Development of the Baltimore BETTER Family and Community Partnership

Abstract

This paper details the development of a Head Start-university research collaboration, from the program planning stages through implementation of one of the federally funded Starting Early Starting Smart grants, The Baltimore BETTER Family and Community Partnership program. The BETTER program objectives were to provide comprehensive behavioral health and educational services for Head Start families, bridge the service gaps identified for preschool- aged children and their families, and facilitate the ongoing dialogue of system-level collaborative efforts between service providers, administrators, and state policy makers. The BETTER program used a quasi-experimental design to study the integration of mental health and substance abuse prevention interventions in two urban Head Start sites. Comparisons were made between intervention and standard Head Start sites. Preliminary data from this ongoing program show significantly increased (p < 0.01) service utilization in the BETTER Head Start sites.