Supporting Transitions in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start

MSHS programs serve families who follow an agricultural schedule, including both migrant and seasonal families. Children in these families are more likely to experience multiple early care and education (ECE) transitions before kindergarten. While MSHS programs are required to provide general transition supports when children leave programs, little is known about how MSHS programs support children’s transitions to other care providers or into kindergarten.

The HS2K Study team analyzed data reported by center directors from the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Study 2017 to understand how MSHS programs support children and families through frequent transitions. Findings build the knowledge base on transition practices in MSHS and other ECE programs.

• Center directors were more likely to report transition activities that supported families (center-to-family kindergarten transition practices) than activities involving coordination with other ECE programs and schools (center-to-school practices). ​
• The most common types of center-to-school coordination practices involved sharing information with the schools children will attend
• MSHS centers that collaborated with Migrant Education “a great deal” reported a greater number of transition practices across each set of transition practices than other MSHS centers.​
• Centers with fewer migrant children, and thus more seasonal children, reported more transition practices.​
• Other MSHS center characteristics, including the proportion of preschool children in a center, center directors’ years of experience, and how long the program was open throughout the year, were not associated with how many practices centers implemented.​

The HS2K Study team analyzed the presence (type and amount) of three sets of transition practices as reported by center directors in MSHS programs using the MSHS Study 2017 dataset. We used data from the center director survey to understand whether centers' transition practices varied by center, director, and family characteristics. We also examined whether center and family characteristics were associated with the types of transition practices offered in MSHS programs. We analyzed data at the center level, with 198 centers represented in the dataset. ​All analyses were descriptive in nature, using all appropriate survey weights and examining 95% confidence intervals when comparing across groups.

Lin, V., Alvira-Hammond, M., Cook, K. D., Ehrlich Loewe, S. B. Halle, T. Barrows, M., du Toit, N. (2022). Supporting Transitions in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, OPRE Report # 2022-229, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ​