MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Dec 11;69(49):1868-1872. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6949e3.
The Head Start program, including Head Start for children aged 3-5 years and Early Head Start for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, promotes early learning and healthy development among children aged 0-5 years whose families meet the annually adjusted Federal Poverty Guidelines* throughout the United States. These programs are funded by grants administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF). In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which appropriated $750 million for Head Start, equating to approximately $875 in CARES Act funds per enrolled child. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, most states required all schools (K-12) to close or transition to virtual learning. The Office of Head Start gave its local programs that remained open the flexibility to use CARES Act funds to implement CDC-recommended guidance (1) and other ancillary measures to provide in-person services in the early phases of community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in April and May 2020, when many similar programs remained closed. Guidance included information on masks, other personal protective equipment, physical setup, supplies necessary for maintaining healthy environments and operations, and the need for additional staff members to ensure small class sizes. Head Start programs successfully implemented CDC-recommended mitigation strategies and supported other practices that helped to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission among children and staff members. CDC conducted a mixed-methods analysis to document these approaches and inform implementation of mitigation strategies in other child care settings. Implementing and monitoring adherence to recommended mitigation strategies reduces risk for COVID-19 transmission in child care settings. These approaches could be applied to other early care and education settings that remain open for in-person learning and potentially reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
“Head Start”计划，包括为 3-5 岁儿童提供的“Head Start”和为婴儿、学步儿童和孕妇提供的“早期 Head Start”，旨在促进全美符合联邦贫困线标准的 0-5 岁儿童的早期学习和健康发展。这些项目由美国卫生与公众服务部儿童和家庭管理局（ACF）管理的赠款资助。2020 年 3 月，国会通过了《冠状病毒援助、救济和经济安全法案》（CARES），为“Head Start”拨款 7.5 亿美元，相当于每个在册儿童约 875 美元的 CARES 法案资金。为应对 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行，大多数州要求所有学校（K-12）关闭或转为虚拟学习。“Head Start”办公室允许其继续开放的地方项目灵活使用 CARES 法案资金，以执行疾病预防控制中心建议的指导方针（1）和其他辅助措施，在 2020 年 4 月和 5 月，当许多类似的项目仍处于关闭状态时，在社区传播 SARS-CoV-2（导致 COVID-19 的病毒）的早期阶段提供面对面服务。该指南包括关于口罩、其他个人防护设备、物理布局、维持健康环境和运营所需的用品以及确保小班规模所需的额外工作人员的信息。“Head Start”项目成功实施了疾病预防控制中心建议的缓解策略，并支持了有助于防止儿童和工作人员之间 SARS-CoV-2 传播的其他做法。疾病预防控制中心进行了一项混合方法分析，以记录这些方法，并为其他儿童保育环境中实施缓解策略提供信息。实施和监测对建议缓解策略的遵守情况可降低儿童保育环境中 COVID-19 传播的风险。这些方法可应用于其他为面对面学习而继续开放的早期护理和教育环境，并可能降低 SARS-CoV-2 的传播。
