The purpose of the National American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office (NAIANHSCO) is to create statewide partnerships and foster working coalitions among all groups that support the AI/AN Head Start grantee population. As directed by the “Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007” (Public Law 110-134), this office has facilitated the improvement and expansion of services to low-income children in Head Start, as well as built linkages between local, state, regional, and national early childhood initiatives and policies. This allows us to facilitate more coordinated approaches to planning and service delivery for AI/AN Head Start communities.

The National American Indian Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office, created under Public Law 110-134 ("Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007"), is directed “to facilitate collaboration among Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) and

entities that carry out activities designed to benefit low-income children from birth to school entry, and their families.”

Early Head Start Program Strategies: Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Infants, Toddlers and Families