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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1528

To amend the Head Start Act to make quality improvements in Head Start

programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 30, 1993

Mr. GOODLING (for himself, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. CUNNINGHAM,

Mr. PETRI, Mr. GUNDERSON, and Mr. HOEKSTRA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Head Start Act to make quality improvements

in Head Start programs, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start Quality

5 Improvement Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FUNDS.

7 Section 637(5)(B) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

8 9832(5)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in9 serting ‘‘30 percent’’.
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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 639(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

3 9834(c)) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall make available to carry out

5 the Head Start Transition Project Act, from the amount

6 appropriated under subsection (a), not less than

7 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1993 through 1996.’’.

8 SEC. 4. MONITORING AND INCENTIVE GRANTS.

9 Section 640(a)(2)(C) of the Head Start Act (42

10 U.S.C. 9835(a)(2)(C)) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(C) program improvement activities, in an

12 amount for each fiscal year that is not less than 3

13 percent of the sum appropriated under section 639

14 for such fiscal year, of which amount—

15 ‘‘(i) 75 percent shall be made available for

16 training and technical assistance activities that

17 are sufficient to meet the needs associated with

18 program expansion and to foster program and

19 management improvement activities as de20 scribed in section 648;

21 ‘‘(ii) 12.5 percent shall be made available

22 to provide funds for carrying out reviews and

23 interim evaluations under section 641(c)(1), au24 dits and examinations under section 647(b),

25 and evaluations under section 651, which funds

26 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant,
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1 any Federal funds that would otherwise have

2 been available to carry out such reviews, audits,

3 examinations, and evaluations; and

4 ‘‘(iii) 12.5 percent shall be made available

5 to make grants to Head Start agencies that ex6 ceed the outcome measures described in section

7 651(b)(2), for carrying out the quality improve8 ment activities described in paragraph (3)(A).’’.

9 SEC. 5. HEAD START AGENCIES.

10 (a) GRANTS.—Section 641(a) of the Head Start Act

11 (42 U.S.C. 9836(a)) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

13 subparagraphs (A) and (B);

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and

15 (3) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may make grants to designated

17 Head Start agencies to carry out Head Start programs

18 under this Act.

19 ‘‘(3) The first grant awarded to an agency serving

20 a community after the date of enactment of this para21 graph, and first designation of such agency as a Head

22 Start agency after such date, shall be for a period of 7

23 years. Subsequent grants and designations shall be made

24 for periods of not less than 7 years.
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1 ‘‘(4) To be eligible to be designated as a Head Start

2 agency and receive such a grant, an agency shall submit

3 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man4 ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may

5 require.’’.

6 (b) REVIEWS AND INTERIM EVALUATIONS.—Section

7 641(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836(c)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking paragraph (1);

10 (2) in paragraph (2)—

11 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘and shall’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘and shall conduct an interim evalua14 tion including a site visit at the site of

15 such agency at least once each year, in

16 order to’’; and

17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, including outcome

18 measures described in section 651(b)(2),’’

19 after ‘‘requirements’’; and

20 (B) in subparagraph (C)—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘In addition to conducting the reviews and

23 interim evaluations required under sub24 paragraphs (A) and (B), the’’; and
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘followup reviews’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘followup reviews and interim

3 evaluations’’;

4 (3) in paragraph (3)—

5 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

6 (A), by striking ‘‘review’’ and inserting ‘‘review

7 or interim evaluation’’;

8 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘re9 view’’ and inserting ‘‘review or interim evalua10 tion’’; and

11 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘such

12 review at the site of such agency’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘such a site visit, conducted as part of a review

14 or interim evaluation’’;

15 (4) in paragraph (4)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘(4)’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘(4)(A)’’;

18 (B) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated

19 by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph) by

20 striking ‘‘review’’ and inserting ‘‘review or in21 terim evaluation’’; and

22 (C) add at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(B) If, in carrying out such a review or interim eval24 uation, the Secretary identifies program deficits in the

25 programs provided by the agency, the Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(i) may require the agency to take corrective

2 action to correct the program deficits;

3 ‘‘(ii) shall provide technical assistance under

4 section 648(a) for the 1-year period beginning on

5 the date of the review or interim evaluation; and

6 ‘‘(iii) may conduct a full review of the program.

7 ‘‘(C)(i) In addition to any other authority of the Sec8 retary to revoke the designation of an agency as a Head

9 Start agency, if the Secretary determines that the agency

10 described in subparagraph (B) has not corrected program

11 deficits related to the outcome measures described in sec12 tion 651(b)(2) within 1 year after the review or interim

13 evaluation described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary

14 may revoke such designation of the agency.

