Since 1965, Head Start has provided high-quality early education and comprehensive services to vulnerable children and families across the United States. Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve pregnant women and children from birth to age 5 from low-income families, providing much-needed early education and comprehensive services (including health, mental health, nutrition, services for children with disabilities, and family services). In Massachusetts, Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve nearly 11,000 young children each year.

The Massachusetts Head Start Association (MHSA) serves as the voice of Head Start in Massachusetts by providing collaborative learning opportunities, leveraging partnerships, and advocating for Head Start programs. Over the past three years, MHSA had successfully increased its revenue, grown its total number of full-time staff, and strengthened its professional development offerings and capabilities — all to better serve its members to support the state’s vulnerable families, children, caregivers, and communities. Many of these achievements grew out of the hard work undertaken by MHSA’s staff, members, and partners to accomplish the strategies and goals set out in MHSA’s FY 2023-2025 strategic plan. Having accomplished many of its goals, MHSA was now ready to develop a new strategic plan.

In January 2025, MHSA partnered with Root Cause to kick off a new strategic planning process to plan for the organization’s next 3-5 years. 

The process began with community engagement and research. Root Cause conducted a survey of MHSA members, 1:1 interviews with partners and funders, and landscape analysis of comparable state and national organizations to understand MHSA’s strengths and opportunity areas. Root Cause also reviewed materials to understand MHSA’s work, operations, and the feedback it had received to date and then synthesized the qualitative and quantitative research collected to identify implications for the strategic planning process. 

MHSA and Root Cause brought together a Strategic Planning Committee consisting of staff, Board members, and other key stakeholders. Together, this group met on a monthly basis to discuss and come to agreement on strategies and desired outputs and outcomes in the following areas:

• Partners
• Professional Development
• Advocacy & Communications
• Organizational Effectiveness 
• Financial Sustainability

A 2026-2028 Strategic Plan (with a budget and implementation plan) was completed in July 2025 and will go before MHSA’s Board for approval in September 2025.