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Enhanced Early Head Start (EHS) provided low-income families with standard EHS services, including intensive early childhood development services and family support, with additional program enhancements designed to address parents’ employment and self-sufficiency needs.

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Enhanced Early Head Start (EHS) provided low-income families with standard EHS services, including intensive early childhood development services and family support, with additional program enhancements designed to address parents’ employment and self-sufficiency needs.

The program enhancements included partnerships with local agencies that provided employment and training services with on-site self-sufficiency specialists who worked directly with families on setting and achieving self-sufficiency and employment goals. Enhanced EHS offered health and mental services to families.

All services were available either at home or at the center. Families that participated in enhanced home-based services received visits from staff up to four times a month. Families that participated in enhanced center-based services were required to have four parent education meetings per year.

Families were eligible for the program if they (1) were at or below the federal poverty threshold, (2) had a child younger than 3 or were expecting a child, and (3) lived in one of the areas served by the program. Services were available to families for as long as they had a child younger than 3 or were expecting, with the average family participating in the enhanced program for 11 months. The program took place in Girard, KS, and St. Charles, MO.

Year evaluation began: 2004
Implementing organization(s): A community-based agency that served 12 rural counties in southeastern Kansas administered the program in Kansas. A multiservice agency that served three suburban counties and one rural county administered the program in Missouri.
Populations and employment barriers: Parents
Intervention services: Case management, Health services, Substance use disorder treatment and mental health services, Physical health services, Financial education
Setting(s): Tested in multiple settings

Effectiveness Rating and Effect By Outcome Domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2018 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-356 per year -0.02 597
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $209 per year 0.01 597
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support 597
Long-term Supported This intervention was assessed as supported for this domain, meaning it achieved one or more statistically significant, favorable effects. However, the intervention has an average effect size that is unfavorable because the average includes all effects in this domain - both statistically significant and favorable effects and statistically insignificant but unfavorable effects. * -1% (in percentage points) -0.03 597
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $6 per year 0.00 491
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $99 per year 0.04 478
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -2% (in percentage points) -0.04 491
* This intervention was assessed as supported for this domain, meaning it achieved one or more statistically significant, favorable effects. However, the intervention has an average effect size that is unfavorable because the average includes all effects in this domain - both statistically significant and favorable effects and statistically insignificant but unfavorable effects.

Effectiveness rating key:

  • Well-supported Well-supported   
  • Supported  Supported   
  • Not supported  Not supported   
  • Mixed support  Mixed support   
  • Insufficient evidence  Insufficient evidence   
  • No evidence  No evidence
Effectiveness rating terms?

Studies of this Intervention

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Study Quality Rating Study Counts per Rating
High High 1