14548 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

[Program Announcement No. ACYF–HS–

93600.952]

Early Head Start Program Grant

Availability

AGENCY: Administration on Children,

Youth and Families (ACYF),

Administration for Children and

Families (ACF), HHS.

ACTION: Announcement of financial

assistance to be competitively awarded

to current Head Start programs—

including Head Start Parent and Child

Centers and Comprehensive Child

Development programs—and other

public and non-profit private entities to

provide child and family development

services for low-income families with

children under age three and pregnant

women.

SUMMARY: Section 645A of the Head

Start Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9801

et seq., requires that, beginning in Fiscal

Year 1995, the Secretary of Health and

Human Services will award grants

competitively to agencies and

organizations to implement programs

which we call ‘‘Early Head Start.’’ These

programs will provide early,

continuous, intensive, and

comprehensive child development and

family support services on a year-round

basis to low-income families with

children under age three and pregnant

women. The purpose of the program is

to enhance children’s physical, social,

emotional, and intellectual

development; to assist parents in

fulfilling their parental roles; and to

help parents move toward selfsufficiency. Thus, the goals for Early

Head Start are to:

• Promote the physical, cognitive,

social and emotional growth of infants

and toddlers and prepare them for

future growth and development;

• Support parents—mothers, fathers,

and guardians—in their role as primary

caregivers and educators of their

children, and in meeting family goals

and achieving self-sufficiency across a

wide variety of domains;

• Strengthen community supports for

families with young children; and

• Develop highly-trained, caring and

adequately compensated program staff,

because the quality of staff and their

relationships with children and parents

are critical to achieving all the other

goals.

DATES: The closing date for submission

of applications is May 31, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Applications may be mailed

to: Early Head Start Program, Ellsworth

Associates, Inc., 3030 Clarendon Blvd.,

Suite 240, Arlington, Virginia 22201.

Hand delivered applications are

accepted at the above address during the

normal working hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30

p.m., Monday through Friday, on or

before the closing date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For questions

related to the Program Announcement,

please contact the ACYF Operations

Center, Technical Assistance Team at 1–

800–351–2293. Staff at this center will

answer questions regarding the

application requirements or refer you to

the appropriate contact person in ACYF

for programmatic questions.

For a copy of the application kit, or

for another copy of the program

announcement please call or fax your

request to the ACYF Operations Center

at 1–800–351–2293 (phone) or 1–800–

351–4490 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Part I. General Information

A. Table of Contents

This program announcement is

divided into five sections:

• Part I is an introductory section

which contains the history and

background for the Early Head Start

program and the principles and program

description that will guide the

development, implementation and

operation of the programs.

• Part II contains key program

information such as a description of

eligible applicants, project periods,

applicable Head Start regulations, and

Early Head Start as a learning

community.

• Part III presents requirements for

information that must be included in

each application.

• Part IV presents the criteria upon

which applications will be reviewed

and evaluated.

• Part V contains instructions for

preparing the Fiscal Year 1995

application. This section notes that the

Commissioner of the Administration on

Children, Youth, and Families,

depending on the availability of funds

and an adequate number of acceptable

applications, may choose to fund the

Fiscal Year 1996 cohort of programs out

of the pool of applications submitted as

a response to this program

announcement.

Appendix A includes the relevant

forms necessary for completing the

application.

Appendix B lists the Single Points of

Contact for each State and Territory.

Appendix C is The Statement of the

Advisory Committee on Services for

Families with Infants and Toddlers

which guided the development of this

program announcement and will be

referred to throughout.

An application kit containing

applicable Head Start Regulations, State

Contact lists (e.g. Part H Lead Agency

Coordinators) and other useful

information must be obtained by

applicants. (See address listed earlier in

this announcement.)

B. Program Purpose

With the reauthorization of the Head

Start Act in 1994, Congress established

a new program for low income families

with infants and toddlers and pregnant

women which we are calling Early Head

Start. Beginning in Fiscal Year 1995, the

Secretary of Health and Human Services

will award grants to competing agencies

and organizations to implement ‘‘Early

Head Start’’ to provide early,

continuous, intensive, and

comprehensive child development and

family support services.

In creating this program, the Congress

acted upon evidence from research and

practice which illustrates that high

quality programs enhance children’s

physical, social, emotional, and

cognitive development; enable parents

to be better caregivers and teachers to

their children; and help parents meet

their own goals, including economic

independence. Such programs answer

an undeniable need. As pointed out in

The Report of the Carnegie Task Force

on Meeting The Needs of Young

Children, many of the 12 million

children under three and their families

in the United States today face a ‘‘quiet

crisis.’’ The numerous indicators of this

crisis include: One in four infants and

toddlers live in families with incomes

below the poverty line; nine out of every

thousand infants die before the age of

one; and, more than five million

children under three receive child care

from other adults while their parents

work, much of that care is of poor

quality.

The Early Head Start program will

provide resources to community

programs to address such needs and to

achieve the purposes set forth by

Congress. The local programs funded

through Early Head Start will also

operate as a national laboratory to

demonstrate the impact that can be

gained when early, continuous,

intensive and comprehensive services

are provided early on to pregnant

women and very young children and

their families.

Programs participating in this

demonstration effort will:

• Provide early, individualized child

development and parent education
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14549

services to low-income infants and

toddlers and their families according to

a plan developed jointly by the parents

and staff;

• Provide these services through an

appropriate mix of home visits,

experiences at the Early Head Start

center, and experiences in other settings

such as family- or center-based child

care;

• Provide early opportunities for

infants and toddlers with and without

disabilities to grow and develop

together in warm, nurturing and

inclusive settings;

• Ensure that the Early Head Start

center is a welcoming setting for

families in the community;

• Respond to the needs of families,

including the need for full-time child

care for working families;

• Connect with other service

providers at the local level to ensure

that a comprehensive array of health,

nutrition, and other services is provided

to the program’s pregnant women, very

young children, and their families;

• Recruit, train, and supervise high

quality staff to ensure the kind of warm

and continuous relationships between

caregivers and children that are crucial

to learning and development for infants

and toddlers;

• Ensure parent involvement in

policy and decision making, similar to

parent involvement in preschool Head

Start programs;

• Coordinate with local Head Start

programs in order to ensure continuity

of services for these children and

families;

• Ensure quality by focusing on all

four cornerstones of successful early

childhood programs: Child

development, family development,

community building, and staff

development; and

• Participate actively in a research

and evaluation effort to learn from the

Early Head Start experience.

C. History and Background

1. Legislation

In May 1994 the President signed into

law the bipartisan Head Start

Reauthorization Act of 1994. This

reauthorization established within the

Head Start Bureau a new program for

low-income pregnant women and

families with infants and toddlers. The

reauthorization sets aside funds from

the overall Head Start budget for the

next four years at a rate of three percent

in FY 1995; four percent in FY 1996 and

1997; and five percent in FY 1998.

Consolidated into the new initiative

were the Parent and Child Centers

Program and the Comprehensive Child

Development Program.

This section of the legislation had a

number of sources, including the

recommendations of The Advisory

Committee on Head Start Quality and

Expansion, as well as recent lessons

from research and practice.

2. The Advisory Committee on Head

Start Quality and Expansion

In June 1993, the Secretary of the

Department of Health and Human

Services formed an Advisory Committee

to look at Head Start quality and

expansion. The recommendations of

that committee centered around:

• Striving for excellence in staffing,

management, oversight, facilities, and

research;

• Expanding to better meet the needs

of children and families; and

• Forging new partnerships with

communities, schools, the private

sector, and other national initiatives.

Included in the report was a

recommendation that the Department

develop a new initiative for expanded

Head Start supports to families with

infants and toddlers, as well as convene

a high-level committee charged with

developing guidelines for this new

effort. This recommendation was fueled

by relevant research findings and

recognition in the field that a good deal

more could be accomplished with

earlier more sustained support for very

young children and their families.

