The purpose of the Even Start Family Literacy Programs is to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of the nation’s low-income families. This is accomplished through the integration of early childhood education, adult literacy, parenting education, and Parent and Child Together Time (PACT) into a unified family literacy program.

The only eligibility requirements for a family to enroll in Even Start are that the parent or caregiver is in need of adult basic education and is willing to pursue this education, and there is a child/children from birth to eight years old in the family. There are no income eligibility guidelines for Even Start. Families are required to participate in all four components of the program. The NOWCAP Even Start Programs employ a combination of Center Based and Home Based delivery of family literacy services.