outcomes; however, there is increasing recognition that other important outcomes can be influenced by participation. This article evaluates the long‐term impact of Head Start participation on smoking behavior in young adulthood by comparing the behavior of adults who attended Head Start with those of siblings who did not. We find that participation in Head Start reduces the probability that an individual smokes cigarettes as a young adult. (JEL I12, I28, I38)     

The Impact of Intergenerational Head Start Participation on Success Measures Among Adolescent Children

This study examines the influence of intergenerational Head Start participation on success outcomes among adolescent children of mother-adolescent pairs (N = 1,251). Data come from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the National Longitudinal Survey's Child-Mother (NLSCM) files. Of 290 adolescents who participated in Head Start as children, one-third (n = 97) had mothers who had also participated in Head Start when they were children. Graduates of Head Start appear roughly comparable to other adolescents in regard to highest grade completed, a sense of mastery, perceived health, and level of depressive symptoms. They do not attain the levels of achievements as other adolescents in regard to reading comprehension and years living above the poverty level.     

Patterns and Predictors of Early Care and Education for Children in Foster Care

Patterns and predictors of center-based early care and education (ECE) of children in foster care were examined. Participants included 192 pre-Kindergarten age children in foster care. Foster parents reported demographics, ECE and other service use. Foster care history data was abstracted from case files. High rates of attendance in ECE prior to Kindergarten, including Head Start, other center-based ECE, or both were found. Children who attended Head Start were younger when first placed in foster care. Children who attended other center-based ECE services were more likely to live with kinship foster parents and foster families with higher incomes. Latent class analysis of ECE quantity, quality, type, and duration revealed three patterns: part-time Head Start, part-time other ECE, and full-time mixed ECE. Child and foster family characteristics predicted these patterns, illustrating distinct groups with potential implications for the development of children in foster care.     

Parenting Gains in Head Start as a Function of Initial Parenting Skill

Using data from the Head Start Impact Study (n = 3,696), this article examines whether one year of Head Start differentially benefited parents as a function of their initial parenting behaviors. Four outcomes are examined, namely, parents' rates of engaging in cognitive stimulation, reading to their child, and spanking, as well as their depressive symptoms. In general, most parents demonstrated improvements in their reading practices and cognitive stimulation regardless of their parenting behaviors at baseline. However, depressive symptoms and spanking behavior showed improvements only among parents who began the Head Start program with the most depressive symptoms and the most frequent spanking, respectively. These findings suggest that treatment‐induced changes in parenting can vary by parents' incoming attributes and that heterogeneity of effects should be considered. Implications for Head Start and other parenting interventions are discussed.     

Head Start Impact on Fathers’ Involvement and Black Children’s Development

ABSTRACT

This study examined Head Start’s impact on fathers’ school-based involvement and associations with Black children's cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional skills. With a sample of 1,354 Black children, fathers’ involvement was measured as attendance at school meetings, teacher conferences, school events, and/or volunteering at school events. Children’s cognitive skills were literacy, language, and mathematics scores. Parents reported on the parent–child relationship, children’s social skills, and behavioral concerns. Non-resident fathers in Head Start were more involved in Black children’s schooling than not enrolled in Head Start. Unexpectedly, fathers’ school-based involvement and Head Start enrollment were not related to children’s developmental outcomes at kindergarten age. Head Start serving impoverished Black families should consider implementing targeted school-based father involvement initiatives that directly influence children.     

Who Uses Formal,Early Child Care in California? A Comparative Study of Children from Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Families

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictors of formal, early child care usage and to study the differences between immigrant and nonimmigrant families in their use of formal (center-based, preschool, Head Start, and family child care) and informal child care arrangements (grandparent and nanny) among California’s children. Since the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) had children from California’s immigrant and nonimmigrant families, the data for 897 preschool age children who attended child care for 10 h or more were retrieved from the CHIS 2005 Child Survey. This study found that immigrants are twice more likely (OR = 2.006; p < 0.005) to use formal child care than nonimmigrant families in California. The study concludes with implications for social work.     