3. Relevant Research

Findings from more than three

decades of research in child and family

development illustrate that the time

from conception to age three is critical

for human development. The basic

cognitive, social, and emotional

foundation is established in these early

years. The research also indicates that

for infants and toddlers to develop

optimally, they must have healthy

beginnings and the continuity of

responsive and caring relationships.

Together, these supports help promote

optimal cognitive, social, emotional,

physical, and language development.

When these supports are missing, the

immediate and future development of

the child may be compromised.

Fortunately, recent research identifies

characteristics of effective programs that

enhance both child and family

development. This growing body of

knowledge provides a foundation upon

which the Early Head Start program is

based.

A more detailed discussion about the

research in maternal and infant health,

child-caregiver relationships, and

characteristics of successful programs

can be found in the Statement of the

Advisory Committee on Services for

Families with Infants and Toddlers

which is included as Appendix C.

4. Precursor Program Experiences

In enacting Early Head Start, Congress

was building on lessons learned through

Federal, State, local and community

programs that serve some of our

country’s very young children and their

families.

Most notable among the early Federal

efforts include the following:

• Maternal and Child Health Services

Block Grant has its roots in Title V of

the Social Security Act which was

enacted in 1935. It is administered by

the Maternal and Child Health Bureau

(MCHB) of the Public Health Service

which provides leadership for building

the infrastructure for health care

services delivery to all mothers and

children in the U.S., with particular

responsibility for serving those lowincome or isolated populations who

would otherwise have limited access to

care.

• The Parent and Child Centers

Program (PCC) was established in 1967

to provide an array of services for

pregnant women, infants/toddlers,

parents, and families as a whole. There

are currently 106 PCC’s across all 50

States, the District of Columbia and

Puerto Rico. Services include health,

education, personal and interpersonal

development, and family assistance.

• The Migrant Head Start program

was established in 1969 in order to meet

the needs of mobile farmworker

children and their families. The

program provides age appropriate

infant, toddler and preschool

programming, full-day services (8 to 12

hours per day), and full week services

(five to six days per week). These

services are offered in center-based and

family child care settings during

agricultural seasons. There are currently

76 Migrant Head Start programs

operating in 35 states. Infant and

toddlers comprise over 40 percent of the

children served annually.

• Child and Family Resource Program

(CFRP) operated as a demonstration

from 1973 to 1983. Ten CFRP programs

linked community resources in efforts to

enhance families abilities to provide

safe, stable, nurturing environments for

their children.

• Part H of what is now known as the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act was initiated in 1986 as an early

intervention program for children birth

to three who have or are at risk for

developmental disability. Part H

supports comprehensive, statewide

programs which identify and coordinate

needed services within the context of a

family-centered services delivery model.
14550 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

• The Comprehensive Child

Development Program (CCDP) was

enacted in 1988 to provide and

coordinate a wide range of services to

children and families involving child

development, health care, education,

economic self-sufficiency, mental

health, substance abuse treatment and

prevention and other services to

strengthen the home and family.

• Even Start Literacy Program,

administered by the Department of

Education, integrates early childhood

education and adult education for

parents into a unified program.

• Healthy Start Initiative started in

1991 as a demonstration program to

combat infant mortality through

community coalitions.

In addition to these Federal efforts,

several States and foundations are

focusing on the special needs of very

young children and their families.

Among the States active in this area are

Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland,

Minnesota, Missouri and Vermont.

Carnegie and Ford are among the

foundations addressing the needs of

pregnant women and families with

infants and toddlers.

D. Consultation

In the statute establishing the new

program which we call Early Head Start,

Congress called on the Secretary to

develop program guidelines in

consultation with experts in early

childhood development, experts in

health, and experts in family services;

and taking into consideration the

knowledge and experience gained from

other early childhood programs

including the Comprehensive Child

Development Programs, Head Start

Parent Child Centers and Migrant Head

Start programs that serve large numbers

of infants and toddlers. As a result, the

Secretary formed the Advisory

Committee on Services for Families

with Infants and Toddlers. The

Committee was charged with advising

the Department on the development of

program approaches for the initiative. In

September 1994, the Advisory

Committee unanimously agreed to a

statement that sets forth the vision,

goals, principles, and program

cornerstones for Early Head Start (the

Statement, which includes the Advisory

Committee membership list, is included

as Appendix C).

In addition, Federal staff conducted

approximately 30 focus groups during

the summer of 1994 to hear from

parents, practitioners, researchers,

advocates, and representatives of

professional organizations. Further,

Federal staff met with or received

materials and recommendations from a

number of other parents, practitioners,

and researchers. The suggestions,

guidance, and information received

through this consultation process

helped shape the development of this

program announcement.

E. Principles Recommended by the Field

The Advisory Committee on Services

for Families with Infants and Toddlers

identified nine principles that are

characteristic of successful programs for

families with very young children.

These principles are consistent with the

themes that emerged from the broader

consultation conducted by the

Department. Therefore, applicants are

expected to design their programs

around these principles:

1. High Quality: Programs will ensure

high quality in both the services

provided to children and families

directly, and the services provided

through referral. Programs will

recognize that the conception-to-three

age period is unique both in the rate of

development and in the way young

children’s physical and mental growth

reflects and absorbs experiences with

caregivers and the surroundings.

Because of this, the experiences and

environments need to be of highest

quality to promote child development.

2. Prevention and Promotion:

Recognizing that windows of

opportunity open and close quickly for

very young children and their families,

programs will seek out opportunities to

promote the physical, social, emotional,

cognitive and language development of

young children and families before

conception, prenatally, upon birth, and

during the early years. Program staff

will seek to prevent and detect problems

at their earliest stages, rallying the

services needed to help the child and

family anticipate and overcome

problems before they interfere with

healthy development.

3. Positive Relationships and

Continuity: Programs will support and

enhance strong, caring, continuous

relationships among the child, parents,

family, and caregiving staff. Programs

will support the mother-child, fatherchild bond by recognizing each parent

as his or her child’s first and primary

source of love, nurturance and

guidance. Programs will ensure that

relationships between caregiving staff

and young children support infant and

toddler attachment to a limited number

of skilled and caring individuals, thus

maintaining relationships with

caregivers over time and avoiding the

trauma of loss experienced with

frequent turnover of key people in the

child’s life.

4. Parent Involvement: Programs will

ensure the highest level of partnership

with parents, both mothers and fathers.

Programs will support parents as

primary nurturers, educators, and

advocates for their children; assure that

each parent has an opportunity for an

experience that supports his or her own

growth and goals, including that of

parenting; encourage independence and

self-sufficiency for parents; and provide

a policy-making and decision-making

role for parents.

5. Inclusion: Programs will develop

services and create an environment

which builds upon and responds to the

unique strengths and needs of each

child and family. Further, programs will

support participation in community life

by young children with disabilities and

their families; families of very young

children with significant disabilities

will be fully included in all program

services.

6. Culture: Programs will demonstrate

an understanding of, respect for, and

responsiveness to the home culture of

children and families as culture is the

context for healthy identity

development in the first years of life.

7. Comprehensiveness, Flexibility,

Responsiveness, and Intensity: Programs

will respond in flexible ways to the

unique strengths, abilities, and needs of

the children, families and communities

they serve. Developmental opportunities

provided to each infant and toddler will

address the whole child and be

continually adapted to keep pace with

his or her developmental growth.

Programs also need to be responsive to

the distinct needs and experiences of

parents whose children are disabled and

those parents who have disabilities.

8. Transition: Programs will be

responsible for ensuring the smooth

transition of children and their families

into Head Start or other preschool

programs which are of high quality and

provide consistent and responsive

caregiving.

9. Collaboration: Recognizing that no

one program will be able to meet all of

a child’s and family’s needs, programs

will build strong connections to other

service providers and to community

sources of support for families. These

efforts will foster a caring,

comprehensive and integrated

community-wide response to families

with young children, maximize scarce

financial resources, and avoid

duplication of agency effort.

