Head Start and HIPPY Better Together: Examining Current Collaborations

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to examine the blending of the Head Start and HIPPY programs. Data on current Head Start/HIPPY collaborations was collected through focus group interviews with home visitors, teachers, parents, and administrators. Themes discovered through qualitative analysis included the recognition of home visiting as a way to provide services to more families; the ability to provide additional services to children and families; increased communication between all parties involved in the collaboration; better perceived outcomes for both the children and the parents; the difficulty of including all the requirements of both programs in their work with families; difficulties around assessment; and the lack of time among home visitors to serve families, plan, and train. Major recommendations for future programs were to plan for the collaboration of services during the grant writing stage; partner with school districts in order to track the long-term outcomes for children; and the most frequent recommendation was to adjust case-loads to reflect the additional work required of program staff to meet each programs’ requirements in the collaboration.