The Early Head Start (EHS) Program is an evidence-based, federally funded program that provides comprehensive services to low-income infants and toddlers, their families, pregnant women, and their families. Early Head Start is designed to nurture healthy attachments between parent and child, child and caregiver.

The mission of EHS is to support healthy prenatal outcomes and enhance the intellectual, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers to promote success in school and life.
• Center-based services: Education and child development services are delivered primarily in a classroom setting, which is located in an Early Head Start center, school, or child care center. Staff members also visit family homes at least twice per year.

Early Head Start centers generally provide 1,380 annual hours of classroom operations. A program that is designed to meet the needs of young parents enrolled in school settings, EHS aligns its center-based program schedule during the school year with the public school and provides regular home-based services during the summer break.
An Early Head Start class that serves children under 36 months old has two teachers with no more than eight children but can have up to three teachers with no more than nine children. Each teacher is assigned consistent, primary responsibility for no more four children to promote continuity of care for individual children. The Head Start Program Performance Standards require continuity of care that provides services to infants and toddlers with the least disruptive and most stable ongoing care. The program minimizes teacher changes throughout a child’s enrollment, whenever possible.
The Early Head Start Program considers how to best provide full-day/full-year services for the community. The hours of service provided by the Early Head Start program reflects the needs of the children and their families within the community, based on the Community Assessment of needs. Moreover, the program is flexible and strives to meet families’ individual needs.
Highlights of EHS’ Comprehensive Services
• Children receive health screenings and follow-up, yielding a high rate of participation in medical homes and ongoing dental care.
• Pregnant women have high rates of prenatal care and health insurance
• Families participate in parenting education and health education, including emergency and crisis intervention, adult education, and mental health services.

The Direct Assistance Program is designed to meet the emergency needs of households confronted with a financial crisis due to sudden unemployment, illness of a primary wage-earner, or natural disasters. This program provides one-time financial assistance to qualifying households to cover such basic expenses as food, shelter, and/or the purchase of prescription medication. Requests are approved based on the availability of funds and documented need.

Montgomery Community Action Agency operates (7) seven neighborhood service center offices in the low-income neighborhoods throughout urban and rural Montgomery County. By locating these offices in areas of the greatest need, more clients have better access to provided services.

In an effort to empower community residents to take action, MCAA has organized neighborhood policy advisory councils in each service area. MCAA’s staff teaches council members the skills and knowledge they need to develop solutions to identified community problems. Additionally, one council member from each service center area is elected to serve on MCAA’s Board of Directors. This allows the community to have a direct voice and input in planning the programs and projects MCAA undertakes.

The CACFP nutrition standards for meals and snacks served in the CACFP are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, science-based recommendations made by the National Academy of Medicine, cost and practical considerations, and stakeholder’s input. Under these standards, meals and snacks served to include a greater variety of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, and less added sugar and saturated fat.

USDA provides guidance, resources, best practices, and training for CACFP centers in order that healthy, balanced meals and snacks are provided to the children and adults served.