These principles (explained in more

detail) are included in the Statement of

the Advisory Committee on Services for

Families with Infants and Toddlers

which is attached as Appendix C.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14551

F. Program Description

In addition to the principles outlined

above, a description of the Early Head

Start program also emerged during

consultation with the field. The

Advisory Committee members set forth

the formal framework for the program

which includes four cornerstones: child

development; family development;

community building; and staff

development.

1. Child Development

To develop fully, children need

individualized support that honors the

unique characteristics and pace of their

physical, social, emotional, cognitive

and language development. Critical to

this development are the promotion of

child health; positive relationships

between the child and parents and other

significant caregivers; opportunities for

children’s active engagement in

appropriately stimulating environments;

and enhancement of each parent’s

knowledge about the development of

their child within healthy, safe,

environments. The services that

programs must provide to support the

child development cornerstone include:

• High quality early education

services provided both in and out of the

home in a range of developmentally

appropriate settings for infants and

toddlers;

• Home visits (especially for families

with newborns and other infants, as

needed);

• Parent education, including parentchild activities;

• Comprehensive health and mental

health services for children; and

• Part- and full-day child care

services, as needed by children and

families (the ACF does not expect Early

Head Start grantees to pay for off-site

child care but instead envisions the role

of the grantee being a broker to help the

family identify and access child care

services from appropriate providers in

the community as needed); the Early

Head Start program must assume

responsibility for ensuring that the child

care settings meet standards for high

quality, developmentally appropriate

care.

In addition, Early Head Start

programs would be responsible for

helping the family identify and access

the services of a consistent health

professional who can provide ongoing

care for the family, child and pregnant

woman. Further, Early Head Start

programs would be responsible for

coordinating with programs providing

services in accordance with Part H of

the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act so that children and

families served by these two programs

can experience a seamless system of

services.

2. Family Development

Healthy child development depends

on the ability of parents and families to

support and nurture children, while at

the same time meeting other critical

social and economic needs. Therefore,

programs must work to help parents set

and achieve goals for themselves and

their children through individualized

family development plans, which are

collaboratively designed and updated by

families and staff, and are responsive to

the goals and ideals of the families.

When families are served by additional

programs which also require an

individualized family development/

service plan, such as Part H of the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act and family employability plans,

then a single coordinated plan should

be developed so families experience a

seamless system of services.

The types of services that programs

must provide directly or through referral

include:

• Ongoing support to parents,

through case management, peer support

groups, or other approaches;

• Child development information;

• Health services, including services

for women prior to, during, and after

pregnancy;

• Mental health services;

• Services to improve health behavior

such as smoking cessation and

substance abuse treatment;

• Services to adults to support

progress towards economic

independence, such as adult education

and basic literacy skills, job training,

assistance in obtaining income support,

food, and decent, safe housing, and

emergency cash or in-kind assistance;

and

• Transportation to program services.

Programs also must provide directly

opportunities for parent involvement in

the program so that parents can be

involved as decision-makers,

volunteers, and/or employees.

Additional services not listed above, but

identified by families through

community assessments and mappings,

may be provided either directly or

through referral at local option.

3. Community Building

Children develop within the context

of the family and the family develops

within the context of the community.

Therefore, to support children’s

development, Early Head Start must

establish collaborative relationships

with other community providers and

strength-building organizations to create

an environment that shares

responsibility for the healthy

development of its children and their

families.

The goal of these community

relationships will be three-fold:

Increasing access to high quality

services for program families; assuring

that the program’s approach to serving

families with infants and toddlers fits

into the existing constellation of

services in the community so that there

is a coherent, integrated approach to

supporting families with very young

children; and encouraging systemic

improvements in service delivery for all

the families in a community.

All programs will be required to

conduct an in-depth assessment of

existing community resources and

needs and engage in an ongoing

collaborative planning process with a

range of stakeholders, including parents

and residents of the community. If the

community recently conducted such an

assessment, the program would be able

to use the results from that study and

then proceed with the collaborative

planning process.

4. Staff Development

Programs are only as good as the

individuals who staff them. Thus staff

development will be a key element of

Early Head Start programs.

To ensure the recruitment and

development of high quality staff, all

programs will be required to:

• Select staff who, together, cover the

spectrum of skills, knowledge and

professional competencies necessary to

provide high quality, comprehensive,

inclusive, culturally appropriate, and

family-centered services to young

children and their families;

• Select staff who are capable of

entering into one-to-one caregiving

relationships with infants and toddlers,

and caring, respectful and empowering

relationships with families and other

coworkers;

• Select program directors who

possess the above characteristics and are

highly skilled administrators who

exemplify leadership qualities such as

integrity, warmth, intuition and holistic

thinking;

• Provide ongoing staff training,

supervision and mentoring for both line

staff and supervisors that reflects an

interdisciplinary approach and an

emphasis on relationship building and

employs techniques and opportunities

for practice, feedback and reflection;

• Provide training so staff are ‘‘crosstrained’’ in the areas of child

development, family development and

community building, in addition to the

areas of home visiting, caregiving
14552 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

relationships, effective communication

with parents, family literacy, healthy/

safe environments and caregiving

practices, early identification of

unhealthy behaviors or health problems,

service coordination, and the provision

of services and support to diverse

populations, including families and

children with disabilities and

developmental delays; and

• Recognize that high quality

performance and development occur

when they are linked to rewards such as

salary, compensation, and career

advancement.

These cornerstones (explained in

more detail) are included in the

Statement of the Advisory Committee

on Services for Families with Infants

and Toddlers which is attached as

Appendix C. Applicants who become

Early Head Start grantees will be

expected to build their program around

these four cornerstones.

Part II. Program Information and

Requirements

A. Statutory Authority

The Head Start Act, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 9801 et seq.

B. Eligible Applicants

Those who may apply to become an

Early Head Start program include:

Entities operating Head Start programs

and other public entities and nonprofit

private entities capable of providing

community-based child and family

services that are consistent with

recognized best practices and other

requirements as established by the

Secretary. Priority will be given to

entities with a record of providing early,

continuous, and comprehensive child

and family development services. In

awarding grants to eligible applicants,

the Secretary shall ensure an equitable

national geographic distribution of the

grants and award grants to applicants

proposing to serve communities in rural

areas and to applicants proposing to

serve communities in urban areas.

C. Eligible Participants

Persons who may participate in the

Early Head Start program include

pregnant women and families with

children under age three who meet the

income criteria specified for families in

the Head Start regulations (See Part II,

Section G). The report from Congress

discussing the creation of this program

encouraged that participants in

programs funded through this initiative

should be identified while pregnant or

while their children are infants.

While Early Head Start programs will

be targeted primarily toward families

who have incomes at or below the

poverty line or who are eligible for

public assistance, regulations permit up

to 10 percent of children in local

programs to be from families which do

not meet these low-income criteria.

Head Start regulations also require that

a minimum of 10 percent of enrollment

opportunities in each program be made

available to children with disabilities.

Such children are expected to be

enrolled in the full range of services and

activities in inclusive settings with their

non-disabled peers and to receive

individualized services.

As a comprehensive family

development program, Early Head Start

will be expected to assess the strengths

and needs of the whole family and

develop strategies for ensuring services

are available. For example, grantees

would be responsible for recognizing

the child care needs of older siblings

(i.e., children in the family age three or

older) but would not be expected or

authorized to pay for such services.

Instead, the role of Early Head Start

would be to work with the family and

community providers to identify

programs where the older sibling may

be served.

D. Target Populations

There will be no required target

populations other than that specified in

Part II, Section C. However, applicants

may choose to focus on special

populations such as teen parents or

design a program linked to welfare

reform initiatives if they wish. In future

years, the ACF may look at programs

focusing on these populations for more

in-depth study and evaluation.

E. Project Period, Funding and Project

Sizes

A total of approximately $17 million

in ACF funds will be available for

funding approximately 15–25 new Early

Head Start programs in FY 1995.

