Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES), United States, Spring 2022

The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES) is a nationally representative descriptive study of Early Head Start. The first cohort of Baby FACES was fielded in 2009-2012. It used a longitudinal design and followed two age cohorts of children (newborns and 1-year-olds) through their time in Early Head Start. Baby FACES was redesigned in 2015 to employ a repeated cross-sectional approach to provide a comprehensive snapshot of Early Head Start with a nationally representative sample of programs, centers, home visitors, teachers/classrooms, and enrolled families, and children of all age groups in Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regions 1 through 10. Using the cross-sectional design, the second cohort of Baby FACES was fielded in the spring of 2018 (Baby FACES 2018) and the third cohort was fielded in spring 2022 (Baby FACES 2022). Baby FACES 2018 and 2022 have a particular focus on the processes in the classrooms and home visits respectively that support responsive relationships, including teacher-child relationships, staff-parent relationships, and parent-child relationships. These studies address the overarching research question: How do Early Head Start services support infant/toddler growth and development in the context of nurturing, responsive relationships?