Long Island Head Start offers a variety of service models, depending on the needs of the family. Head Start and Early Head Start programs are based in centers. Some programs offer home-based services that assign dedicated staff who conduct weekly visits to children in their own home and work with the parent as the child’s primary teacher. Long Island Head Start serves thousands of children and their families each year in over 20 licensed Head Start and Early Head Start centers throughout Suffolk County. What is Head Start? Head Start programs prepare the most vulnerable young children to succeed in school and in life beyond school. To achieve this, Head Start programs promote the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from at-risk families by providing services in core areas of early learning, health, and family well-being while engaging parents as partners every step of the way. Head Start encompasses Head Start preschool programs, which serve children ages 3-5 years-old, and Early Head Start programs for infants, toddlers, and Expectant Mothers. Head Start serves over 1 million children and their families in over 2,800 programs, employing 225,000 staff and teachers. There are more than 20,000 classrooms throughout the country.