Applicants will be required to enroll at

least 75 families. In order to fund as

many different projects as possible, the

ACF does not intend to fund any

applicant to serve more than 150

families, unless it is the judgment of the

selecting official that a higher

enrollment level will enable the ACF to

better meet the stated purposes of Early

Head Start. Awards, on a competitive

basis, will be for a one-year budget

period, although project periods may be

for five-years. Applications for

continuation grants funded under these

awards beyond the first one-year budget

period but within the five-year project

period, will be entertained in

subsequent years on a non-competitive

basis, subject to availability of funds,

satisfactory progress of the grantee and

a determination that continued funding

would be in the best interest of the

Government. Continuation funds will be

available to serve eligible families who

were initially enrolled and eligible

families which replaced starting

families who left the program during

any single year.

Parent and Child Center Programs and

Cohort I of the Comprehensive Child

Development Programs (Cohort I) are

eligible to apply for this money

according to the terms of this

announcement but are not required to

do so.

Note: The statute creating Early Head Start

allows Cohort II of the Comprehensive Child

Development Programs (Cohort II) to

continue in their demonstration phase and

receive funding for the duration of the project

period.

If they do not choose to apply, they

will generally continue to receive

financial assistance in fiscal years 1995,

1996, and 1997 as permitted by section

645A(e) of the Act. When a Parent and

Child Center Program or Cohort I

competes successfully for an Early Head

Start grant, the current grant will be

replaced by the new Early Head Start

grant. Thus, the grantee’s current base

funding will be folded into the new

award and its current project period will

be replaced by a new Early Head Start

project period that extends a full five

years. If a Parent and Child Center

Program or a Cohort I chooses to

compete for Early Head Start and does

not succeed, the Parent and Child

Center Program or Cohort I will

generally continue to receive financial

assistance through FY 1997 and may

recompete to become an Early Head

Start program as new funds become

available in FY 1996, 1997, and 1998.

Parent and Child Center Programs and

Cohort I and Cohort II of the

Comprehensive Child Development

Program are receiving additional

information about the terms affecting

them as a result of this program

announcement.

Allowable costs for developing and

administering an Early Head Start

program may not exceed 15 percent of

the total approved costs of the program.

Costs classified as development and

administrative costs are those costs

related to the overall management of the

program. Additional information

pertaining to limitations of costs on

development and administration of

Early Head Start programs can be found

in Head Start Grants Administration

regulation 45 CFR 1301.32, Limitations

on Costs of Development and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14553

Administration of a Head Start Program,

which is available in the application kit.

All programs will be thoroughly

reviewed at the end of the first year to

determine their suitability for receiving

continued funding. Programs will be

expected to submit an ongoing

operation plan and revised budget.

Federal staff also may ask for additional

material as part of the review.

Given the importance of planning,

selecting high quality staff and setting in

place training mechanisms, and

coordinating with other programs

within the community, we expect that

programs will spend some portion of the

first year focusing on start-up activities.

Programs are strongly encouraged to

begin serving children and families

within the first year. Programs should

plan to be fully operational no later than

October 1, 1996. Because the first year

is unlikely to include 12 months of full

operation, it is assumed that first year

budgets will be lower than budgets for

future years.

Subject to the availability of

additional resources in FY 1996 and to

the number of acceptable applications

received as a result of this program

announcement, the selecting official

may elect to select recipients for the FY

1996 cohort of programs out of the pool

of applications submitted for FY 1995

funds.

F. Required Match

Grantees that operate Early Head Start

programs must provide at least 20

percent of the total approved costs of

the project. The total approved cost of

the project is the sum of the ACF share

and the non-Federal share. The nonFederal share may be met by cash or inkind contributions, fairly evaluated,

including facilities, equipment or

volunteer services. Therefore, a project

requesting $100,000 in Federal funds

(based on an award of $125,000 per

budget period), must include a match of

at least $25,000 (20 percent of total

project costs). Applicants are

encouraged to provide more than the

minimum 20 percent non-Federal share.

In certain instances, the requirement

for a 20 percent non-federal match may

be waived in part or in whole, if the

circumstances described in Section

640(b) of the Head Start Act exist. This

section states that ‘‘For the purpose of

making such determination, the

Secretary shall take into consideration

with respect to the Head Start program

involved—(1) the lack of resources

available in the community that may

prevent the Head Start agency from

providing all or a portion of the nonFederal contribution that may be

required under this subsection; (2) the

impact of the cost the Head Start agency

may incur in initial years it carries out

such program; (3) the impact of an

unanticipated increase in the cost the

Head Start agency may incur to carry

out such program; (4) whether the Head

Start agency is located in a community

adversely affected by a major disaster;

and (5) the impact on the community

that would result if the Head Start

agency ceased to carry out such

program.’’

G. Applicable Head Start Standards

Agencies that receive funding through

this announcement must adhere to those

standards set forth in certain regulations

that govern Head Start programs in

addition to Department of Health and

Human Services regulations that govern

discretionary grants generally. The

relevant Head Start regulations are:

Head Start Grants Administration, 45

CFR part 1301; Head Start Program

Performance Standards, 45 CFR part

1304; and Eligibility, Recruitment,

Selection, Enrollment and Attendance

in Head Start, 45 CFR part 1305.

There are a number of specific

provisions in the foregoing Head Start

regulations that relate only to children

ages three to five. For example, the Head

Start Performance Standards, Subpart

B—Education Services in large part

describes services that are to be

provided to older preschool children

and are not appropriate for children

under age three. As is currently the case

for Head Start Parent and Child Center

programs and Migrant Head Start

programs that serve children under

three years of age, such provisions do

not apply to Early Head Start programs.

New Performance Standards for Head

Start programs are currently being

developed. After a period of public

comment, this regulation will be issued

in final form in FY 1996 when agencies

selected to become Early Head Start

programs are beginning to provide

services. At that time, programs will be

expected to comply with the

Performance Standards, as applicable

under the time frames specified in the

regulation.

Copies of the current applicable Head

Start regulations are available in the

application kit.

H. Early Head Start as a Learning

Community

1. Overview

On both the local and national level,

Early Head Start is envisioned as a

learning community for how quality

services should be delivered to pregnant

women and families with infants and

toddlers. Thus, continuous

improvement, evaluation, research and

dissemination activities play a critical

role in this initiative. These activities

include, but are not limited to:

• Continuous review and

measurement of program processes to

determine progress toward stated

objectives and for the purpose of

program improvement;

• Studies of program processes

including services offered to and

received by families and descriptions of

how the services are delivered;

• Qualitative studies of individual

families and programs;

• Studies of child, family, program

and community variables that

contribute to program outcomes;

• Studies of program quality and the

relationship of quality to program

outcomes;

• Studies of program variations and

their relationship to impacts;

• National impact studies, conducted

by a national contractor;

• Establishment of longitudinal

research in a sample of Early Head Start

national impact study sites; and

• Documentation of the program

models and development of materials

for dissemination purposes.

2. Requirement on the Use of an

Automated Information System

In order to facilitate learning

community activities, all Early Head

Start programs will be required to use

an automated information system to

collect program information on families,

services, collaborative arrangements,

staff, training, services utilization and

costs. The Head Start Family

Information System (HSFIS), which is

Head Start’s new automated record

keeping system, is currently being

modified to accommodate the needs of

Early Head Start. The HSFIS software

and User’s Manual will be made

available to Early Head Start grantees at

the time of award and grantees will be

responsible for coordinating the

collection of data for and management

of HSFIS.

As Early Head Start sites will be in

the first wave of HSFIS implementation

in the field, technical assistance for

implementation issues, including

linkages to existing systems, will be

provided through the ACYF-supervised

contractor responsible for implementing

HSFIS and through mentor sites from

the pilot phase of the HSFIS project.

