Head Start and Early Head Start: Who Can Enroll

1The age test: which program fits your child

Early Head Start serves pregnant women and children from birth to age 3. Head Start serves children from age 3 until they start kindergarten; a child usually needs to be 3 by the date your local schools use to decide kindergarten age. A child in Early Head Start can move on to Head Start at 3, often in the same organization, though the program may check eligibility again at that point.

Pregnant women in Early Head Start receive prenatal education, home visits and help connecting to health care, and the services continue with the baby after birth.

2The income test

Most families qualify on income: a family whose income is at or below the federal poverty guideline for its size is eligible. Programs count the family's gross income, before taxes, over the past 12 months or the previous calendar year, and check it with documents such as tax forms, W-2s or pay stubs.

Wages and self-employment earnings count, and so do cash benefits such as Social Security, unemployment compensation and veterans benefits. Military families have two allowances left out: the basic allowance for housing and special pay for service in hostile-fire or imminent-danger areas, so a service member's family can fall under the line even when its total pay does not.

Each additional person adds $5,680. Alaska and Hawaii have higher guidelines. A single parent with two young children and $26,000 of income, for example, is under the $27,320 line for three.

3Qualifying regardless of income

Some children are eligible whatever the family earns. Tell the program if any of these applies, because it can settle eligibility at once:

• Foster care. A child in foster care is eligible, and so is a pregnant woman or infant in a foster care placement.
• Homelessness. Children without a fixed, regular and adequate place to live, including families doubled up with others because they lost their housing, or living in a motel or shelter, are eligible, and programs can enroll them before the usual paperwork is complete.
• Public assistance. Families receiving TANF cash assistance or SSI qualify.

Separate Head Start programs serve migrant and seasonal farmworker families, with their own eligibility rules based on farm work, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Head Start has never required a child to be a citizen. A 2025 federal policy that would have barred some immigrant families was blocked by the courts before it took effect, and in September 2026 a federal judge struck it down; if you are unsure what a program asks for, ask it directly.

4Above the line, but not ruled out

Income slightly over the guideline does not end the conversation. Programs may fill up to 10 percent of their places with children from families above the guideline, and in some cases up to 35 percent with families between 100 and 130 percent of it, once they show they are meeting the needs of eligible families below the line first. A family of four earning $40,000, about 121 percent of the guideline, can still apply and ask to be considered for that group.

Every program also sets its own selection criteria, a point system or ranking that gives places to the families with the greatest need. A family's income, a parent's work or school, a child's disability and family circumstances can all count, so a family above the line with strong needs may still be offered a place.

5Children with disabilities

Programs must reserve at least 10 percent of their places for children with disabilities who qualify for early intervention or special education, and they cannot turn a child away because of the type or severity of a disability. If your child already has an individualized family service plan or an individualized education program, share it, and the program will work with your early intervention provider or school district. If staff notice a possible delay during screening, they will talk with you about an evaluation.

6What an eligible child receives

Head Start is more than a classroom, and knowing what it covers helps when you compare it with other care:

• Early learning that prepares children for kindergarten, in centers, family child care homes or through weekly home visits.
• Developmental, vision, hearing and dental screenings, usually within the first weeks, and help getting follow-up care, a regular doctor and dentist, and immunizations.
• Meals and snacks during the program day.
• Support for parents with goals such as work, training, housing and health coverage, and a role in running the program through the parent policy council.

Families pay nothing for any of it.

7If you work or go to school

Hours are the question working parents ask first, and the answer varies by program. Some run part day during the school year, others a full day or year round. Center-based classes, weekly home visits and care in a licensed family child care home suit different schedules, so ask each program about its hours, its calendar and transportation.

Where a program's day is shorter than yours, the gap can often be closed. Many areas have Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, which bring Early Head Start services into child care centers and family child care homes that are open a full working day, all year. And a family that qualifies for Head Start often qualifies for state child care assistance as well, which can pay for the hours before and after the program.

8Applying, and the waiting list

Apply directly to a local Head Start or Early Head Start program; there is no single national application. The Office of Head Start's locator finds programs near your address, and school districts and social services offices can also point you to them. Many programs take applications all year, with the largest enrollment in spring and summer for fall, so the earlier the better.

Have your child's birth certificate, proof of income or of TANF, SSI, foster care or homelessness, proof of where you live, and immunization records if you have them. Eligibility does not guarantee a place, because there are not enough for every eligible child. If a program is full, ask to be put on its waiting list, apply to more than one program if you can, and keep your contact details current so you do not miss a call.

9Staying eligible

Once enrolled in Head Start, a child generally stays eligible through the end of the next program year, so a raise or a new job does not end the place right away. Attendance does matter: programs follow up when a child misses school often, and help with barriers such as transportation, but a long absence without contact can cost a child the place. If you move, ask your current program to help transfer your child's records to a program in the new area, where eligibility is reviewed again.

10Related help for young children

Pregnant women and children under 5 may also qualify for WIC, which provides healthy foods and nutrition support. Children who are not covered may qualify for health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP. If you need care during working hours that Head Start does not cover, see our guide to child care assistance. Once children start school, free school meals continue the nutrition support.

11What a local program decides

Local programs make the final eligibility decision, set their own selection criteria and have limited places. This guide describes the federal rules and cannot say whether a space is available near you. State and school district pre-kindergarten programs have their own rules and are not covered here.