Talking Points
About Talking Points
Foundations for Families brings expertise, academic credentials, up-to-date research and regulatory knowledge to you. Working with others, we learn more about what’s important. With a mission to promote excellence in early childhood education, FFF believes that bringing more voices to the table makes for richer conversation.
This blog is a forum for thought leaders in early childhood education. We invite them to share their multi-disciplinary perspectives in 0-8 education.
Foundations for Families was created to meet the business, management and professional development needs of early childhood educational providers and systems.

Support New and Experienced Staff with Well-defined Policies and Procedures
Developing and maintaining up-to-date policies and procedures is essential for any Head Start/Early Head Start program. It is important because they are foundational to a program’s operation and they provide a guide for staff – new and experienced – that helps to ensure clarity and consistency in program implementation.
Environmental Risk Factors Contribute to Community Health Needs
Environmental risks can range from natural disasters and climate change to pollution and air quality. These factors play an important role in the overall health and wellbeing of communities and can vary widely across geographic areas. Certain environmental health factors – like pollution and unsafe drinking water – disproportionately impact low-income communities, and children and pregnant women are at particularly high risk of health problems.
Annual Report Brings Together Program and Community Data
Head Start annual reporting is established in Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), Section §1302.102(d)(2), and requires programs to include a summary of a program’s most recent community assessment. The report must also comply with the Head Start Act. In this blog post, we’ll explore the intersection of HSPPS and the Act and how your program can use the annual report as an opportunity to show need across the service area and within your program.
What Does the Census Data Tell Us About Population Changes in 2020?
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides vital information to help determine how more than $675 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year. On March 17, 2022, the Census Bureau released the 2016-2020 ACS 5-Year Estimates, after multiple delays due to quality and response issues for 2020 data collection. This data, which many agencies rely on for annual community assessments, is now available at data.census.gov.
Understanding Census Undercounts in Anticipation of 2020 Data Release
The much-anticipated 2020 U.S. Census data is scheduled to be released Thursday, March 17. The census is conducted once every ten years and is designed to count every resident in the United States. Census data is used many ways; for example, to determine the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, adjust electoral districts, and inform the allocation of federal funding.
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