3. Continuous Improvement and

Formative Evaluation Requirements

In order to enter fully into the

learning community environment on

both the national and local level, all
14554 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

Early Head Start programs will be

required to:

• Conduct a local assessment of

progress toward stated objectives and

program improvement using the

automated information system and other

sources of data which will measure

progress toward stated objectives and

contribute to a process of continuous

improvement within the program and

sponsoring agency;

• Provide information from the Early

Head Start automated information

system as requested by a National

Contractor;

• Collect qualitative information on

the program and on individual families;

• Participate in the program variation

and quality studies, if requested to do so

by the ACYF; and

• Document the program model and

develop dissemination materials.

All Early Head Start programs are

required to have the capacity to carry

out the activities listed above. Thus,

applicants for Early Head Start funds

will need access to expertise in

developing and using performance

measures, as well as in conducting

qualitative evaluation. Applicants are

strongly encouraged to form

partnerships with representatives of

local universities or other research

organizations who can assist them in the

conduct of formative evaluation and

continuous improvement activities, and

who can become potential candidates

for the research and impact studies

discussed below.

4. Impact Study and Research Site

Requirements

Any Early Head Start program could

be required to participate in the national

impact study and therefore should be

prepared to participate in random

assignment over a specified time period.

A limited number of funded Early Head

Start programs will be selected by the

ACF as special research sites in FY

1996. Selected sites shall fulfill all of

the continuous improvement and other

evaluation requirements listed above,

and, in addition:

• Serve as a research site where a

university or research organization will

conduct research on the child, family,

program and community variables that

affect outcomes; and, as such, become

eligible to participate in the Early Head

Start/Head Start longitudinal study.

• Collaborate with the university or

research organization in the

development of relevant research

questions and in the design of the local

study; and/or,

• Serve as a national impact study

site and accept assignment under either

an experimental or quasi-experimental

condition and/or cooperate with a

national contractor and the ACF in

establishing comparison groups

appropriate for answering questions of

impact, recruitment and/or

generalizability.

The ACF will award approximately $2

million for local research activities in

FY 1996. Early Head Start programs

which are chosen by the ACF as impact

evaluation and special research sites

will be required to cooperate in carrying

out intensive research and evaluation

activities (e.g. random assignment of

recruited families to comparison and

program groups). The Request for

Proposal for research site competition

involving original or newly identified

research partners, will be released in the

Fall of 1995. Selection of research sites

will be based on a combination of

factors that may include proposed study

design, research partner qualifications,

location, program composition, and

projected program readiness for

evaluation.

Part III. Application Requirements

Applicants must address the

following requirements in their

applications for financial assistance. For

the convenience of the applicants, these

requirements have been organized

according to the evaluation criteria

presented in Part IV.

A. Objectives and Need for Assistance

1. State the objectives for the program

and indicate how these objectives relate

to the four Early Head Start Program

Goals (see the Summary Section of this

Announcement or Appendix C), and

demonstrate that there is a need for the

program that relates to these objectives

and is based on an assessment of the

community (conducted by the applicant

or resulting from a recent study of the

community) and consultation with

consumers. Provide letters of support

for your program from community

leaders and residents.

2. Identify the population to be served

by the project and explain why this

population is most in need of the

program. Identify the target enrollment

size (number of families and estimated

number of infants and toddlers) and

provide assurances that the population

the program intends to recruit and

enroll will meet Early Head Start

eligibility criteria.

3. Identify the geographic location to

be served by the program. Describe the

key characteristics of the targeted area

and explain what makes the area an

identifiable community or

neighborhood. Describe what services

and resources are/are not currently

available in the area which serve

pregnant women and families with

infants and toddlers. Provide

demographic and other information on

the target area which demonstrates that

there are a sufficient number of eligible,

unserved families in the area to justify

the target enrollment size. In addition,

demonstrate that the program will be

able to recruit at least twice as many

eligible families to be enrolled from the

target area should the program be

selected as a national impact study site

and be required to establish a randomly

assigned comparison group (See Part II,

Section H, Number 4). Attach relevant

maps or other geographic aids.

B. Results or Benefits

1. Identify the specific results or

benefits that could be expected for

families and children participating in

the program. Identify the specific

community-wide results or benefits.

Identify the specific results or benefits

that could be expected for the staff

working in the Early Head Start program

as well as other child development

caregivers and family development staff

working in a variety of relevant

community agencies.

2. Identify the kinds of qualitative and

quantitative data the program will

collect to measure progress towards the

stated results or benefits.

3. Provide assurances that the

program will collect data on groups of

individuals and geographic areas

served, types of services to be furnished,

service utilization information, types

and nature of needs identified and met,

and such other information as may be

required periodically by the ACF for

purposes of the national evaluation.

4. Describe how the lessons learned

from the program will benefit national

policy, practice, theory and research.

C. Approach

1. Describe the method used to

undertake the community assessment

and consumer consultation process that

caused the applicant to conclude that

there is a need for the proposed program

as discussed in Part III, Section A. An

applicant need not conduct an

independent assessment of the

community if such an assessment

already exists. In this case, the applicant

should describe the method of the

recently conducted assessment and

explain any additional consultation

with consumers as it relates to the

development of the proposed program.

In addition, all applicants must describe

the planning the program will do during

the start-up period to prepare for

implementation of the program and

explain how consumers and other
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14555

stakeholders in the community will be

involved in the planning.

2. Explain the approach to recruiting

and enrolling the number and type of

children and families from the target

recruitment area, as discussed in Part

III, Section A. Discuss any special

efforts you will make to recruit and

enroll pregnant women and families

with children under age one. Provide

assurances that you will carry-out

random assignment should your

program be selected to participate in the

national impact study.

3. Describe how the program will

ensure that at least 10 percent of

enrollment and participation

opportunities will be made available to

children with disabilities (as defined by

the IDEA Part H Lead Agency for the

State). Describe the policies and

practices the program will have in place

to assure that a child will not be denied

enrollment or participation in the

program on the basis of a disability or

the severity of such a condition.

Describe how the program will work

with the Part H local lead agency or, if

available, the local Interagency

Coordinating Council to arrange or

provide for special services needed by

these children and their families.

Describe how staff will coordinate their

efforts with others to ensure children

with disabilities and their families

receive high quality services.

4. Describe the approach to providing

child development services and explain

the rationale for choosing the approach.

Identify and describe the specific

approaches that will be used for

assuring the intellectual, social,

emotional and physical development of

the infants and toddlers served.

Describe the philosophy, curricula,

staffing patterns, staff qualifications,

types and quality of settings and any

other relevant information that will

comprise the program’s model for

supporting the growth and development

of very young children. Clearly explain

how your model will meet the

developmental needs of very young

children (including children from nonEnglish speaking families).

5. Explain how the program’s child

development approach will promote

parent/guardian-child interaction and

support the mother-child and/or fatherchild bond. Also explain how caregiving

will be provided in ways that support

infant and toddler attachment to a

limited number of skilled and caring

individuals.

6. Describe how high-quality infant

and toddler full- and part-day child care

will be provided to children of parents

who are working or in training or to

children who require out-of-home care

due to special parental circumstances

like substance abuse treatment. Discuss

the relationship between these resources

and the program’s overall child

development approach. Describe the

process the program will use to

determine that child care (provided

either directly or through referral) will

be of high quality. In addition, describe

the program’s approach to building

capacity in communities where high

quality infant/toddler child care is

lacking.

7. Describe the program’s approach to

ensuring the continuation of

developmentally-appropriate services

for children, including those with

disabilities, and their families once the

children reach the age of three and the

family exits the Early Head Start

Program.

8. Describe the specific approaches for

providing, either directly or through

referral, ongoing well-baby and wellchild health services such as early and

periodic screening, diagnosis, treatment,

immunizations, nutritional assessment,

developmental surveillance and

anticipatory guidance. In addition,

describe the approach for ensuring that

children are cared for in safe and

hygienic environments.

