About Head Start

Visit the Office of Head Start web site for information about services, then click the Community Resources tab above to find providers near you.

For children aged birth to three, visit the Early Head Start National Resource Center to find out more about this program.

New Mexico Head Start: Our Purpose

The purpose of the Head Start-State Collaboration grants is to create a visible partnership at the state level to support the development of multi-agency and public/private partnerships. These partnerships are intended to:

• Help build early childhood systems and enhance access to comprehensive services and support for all low-income children;
• Encourage widespread collaboration among Head Start and other appropriate programs, services, and initiatives, augmenting Head Start's capacity to be a partner in state initiatives on behalf of children and their families; and
• Facilitate the involvement of Head Start in state policies, plans, processes, and decisions affecting the Head Start target population and other low-income families.

Head Start-State Collaboration funds are used to facilitate a more coordinated approach to planning and service delivery in the following priority areas: (1) health care; (2) child care; (3) welfare systems; (4) education opportunities in early childhood programs; (5) AmeriCorps, the national service program; (6) family literacy; (7) children with disabilities; and (8) services to homeless families.

Many states already collaborate extensively with Head Start in a variety of ways; others are just beginning to plan for coordination. The Head Start-State Collaboration Offices assist in developing collaborative initiatives, structures, and mechanisms, and in creating linkages between Head Start and other state initiatives, service systems, and priorities.