15 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall provide notice and an oppor16 tunity for comment to the agency prior to revoking the

17 designation of the agency.

18 ‘‘(iii) After so revoking the designation of an agency

19 that serves a community, the Secretary may designate, in

20 accordance with subsection (d), an agency described in

21 subsection (a) as a Head Start agency to serve the com22 munity and make grants under subsection (a) to such

23 agency.’’; and

24 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and

25 (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.
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1 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—Section 641(d) of the Head

2 Start Act 942 U.S.C. 9836(d)) is amended—

3 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘If there

4 is’’ and all that follows through ‘‘then the’’ and in5 serting ‘‘The’’;

6 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘cri7 teria,’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘including

8 outcome measures described in section 651(b)(2),

9 criteria, and standards, in effect on the date of des10 ignation.’’;

11 (3) at the end of paragraph (8), by striking

12 ‘‘and’’;

13 (4) at the end of paragraph (9), by striking the

14 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (5) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(10) the ability of the applicant to ensure con17 tinuity of Head Start services.’’.

18 (d) EXISTING HEAD START AGENCIES.—

19 (1) APPLICATION.—Each agency that is a des20 ignated Head Start agency under section 641 of the

21 Head Start Act on the date of enactment of this Act

22 shall submit an application to the Secretary of

23 Health and Human Services as described in section

24 641(a)(4) of such Act (as added by subsection (a)

25 of this section) and in accordance with the schedule
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1 described in paragraph (2), in order to be eligible

2 to—

3 (A) be designated as a Head Start agency;

4 and

5 (B) receive a grant,

6 for an additional period under section 641 of such

7 Act.

8 (2) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary of Health and

9 Human Services shall by regulation establish a

10 schedule for the submission of applications as re11 quired in paragraph (1), which schedule shall ensure

12 the submission of all such applications within 7

13 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

14 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

15 Section 651(g)(10) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

16 9846(g)(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘evaluations con17 ducted under section 641(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘reviews

18 and interim evaluations conducted under section

19 641(c)(1)’’.

20 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY.

21 Section 645(a)(1) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

22 9840(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe

24 eligibility criteria for the participation of persons in Head

25 Start programs assisted under this subchapter.
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1 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in paragraph (2), such cri2 teria may provide—

3 ‘‘(i) that a child from a low-income family shall

4 be eligible for participation in a program assisted

5 under this subchapter if the child is from—

6 ‘‘(I) a family that has an income below the

7 poverty line; or

8 ‘‘(II) a family that is eligible or, in the ab9 sence of child care, would potentially be eligible

10 for public assistance;

11 ‘‘(ii) pursuant to such regulations as the Sec12 retary shall prescribe, that programs assisted under

13 this subchapter may include, to a reasonable extent,

14 participation of children in the area served who

15 would benefit from such programs but whose fami16 lies do not meet the low-income criteria prescribed

17 pursuant to clause (i); and

18 ‘‘(iii) that a child shall be eligible for participa19 tion in such a program if the child is from a family

20 described in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) on a

21 date not more than 2 years before such participa22 tion, regardless of whether the child was of an ap23 propriate age to participate in such a program on

24 such date.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. NOTICE, HEARINGS, AND APPEALS.

2 The Head Start Act is amended by repealing section

3 646 (42 U.S.C. 9841) and inserting the following:

4 ‘‘SEC. 646. NOTICE, HEARINGS, AND APPEALS.

5 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish and implement proce6 dures for providing notice, an opportunity for a hearing,

7 and an opportunity for an appeal to persons who are grant

8 recipients or applicants for grants under this Act. Such

9 procedures shall be consistent with other procedures of the

10 Department of Health and Human Services for providing

11 such notice and such opportunities with respect to similar

12 financial assistance.’’.

13 SEC. 8. OUTCOME MEASURES.

14 Section 651(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

15 9846(b)) is amended—

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and

17 (2) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations es19 tablishing outcome measures for Head Start agencies car20 rying out Head Start programs under this subchapter,

21 which regulations shall require that, effective January 1,

22 1995, each Head Start agency carrying out such a Head

23 Start program shall—

24 ‘‘(A)(i) conduct initial assessments of devel25 opmental skills, including physical development, self26 help skills, social development, academic develop-
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1 ment, and communication skills, for not less than 90

2 percent of the children who have been enrolled in the

3 program for not less than 90 days;

4 ‘‘(ii) conduct exit assessments of such devel5 opmental skills for not less than 90 percent of the

6 children who—

7 ‘‘(I) have been enrolled in the program for

8 not less than 6 months; and

9 ‘‘(II) are leaving the program;