9. Describe the approach for

supporting family growth and

development and explain the rationale

for choosing the approach. Explain the

framework of and procedures for

developing each family’s individualized

plan. Explain how you intend to work

with other service delivery systems

which require a similar plan, such as

the Part H Individualized Family

Service Plan (IFSP), to ensure that the

family only need to complete one plan

and that one plan can be used by all

relevant programs to ensure a seamless

service delivery system for the child and

family. Describe how your family

development approach will assist

families and individual family members

in identifying, pursuing and achieving

goals and overcoming obstacles on the

way to achieving those goals.

10. Describe how the program will

develop relationships with parents

which promote their involvement with

the program. Describe the strategy and

the opportunities for parent

involvement providing assurances that

it meets or exceeds the parent

involvement standards described in 45

CFR Part 1304 Instruction I–30, Section

B–2, 70.2, the Parents. Explain what

special efforts the program will make to

reach out to and involve fathers.

11. Describe what services the

program will provide, either directly or

through referral, to promote adult and

family health and wellness. Identify and

explain the mental and physical health

services which will be made available to

and accessible by the parents, siblings

and other significant family members of

the infants and toddlers served by the

program. Describe what the program

will do to promote women’s health and

wellness prior to, during and after

pregnancy. In addition, describe what

the program will do to provide access to

smoking cessation and substance abuse

prevention and treatment services for

affected families.

12. Describe what services the

program will provide, either directly or

through referral, to promote progress

toward economic self-sufficiency for

parents. Describe the program’s

approach for basic literacy training,

adult basic education, employability

skills training and job development and

placement services.

13. Describe what assistance the

program will provide, either directly or

through referral, to families in obtaining

needed income support, food, and

decent, safe housing.

14. Identify the existing transportation

resources available to families in

reaching services provided at the

program site and in off-site locations.

Describe any transportation

arrangements the program will make to

ensure that families and children are

able to access needed services.

15. Describe the program’s approach

to community building and explain the

rationale for choosing the approach.

Describe how the program will be

coordinated with other programs and

services in the community which serve

pregnant women, infants, toddlers and

their families and how the program will

assist in the development of local

community capability, expertise and

commitment to carry out comprehensive

service programs built around the needs

of pregnant women and families with

very young children. Describe any

barriers to collaboration in your

community and explain your strategy

for addressing these. Identify by name

specific providers, agencies and

organizations with which the applicant

will coordinate in order to carry out the

requirements of this project. Applicants

should furnish formal interagency

agreements or contracts (if available)

indicating which services will be

provided to which program participants

for what periods of time, by each of

those provider agencies and/or

organizations.

16. Describe linkages that the program

will make with the following

communities during the planning,

implementation and operation of the

program: Health and nutrition (e.g.,

public health departments and other
14556 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

health providers and programs

including Title V, Supplemental Food

Program for Women, Infants and

Children (WIC) and Medicaid prenatal

care services and the Medicaid Early

and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and

Treatment program (EPSDT)); early

intervention (e.g., Part H local lead

agency or, if available, local interagency

coordinating councils and University

Affiliated Programs); mental health and

substance abuse prevention and

treatment; education (e.g., local

preschool, child care, Head Start, and

elementary schools); child care resource

and referral agencies and their

networks; business (e.g., the local

Private Industry Council); parent

groups; and other strength-building

organizations.

17. Describe the approach to staff

selection and explain the rationale for

choosing the approach. Describe what

staffing patterns and mix of staff

qualifications and language/cultural

competencies the program will require

to ensure that staff, together, cover the

spectrum of skills, knowledge and

professional competencies necessary to

provide quality, comprehensive,

inclusive and family-centered services

to young children and families. Describe

the process the applicant will use to

identify and select individual staff—

from directors to caregivers to data

management staff—who demonstrate

the personal characteristics,

competencies and skills necessary to

provide quality services and promote

quality relationships with and among

children, families, the community and

other staff. Explain how the program

will ensure that all infant/toddler

caregivers are qualified, with sufficient

grounding in infant/toddler

development and care, and parent/

caregiver relations prior to working with

children and families enrolled in the

program.

18. Describe the approach to staff

development and the rationale for

choosing the approach. Describe the

training, technical assistance, and

supervision that will be provided to

ensure continued enhancement of staff

skills and teamwork. Describe how

training and technical assistance

opportunities will be coordinated with

other service providers in the

community so that Early Head Start

both provides and benefits from the

knowledge, expertise, and training

opportunities of other relevant

community programs and service

delivery systems. Describe how the

program will ensure that staff are

knowledgeable about the rights of

children with disabilities and are

capable of providing such infants and

toddlers with high quality care in a

supportive and developmentally

appropriate environment.

19. Identify and explain the

management and continuous

improvement plan(s) for implementing

the program. Include: An outline of the

time frames and milestones for all key

activities that the program will engage

in during the first year of operation, as

well as a preliminary outline of time

frames and milestones for key activities

in the remaining years of the project; a

description of the procedures for

assessment of progress toward stated

objectives including how collection of

data on the results and benefits

identified in Part III, Section B will

contribute to a process of continuous

improvement within the program and

the sponsoring agency; a description of

how an automated information system

will become an integral component in

the management and continuous

improvement of the program; a

description of how confidentiality of

user data will be maintained; a

description of the applicant’s capacity

(e.g. facilities, administrative and

support personnel, etc.) to support the

program at the proposed target

enrollment size; a description of the

strategy for reducing staff turnover; and

a description of how the program will

go about establishing a Policy Council

(as described by Head Start Regulation,

45 CFR part 1304) and a Health Services

Advisory Committee (as described by

Head Start Regulation, 45 CFR part

1304).

D. Staff Background and Organizational

Experience

1. Describe the applicant’s experience

in providing comprehensive child

development and family development

services to families with infants and

toddlers, as well as the applicant’s

experience in collaborating with local,

State and Federal partners. Describe the

applicant’s history and relationship

with the target community. Include a

complete discussion of relevant

program, administrative and fiscal

management experience.

2. If the applicant represents a

consortium of partner agencies, explain

the relevant background of each partner

and the partners’ experience in planning

and implementing programs to serve

children and families. Each partner

must provide a letter of commitment

which authorizes the applicant to apply

on behalf of the consortium.

3. Identify and provide a brief

description of key staff who are

proposed to work in the program and

indicate their educational training and

experience working with similar

programs. Provide resumes. Build on

the answer to Part III, Section C,

Number 17 by explaining how these

particular staff persons comprise a

multi-disciplinary team of experts. In

addition, explain how the ethnic and

racial composition and language

proficiencies of these particular staff

persons is reflective of the community

where the program is located.

4. Describe the expertise the

organization will utilize in conducting

the formative evaluation and continuous

improvement activities described in Part

II, Section H, Number 3. Describe the

experience of and provide resumes from

the individuals who will assist the

program with continuous improvement

and formative evaluation activities.

5. Provide assurances that the

applicant will cooperate with a multisite evaluation contractor and any other

contractor the ACF may fund to provide

management support or technical

assistance services to Early Head Start

programs.

E. Budget Appropriateness

1. Provide two detailed, line-item

budgets: one that accounts for all

relevant start-up and operating costs to

be incurred in the first year of the

project and one that reflects ongoing

operating costs. In the proposed

budgets, applicants must set aside

sufficient funds so that 5 staff can travel

to Washington, D.C. for two annual

meetings to be convened by ACYF (i.e.,

5 staff × 2 trips = 10 trips). Each budget

should include the required non-Federal

share of the cost of the project (See Part

II, Section F).

2. Describe how these budgets reflect

high quality, ongoing services provided

at a reasonable cost. Include discussions

on the appropriateness of staff

compensation levels and funds set aside

to promote staff development (programs

are encouraged to set aside up to 10%

of the annual budget for staff

development purposes), costs associated

with special equipment needs and the

removal of architectural barriers for

disabled families and children,

renovation costs associated with

providing environments conducive to

the high quality provision of child and

family development services, costs

associated with family transportation

and emergency resource needs, etc.

