This third special issue of Infants & Young Children IYC) under my editorship considers the changes that have emerged, and continue to emerge, in the Head Start program. The range of issues discussed, affecting so many aspects of child development and family functioning, attests to the vigor and significance of this highly visible and vital preventive intervention program for children at risk due to environmental factors. Among the topics considered are the range of partnerships needed to make this program work even better, the centrality of family support to the model, the role of collaborations in general, strategies needed to maximize children's social and emotional development, how evaluations can strengthen the program, and the potential of Head Start to serve as an international model.

I am especially pleased that Dr Walter Gilliam, Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology and Director of the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University, agreed to edit this special issue. Dr Gilliam has an extraordinary grasp of the critical issues facing the Head Start program at every level and has recruited a number of outstanding individuals to contribute their knowledge and ideas to this special issue. Taken together, the articles in the special issue provide readers of IYC with insights into the status and future directions of one of the most important programs in the history of the field of early childhood development.

Michael J. Guralnick, PhD

Editor, Infants & Young Children