10 ‘‘(iii) provide remedial activities to not less than

11 90 percent of the children enrolled in the program

12 who have identified developmental delays, to address

13 the delays;

14 ‘‘(iv) prepare a medical, dental, and devel15 opmental history for not less than 90 percent of the

16 children who have been enrolled in the program for

17 not less than 90 days;

18 ‘‘(v) conduct medical, vision, hearing, and den19 tal screenings for not less than 90 percent of the

20 children who have been enrolled in the program for

21 not less than 90 days;

22 ‘‘(vi) conduct medical and dental examinations

23 for not less than 90 percent of the children who have

24 been enrolled in the program for not less than 6

25 months;
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1 ‘‘(vii) provide necessary treatment to not less

2 than 90 percent of the children with identified medi3 cal and dental needs who are enrolled in the pro4 gram; and

5 ‘‘(viii) fully immunize, in accordance with Head

6 Start guidelines, all of the children who have been

7 enrolled in the program for not less than 90 days;

8 ‘‘(B)(i) prepare a family needs assessment,

9 which utilizes a formal assessment tool and meets

10 such specifications as the Secretary may require, for

11 not less than 80 percent of the families of children

12 enrolled in the program;

13 ‘‘(ii) prepare a family assistance plan, which

14 outlines the specific measures to be taken by the

15 staff of the Head Start agency and members of the

16 family to meet the needs of the family, for not less

17 than 75 percent of such families;

18 ‘‘(iii) provide assistance to not less than 75 per19 cent of such families who have identified needs, to

20 assist such families in meeting the goals and objec21 tives of the family assistance plan;

22 ‘‘(iv) provide an opportunity to participate in a

23 parenting skills program, or other assistance de24 signed to improve parenting skills, to not less than
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1 90 percent of such families who have identified

2 needs related to parenting skills;

3 ‘‘(v) provide education and job skills assistance,

4 including participation in literacy, job search, and

5 other activities, to facilitate participation in appro6 priate education and job skills programs, to not less

7 than 90 percent of families described in clause (i)

8 who have identified needs for such assistance; and

9 ‘‘(vi) provide an opportunity to participate in

10 volunteer activities related to the operation of the

11 program, to not less than 75 percent of the parents

12 of children enrolled in the program; and

13 ‘‘(C)(i) submit to the Secretary a written man14 agement plan specifying, at a minimum, the admin15 istrative procedures, classroom operations, job de16 scriptions, salary schedules, staffing plan, and

17 records management, of the Head Start agency;

18 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary a written plan

19 specifying the goals and activities of the agency, and

20 measurable outcomes concerning, at a minimum—

21 ‘‘(I) the staff to child ratios for classroom

22 teachers, supervisory staff, support staff, social

23 services staff, and other categories of center

24 staff;

25 ‘‘(II) the outreach activities;
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1 ‘‘(III) the facilities improvements;

2 ‘‘(IV) the enrollment;

3 ‘‘(V) the use of quality improvement funds;

4 ‘‘(VI) the inservice and preservice training

5 for employees;

6 ‘‘(VII) the home visiting services;

7 ‘‘(VIII) the educational programming;

8 ‘‘(IX) the parent participation in activities;

9 and

10 ‘‘(X) the program expansion,

11 of the agency;

12 ‘‘(iii) implement a uniform recordkeeping sys13 tem that meets such requirements as the Secretary

14 may require with respect to information, including,

15 at a minimum, education, developmental, health, so16 cial service, assessment, and special needs informa17 tion, about the children, and the families of the chil18 dren, enrolled in the program;

19 ‘‘(iv) increase, by 25 percent each year, the per20 centage of teachers providing services through the

21 Head Start agency who are certified according to

22 such criteria as the Secretary may determine to be

23 appropriate, until all such teachers are so certified;

24 ‘‘(v) develop—
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1 ‘‘(I) a variety of volunteer opportunities for

2 the parents of the children enrolled in the pro3 gram, which shall include opportunities to par4 ticipate in management of the Head Start agen5 cy, on advisory boards, or in providing class6 room assistance, outreach, or support services;

7 and

8 ‘‘(II) other mechanisms to encourage the

9 participation of such parents;

10 ‘‘(vi) meet all applicable licensing standards for

11 child care facilities in the State and community in

12 which the Head Start agency is located; and

13 ‘‘(vii) transmit the exit assessments described in

14 subparagraph (A)(ii) for not less than 75 percent of

15 the children enrolled in the program—

16 ‘‘(I) to the next elementary school in which

17 such a child is enrolled; or

18 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child who is enrolled

19 in a program under the Head Start Transition

20 Project Act, to such program.’’.

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