Explain what efforts the applicant has

made or will make to secure other

community cash and in-kind resources,

besides those shown in the budgets, and

what additional resources will be used

to support the provision of Early Head

Start services to children and families.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14557

Part IV. Evaluation Criteria

In considering how applicants will

carry out the responsibilities addressed

under Part III of this announcement,

competing applications for financial

assistance will be reviewed and

evaluated against the following five

criteria. The point values following each

criterion indicate the numerical weight

each criterion will be accorded in the

review process.

A. Criterion 1. Objectives and Need for

Assistance (15 Points)

The extent to which, based on

community assessment information, the

applicant identifies any relevant

physical, economic (e.g., poverty in the

community), social, financial,

institutional, or other issues which

demonstrate a need for the Early Head

Start program; in addition, the extent to

which the applicant identifies the

strengths of the community the project

will serve. The extent to which the

applicant lists relevant program

objectives that adequately address the

strengths and needs of the community.

The extent to which the applicant

describes the population to be served by

the project and explains why this

population is most in need of the

program. The extent to which the

applicant gives a precise location and

rationale for the project site(s) and

area(s) to be served by the proposed

project.

Information provided in response to

Part III, Section A of this announcement

will be used to evaluate applicants on

this criterion.

B. Criterion 2. Results or Benefits

Expected (10 Points)

The extent to which the applicant

identifies the results and benefits to be

derived from the project and links these

to the stated objectives. The extent to

which the applicant describes the kinds

of data to be collected and how it will

be utilized to measure progress towards

the stated results or benefits. The extent

to which the applicant describes how

the lessons learned from the program

will benefit national policy, practice,

theory and research.

Information provided in response to

Part III, Section B of this announcement

will be used to evaluate applicants on

this criterion.

C. Criterion 3. Approach (50 Points)

The extent to which the applicant

outlines a workable plan of action

which relates to the four Early Head

Start program cornerstones (see Part I,

Section F or Appendix C), reflects the

nine program principles (see Part I,

Section E or Appendix C), and details

how the proposed work will be

accomplished. The extent to which the

applicant explains why the approach

chosen makes sense in light of the

needs, objectives, results and benefits

described above. The extent to which

the approach is grounded in recognized

standards and/or guidelines for high

quality service provision or is defensible

from a research or ‘‘best practices’’

standpoint.

The extent to which the applicant’s

management plan demonstrates

sufficient management capacity to

implement a high-quality Early Head

Start program.

Information provided in Part III,

Section C of this announcement will be

used to evaluate applicants on this

criterion.

D. Criterion 4. Staff Background and

Organizational Experience (15 Points)

The extent to which the proposed

program director, proposed key project

staff, and the organization’s experience

and history with the community

demonstrate the ability to effectively

and efficiently administer a project of

this size, complexity and scope. The

extent to which the organization’s (and/

or university/research organization

partner’s) experience demonstrates an

ability to carry out the continuous

improvement and qualitative evaluation

activities described in Part II, Section H,

Number 3.

Information provided in response to

Part III, Section D of this announcement

will be used to evaluate applicants on

this criterion.

E. Criterion 5. Budget Appropriateness

(10 Points)

The extent to which the program’s

costs are reasonable in view of the

planning and activities to be carried out

and the anticipated outcomes. The

extent to which the salaries and fringe

benefits reflect the level of

compensation appropriate for the

responsibilities of staff. The extent to

which assurances are provided that the

applicant can and will contribute the

non-Federal share of the total project

cost. The extent to which the program

has attempted to and/or succeeded in

garnering cash or in-kind resources from

other sources in the community.

Information provided in response to

Part III, Section E of this announcement

will be used to evaluate applicants on

this criterion.

Part V. The Application Process

A. Availability of Forms

Eligible applicants interested in

applying for funds must submit all of

the required forms included at the end

of this program announcement in

Appendix A.

In order to be considered for a grant

under this Announcement, an

application must be submitted on the

Standard Form 424 which has been

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) under Control

Number 0348–0043. A copy has been

provided (see Appendix A). Each

application must be signed by an

individual authorized to act for the

applicant and to assume responsibility

for the obligations imposed by the terms

and conditions of the grant award.

Applicants requesting financial

assistance for a non-construction project

must file the Standard Form 424B,

‘‘Assurances: Non-Construction

Programs.’’ Applicants must sign and

return the Standard Form 424B with

their application.

Applicants must provide a

certification concerning lobbying. Prior

to receiving an award in excess of

$100,000, applicants shall furnish an

executed copy of the lobbying

certification. Applicants must sign and

return the certification with their

application.

Applicants must make the appropriate

certification of their compliance with

the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

By signing and submitting the

application, applicants are providing

the certification and need not mail back

the certification with the application.

Applicants must make the appropriate

certification that they are not presently

debarred, suspended or otherwise

ineligible for award. By signing and

submitting the application, applicants

are providing the certification and need

not mail back the certification with the

application.

Applicants must also understand that

they will be held accountable for the

smoking prohibition included within

P.L. 103–227, The Pro-Children’s Act of

1994. A copy of the Federal Register

notice which implements the smoking

prohibition is included in the

application kit.

B. Application Submission

Applicants submitting proposals

should use the following format

guidelines: Proposals should be

organized according to the evaluation

criteria located in Part IV of this Federal

Register announcement. For each of the

five specified criteria, applicants should

provide information in response to the

application requirements described in

Part III of this announcement. These

application requirements are crossreferenced by number in the last

paragraph of each criterion. All persons
14558 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

who prepared sections of the proposal

should be identified along with those

sections, as well as identified according

to their responsibilities with regard to

the proposed program.

One signed original and two copies of

the grant application, including all

attachments, are required. The program

announcement number (ACYF–HS–

93600.952) must be clearly identified on

the application. Each application must

be limited to no more than 125 doublespaced pages of program narrative (not

including the forms which make up the

SF–424 and resumes) including the onepage project summary. If the narrative

portion of the application is more than

125 double-spaced pages, the other

pages will be removed from the

application and not considered by the

reviewers. The attachments/appendices

to each application must be limited to

no more than 100 pages. If the

attachments/appendices to each

application are more than 100 pages, the

other pages will be removed from the

application and not considered by the

reviewers.

The application must be paginated

beginning with the Form 424 and also

contain a table of contents listing each

section of the application with the

respective pages identified. Only one

application per applicant will be

accepted.

C. Application Consideration

Applicants will be scored against the

evaluation criteria described above. The

review will be conducted in

Washington, DC by a panel consisting of

experts in the areas of child and family

development and other related fields.

To further inform the Associate

Commissioner of the Head Start Bureau

and the Commissioner of ACYF,

representatives from the Federal

government may conduct site visits to

programs whose applications fall within

a certain range of competitive rankings

(i.e., all programs which have made the

‘‘first cut’’, but which the Commissioner

of ACYF will not approve without

additional data). This site visit will take

place following the competitive review

and before the award decision for the

purpose of obtaining additional

information, clarifying programmatic

strategies and other issues which

surfaced in the applications, and

identifying any problem areas needing

to be resolved.

The results of the competitive review

will be taken into consideration by the

Associate Commissioner, Head Start

Bureau, in recommending the project to

be funded. The Commissioner of ACYF

will make the final selection of the

applicants to be funded. An application

may be funded in whole or in part,

depending on the relative need for

services, applicant ranking, geographic

location and funds available.

The Commissioner may elect not to

provide funding to applicants

experiencing problems in providing

quality services identified either

through the panel review or the site

visit.

Successful applicants will be notified

through the issuance of a Financial

Assistance Award which sets forth the

amount of funds granted, the terms and

conditions of the grant, the effective

date of the grant, the budget period for

which support is given, and the total

project period for which support is

provided.

