Head Start REACH Conceptual Framework - OPRE Report 2025-109 - Reaching and Engaging Families with Adversities in Head Start

Oct 15, 2026

Head Start REACH examines how infant and preschool Head Start programs apply ERSEA approaches—eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance/retention—to engage Head Start-eligible families experiencing adversities. Adversities are described as broad circumstances threatening child or caregiver well-being, often linked to poverty and other linked challenges. The framework summarizes strategies, explains how examples were identified through literature, case studies, and expert consultation, and provides reflection questions for staff prioritizing feasible and impactful practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

What is the Head Start REACH project?

What is the purpose of this conceptual framework, and how can I use it?

Box 1. What is ERSEA?

Box 2. Methods used to develop the conceptual framework

Head Start REACH Conceptual Framework Annie Li, Nikki Aikens, Cassandra Baxter, Louisa Tarullo OPRE Report \#2025-109 Reaching and Engaging Families with Adversities in Head Start: A Conceptual Framework to Support Practices What is the Head Start REACH project? The Head Start REACH: Strengthening Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Approaches with Families (Head Start REACH) project is examining the eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance/retention (ERSEA) approaches that programs for infants and toddlers (Early Head Start) and preschool-age children (Head Start) use to engage Head Start-eligible families experiencing adversities. The Head Start REACH project focuses on how Head Start programs connect with and support families facing adversities. Adversities is a broad term that refers to a wide variety of circumstances or events that pose a threat to a child’s or caregiver’s physical or psychological well-being. The adversities that families experience are often intertwined with poverty, may co-occur. Common examples of adversities include but are not limited to poverty, homelessness, involvement in the foster care or child welfare system, and effects of substance use. This project focuses on these common adversities, based on priorities identified by staff at the Administration for Children and Families and their emphasis in Head Start standards, policies, and initiatives. Head Start programs engage families to support children’s growth from birth through age 5 through services that promote early learning and development, health, and family well-being. Eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance/retention (ERSEA) guidelines govern how programs determine eligibility, enroll children, track attendance, and more (see Box 1) . AUGUST 2025 > [mathematica.org](mathematica.org) 1 Box 1. What is ERSEA? • Eligibility refers to Head Start’s eligibility requirements and how programs use these requirements to prioritize families for recruitment and enrollment, with a goal of engaging families most in need of services. • Recruitment refers to the processes Head Start programs use to identify, market to, and reach out to families to recruit them, and how they monitor their recruitment efforts. • Selection refers to the processes programs use to develop and implement their selection criteria, including reviewing application information to assign points and implementing waitlist processes. • Enrollment refers to programs’ intake procedures and the systems they use to enroll selected families and monitor their enrollment efforts. • Attendance/retention refers to the procedures and processes programs use to ensure strong attendance and prevent participant turnover. • Learn more about ERSEA here on the Head Start website. What is the purpose of this conceptual framework, and how can I use it? The conceptual framework in this brief provides an overview ofthe ERSEA strategies Head Start may use to engage families with a spectrum of needs, adversities, and strengths. The examples and practices highlighted in this brief illustrate ways programs have approached a given strategy. These strategies were identified in a literature review completed by the Head Start REACH team,1 case studies conducted by the team,2,3,4,5 or the team’s consultations with practitioner and academic experts in the field. For examples from the literature review or case studies, readers can refer to the cited sources in the endnotes. The appendix includes tables with more examples from all sources. See Box 2 for a detailed description of methods used to develop the conceptual framework and identify examples. Overall, there is limited research evidence on how much the strategies highlighted in the conceptual framework improve family outreach and retention. The strategies presented are not meant as recommendations; instead, the brief is intended to serve as a resource for staff working on ERS

FAQs

What is the Head Start REACH project focusing on?

Head Start REACH examines ERSEA approaches used by Early Head Start and Head Start to engage families experiencing adversities, with emphasis on how programs connect with and support those families.

What does ERSEA include in this framework?

ERSEA includes eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance/retention, with each component described through how programs prioritize families, monitor processes, and reduce turnover.

How should program staff and practitioners use this conceptual framework?

Staff can compare their current ERSEA practices to the strategies in the brief, reflect on community adversities and program strengths, and prioritize new strategies based on feasibility and potential impact.

Oct 15, 2026

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