Coparenting in Families of Mexican Descent: Exploring Stability,Antecedents, and Typologies

In this prospective study, we examined coparenting in families of Mexican descent with children in Head Start programs. A sample of 57 two-parent families participated in in-home interviews 12 months apart. Evaluations of parental agreement on child-rearing practices, perceptions of partner's involvement, and joint decision making were moderately stable over 1 year. Marital quality assessed 12 months earlier significantly predicted maternal reports of coparenting, but fewer antecedents were revealed for fathers. Few associations emerged between children with difficult temperaments and coparenting. Cluster analysis identified three types of coparenting dyads: both parents reported average to above average coparenting, mothers reported below average and fathers were average or above, and fathers were below and mothers were average or above. The “equal” cluster was associated with more positive reports of martial quality and family emotional expressivity. Clusters in which one parent reported less coparenting were associated with lower marital quality.     

Residential mobility predicts behavioral problems for children living in non-parental care during the transition to kindergarten

The present study examines the extent to which residential mobility during the transition to kindergarten (cumulative moves during prekindergarten and kindergarten) is related to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems for children from low-income families who are living in non-parental care. A second, exploratory aim of this study was to investigate whether family service receipt moderated these relations. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 300 children (53% male) who were eligible for Head Start. Residential mobility was conceptualized as three dichotomous variables: never moved, moved 1–2 times, and moved 3 or more times during the prekindergarten and kindergarten years. Predictor and outcome data were collected in the spring of prekindergarten and kindergarten. Moving three or more times was significantly related to more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in kindergarten, controlling for family and child covariates, as well as for children's behavior problems in prekindergarten. Receipt of family services moderated the association between moving three or more times and externalizing problems, but not internalizing problems. This relation was in the opposite direction than expected, however, such that children who moved frequently and received more services demonstrated more externalizing problems than their peers. Implications of study findings for supporting highly mobile children living in non-parental care and directions for future research are discussed.     

Chaotic experiences and low-income children's social-emotional development

Development in early childhood is increasingly likely to take place in multiple contexts. Continuity and discontinuity in children's experiences across multiple contexts have important implications for their development. This study examines the extent to which children experience chaos in their homes and in their preschool settings is linked with their social-emotional development over the course of the preschool year. Data from a large, representative sample of low-income preschool children attending Head Start was used to test a series of multi-level models. Children whose experiences of their homes were highly chaotic, regardless of the how chaotic their experiences of their classroom were, decreased in their social-emotional skills over the preschool year. Chaotic experiences in the home environment thus appear to have more influence on children's development than do chaotic preschool experiences.     

Multiple Family Therapy Systems

This paper investigates multiple family therapy (MFT), a treatment method which includes several families in a series of sessions with the therapist(s). A brief historical development of MFT is included as well as reports of multiple family therapy groups found in the literature. The characteristics of this treatment method are delineated with special attention to the elements of change attributed to MFT and the stages of development in MFT groups. The role of the therapist and special problems in MFT are also explored. Some implications for research are outlined, indicating that MFT is lacking adequate validation as a treatment modality. Possible advantages inherent in multiple family therapy systems, which have been suggested by therapists' clinical findings, are also reported.     

From Head Start to Sure Start: Reflections on Policy Transfer

This article uses the history of debates over the US Head Start programme (1965), Early Head Start (1994) and the UK Sure Start initiative (1998), as a window on to policy transfer. In all the three, the aim was that early intervention could offer a means of boosting children’s educational attainment and of countering the wider effects of poverty on development. Nevertheless, there were also important differences between them. The first part of the article looks at UK responses to Head Start, the second at Early Head Start and the creation and subsequent direction taken by Sure Start. In the Conclusion, we sum up the arguments relating to Head Start and Sure Start and offer some broader reflections on policy transfer.     

Parent Involvement in Head Start and Children's Development: Indirect Effects Through Parenting

The authors examined the extent to which parent involvement in Head Start programs predicted changes in both parent and child outcomes over time, using a nationally representative sample of 1,020 three‐year‐old children over 3 waves of the Family and Child Experiences Survey. Center policies that promote involvement predicted greater parent involvement, and parents who were more involved in Head Start centers demonstrated increased cognitive stimulation and decreased spanking and controlling behaviors. In turn, these changes in parenting behaviors were associated with gains in children's academic and behavioral skills. These findings suggest that Head Start programs should do even more to facilitate parent involvement because it can serve as an important means for promoting both parent and child outcomes.