How to Apply for Head Start or Early Head Start for Your Child

Which program should you apply for?

Head Start is a federally funded early-childhood program administered nationally by the Office of Head Start and delivered by local organizations. Services include early learning, health, and family support. Eligible families do not pay a fee to participate in Head Start.

Early Head Start serves infants and toddlers younger than age 3 and also serves pregnant women. Head Start Preschool serves children who are at least age 3, or turn 3 by the date used locally to determine public-school eligibility, through the age at which they are required to attend school.

The program you apply to is local. There is no single national parent application that enrolls a child in every Head Start program.

Who can qualify for Head Start?

Federal rules provide several eligibility pathways. A child or pregnant woman may be eligible when the family's income is at or below the poverty line; the family is eligible for qualifying public assistance; the child is experiencing homelessness; or the child is in foster care.

Under current Office of Head Start policy, families eligible for or receiving SNAP, TANF, or SSI can qualify through the public-assistance pathway. For SNAP-based eligibility, the program generally verifies documentation from the state, local, or tribal public-assistance agency rather than conducting a separate income test for that eligibility pathway.

Income above the basic poverty threshold does not always make an application impossible. Federal rules allow programs, under specified conditions and enrollment limits, to serve some children whose families do not meet the primary eligibility criteria, including an additional group with family income below 130% of the poverty line after programs ensure that higher-priority eligible families are being served. Programs may also enroll a limited number of children who would benefit from services under another federal allowance. These are program enrollment allowances, not a guarantee that an individual applicant will receive a space.

Can high housing costs affect the income calculation?

Yes. Current Head Start rules allow a program to adjust gross income for eligibility purposes when a family spends more than 30% of gross income on qualifying housing costs. The program may review bills, bank statements, and other relevant documentation and reduce the income calculation by the housing costs exceeding that threshold. Ask the local program whether this adjustment may affect your application.

What documents may you need?

The Office of Head Start does not publish one universal parent document checklist for every local application. The local program tells you exactly what to submit. The evidence depends on the eligibility pathway being used.

• Income: tax forms, pay stubs, or other proof of income for the relevant period. When ordinary income records are unavailable, federal rules permit specified alternatives such as written employer statements. A signed declaration may be accepted in certain no-income situations when the program follows the required verification process.
• Public assistance: documentation from the relevant state, local, or tribal public-assistance agency showing that the family receives or is potentially eligible for qualifying assistance. For SNAP, official Head Start guidance gives examples such as an approval notice, other benefits documentation, or an EBT card containing the SNAP identification number.
• Foster care: a court order or other legal or government-issued document, a written statement from a government child-welfare official, or proof of a foster-care payment can be used under federal rules.
• Homelessness: federal rules allow several forms of evidence, including statements from service providers or school personnel, agency documentation, application or interview information, and, when other documentation cannot be provided, a signed family declaration supported by the program's required written assessment.
• Child's age: the program must verify age according to its policies, but those policies cannot require families to provide an age document when doing so would create a barrier to enrollment.

Where do you apply?

Start with the official Head Start Center Locator. Search by your city, state, or ZIP code and select an appropriate nearby program. The locator can distinguish among Head Start Preschool, Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and American Indian and Alaska Native programs.

After finding a program, contact it using the information shown in the locator. The program will determine whether your child appears eligible, provide its forms, explain its application procedure, and identify the documents it needs. Families who need additional help locating a program can use the assistance options published on HeadStart.gov.

Does it cost anything to apply or participate?

Eligible families cannot be charged a fee to participate in Head Start, including for Head Start-funded special events such as field trips. A program also cannot make a child's Head Start enrollment conditional on paying a fee.

A program may charge for services that are additional to the services funded by Head Start, such as child care before or after funded Head Start hours. Paying for those additional services cannot be a condition for the child's Head Start enrollment.

What happens after you apply?

Eligibility is only one part of enrollment. Local programs establish selection criteria based on their community needs and use those criteria to prioritize applicants. Factors required to be considered in the selection framework include family income, homelessness, foster-care status, the child's age, eligibility for special education or early-intervention services, and other relevant family or child risk factors.

Being eligible does not guarantee an immediate Head Start space. If demand exceeds available enrollment, programs maintain waiting lists and rank children according to their selection criteria.

What if there is no space for your child?

Ask the local program to add your child to its waiting list. HeadStart.gov specifically directs families to request the waiting list when a space is unavailable, and federal standards require programs to maintain waiting lists during the enrollment year according to their selection criteria.

Common application mistakes to avoid

• Do not assume that meeting an income or categorical eligibility rule guarantees a seat. Local selection criteria and available enrollment still matter.
• Do not wait for a national application form. Families apply through the local Head Start program.
• Do not assume that every family must prove income. Applicants qualifying through certain categorical pathways, including SNAP, TANF, SSI, homelessness, or foster care, follow the applicable verification rules instead.
• Do not assume WIC alone is the same categorical eligibility pathway as SNAP. Current Office of Head Start guidance specifically includes SNAP, TANF, and SSI in the public-assistance categorical eligibility framework.
• If you have unusually high housing costs, mention them to the program because current federal rules permit an income adjustment for qualifying housing costs exceeding 30% of gross income.
• If no space is available, specifically ask about the waiting list rather than treating the initial lack of space as a final denial of future placement.

Is there a federal application deadline?

There is no single nationwide parent application deadline or universal federal processing-time estimate published for local Head Start enrollment. Application periods, enrollment calendars, available spaces, and the time required to complete local processing can vary by program. Contact the local program identified through the Head Start Center Locator for its current application schedule and status.