Subject to availability of additional

resources in FY 1996 and the number of

acceptable applications received as a

result of this program announcement,

the Commissioner may elect to select

recipients for the FY 1996 cohort of

programs out of the pool of applications

submitted for FY 1995 funds.

D. Checklist for a Complete Application

The checklist below is for your use to

ensure that the application package has

been properly prepared.

—One original, signed and dated

application plus two copies.

—The narrative portion of the

application does not exceed 125

double-spaced pages in a 12-pitch

font with 11⁄2 inch margins at the top

and 1 inch at the bottom and both

sides.

—Attachments/Appendices to the

application do not exceed 100 pages.

Attachments/appendices should be

used only to provide supporting

documentation such as maps,

administration charts, position

descriptions, resumes, and letters of

intent/agreement. Please do not

include books or video tapes as they

are not easily reproduced and are

therefore inaccessible to the

reviewers. Each page should be

numbered sequentially.

—A complete application consists of the

following items in this order:

(1) Application for Federal Assistance

(SF 424, REV.4–88);

(2) Table of Contents;

(3) Budget information—NonConstruction Programs (SF 424A&B

REV.88);

(4) Budget justification for Section

B—Budget Categories, including

subcontract agency budgets;

(5) Project Summary (not to exceed

one page);

(6) Application Narrative and

Appendices;

(7) Any non-profit organization

submitting an application must submit

proof of its non-profit status in its

application at the time of submission.

The non-profit agency can accomplish

this by providing a copy of the

applicant’s listing in the Internal

Revenue Service’s (IRS) most recent list

of tax-exempt organizations described in

Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code or by

providing a copy of the currently valid

IRS tax exemption certificate, or by

providing a copy of the articles of

incorporation bearing the seal of the

State in which the corporation or

association is domiciled.

(8) Assurances Non-Construction

Programs;

(9) Certification Regarding Lobbying;

(10) Where appropriate, a completed

SPOC certification with the date of

SPOC contact entered in line 16, page 1

of the SF 424, REV.4–88).

E. Due Date for the Receipt of

Applications

Deadlines: Applications shall be

considered as meeting an announced

deadline if they are received on or

before the deadline date at the address

or receipt point specified in this

program announcement. Applicants are

responsible for mailing applications

well in advance, when using all mail

services, to ensure that the applications

are received on or before the deadline

date. (Applicants are cautioned that

postmarks will not be considered as a

methodology for meeting the deadline.)

Late applications: Applications which

do not meet the criteria above are

considered late applications. ACF shall

notify each late applicant that its

application will not be considered in

the current competition.

Extension of deadlines: ACF may

extend the deadline for all applicants

because of acts of God such as floods,

hurricanes, etc., or when there is a

widespread disruption of the mails.

However, if ACF does not extend the

deadline for all applicants, it may not

waive or extend the deadline for any

applicants.

F. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1980, Public Law 96–511, the

Department is required to submit to

OMB for review and approval any

reporting and record keeping

requirements in regulations, including

program announcements. This program

announcement does not contain

information collection requirements

beyond those approved for ACF grant

applications under OMB Control

Number 0348–0043.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14559

G. Executive Order 12372—Notification

Process

This program is covered under

Executive Order 12372,

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs,’’ and 45 CFR part 100,

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of

Department of Health and Human

Services Programs and Activities.’’

Under the Order, States may design

their own processes for reviewing and

commenting on proposed Federal

assistance under covered programs.

All States and territories except

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado,

Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas,

Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana,

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon,

Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia,

Washington, American Samoa, and

Palau have elected to participate in the

Executive Order process and have

established Single Points of Contact

(SPOCs). Applicants from these

nineteen jurisdictions areas need not

take action regarding Executive Order

12372.

Applications for projects to be

administered by Federally-recognized

Indian Tribes are also exempt from the

requirements of Executive Order 12372.

Otherwise, applicants should contact

their SPOC as soon as possible to alert

them to the prospective application and

to receive any necessary instructions.

Applicants must submit any required

material to the SPOC as early as possible

so that the program office can obtain

and review SPOC comments as part of

the award process. It is imperative that

the applicant submit all required

materials, if any, to the SPOC and

indicate the date of this submittal (or

date of contact if no submittal is

required) on the Standard Form 424,

item 16a.

Under 45 CFR 100.8(a)(2), a SPOC has

60 days from the application deadline to

comment on proposed new or

competing continuation awards.

SPOCs are encouraged to eliminate

the submission of routine endorsements

as official recommendations.

Additionally, SPOCs are requested to

clearly differentiate between mere

advisory comments and those official

State process recommendations which

may trigger the ‘‘accommodate or

explain’’ rule.

When comments are submitted

directly to the ACF, they should be

addressed to: Department of Health and

Human Services, Administration for

Children and Families, OFM/DDG 6th

Floor East, 370 L’Enfant Promenade

SW., Washington, DC 20447.

A list of Single Points of Contact for

each State and territory is included as

Appendix B of this announcement.

H. Closing Date

The closing date for submission of

applications is May 31, 1995.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 93.600, Project Head Start)

Dated: March 10, 1995.

Olivia A. Golden,

Commissioner, Administration on Children,

Youth and Families.

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BILLING CODE 4184–01–C
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14561

Instructions for the SF 424

This is a standard form used by applicants

as a required facesheet for preapplications

and applications submitted for Federal

assistance. It will be used by Federal agencies

to obtain applicant certification that States

which have established a review and

comment procedure in response to Executive

Order 12372 and have selected the program

to be included in their process, have been

given an opportunity to review the

applicant’s submission.

Item and Entry:

1. Self-explanatory.

2. Date application submitted to Federal

agency (or State if applicable) & applicant’s

control number (if applicable).

3. State use only (if applicable).

4. If this application is to continue or

revise an existing award, enter present

Federal identifier number. If for a new

project, leave blank.

5. Legal name of applicant, name of

primary organizational unit which will

undertake the assistance activity, complete

address of the applicant, and name and

telephone number of the person to contact on

matters related to this application.

6. Enter Employer Identification Number

(EIN) as assigned by the Internal Revenue

Service.

7. Enter the appropriate letter in the space

provided.

8. Check appropriate box and enter

appropriate letter(s) in the space(s) provided:

—‘‘New’’ means a new assistance

award.

—‘‘Continuation’’ means an extension

for an additional funding/budget

period for a project with a projected

completion date.

—‘‘Revision’’ means any change in the

Federal Government’s financial

obligation or contingent liability from

an existing obligation.

9. Name of Federal agency from which

assistance is being requested with this

application.

10. Use the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance number and title of the program

under which assistance is requested.

11. Enter a brief descriptive title of the

project. If more than one program is

involved, you should append an explanation

on a separate sheet. If appropriate (e.g.,

construction or real property projects), attach

a map showing project location. For

preapplications, use a separate sheet to

provide a summary description of this

project.

12. List only the largest political entities

affected (e.g., State, counties, cities).

13. Self-explanatory.

14. List the applicant’s Congressional

District and any District(s) affected by the

program or project.

15. Amount requested or to be contributed

during the first funding/budget period by

each contributor. Value of in-kind

contributions should be included on

appropriate lines as applicable. If the action

will result in a dollar change to an existing

award, indicate only the amount of the

change. For decreases, enclose the amounts

in parentheses. If both basic and

supplemental amounts are included, show

breakdown on an attached sheet. For

multiple program funding, use totals and

show breakdown using same categories as

item 15.

16. Applicants should contact the State

Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Federal

Executive Order 12372 to determine whether

the application is subject to the State

intergovernmental review process.

17. This question applies to the applicant

organization, not the person who signs as the

authorized representative. Categories of debt

include delinquent audit disallowances,

loans and taxes.

18. To be signed by the authorized

representative of the applicant. A copy of the

governing body’s authorization for you to

sign this application as official representative

must be on file in the applicant’s office.

(Certain Federal agencies may require that

this authorization be submitted as part of the

application.)

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14564 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

Instructions for the SF–424A

General Instructions

This form is designed so that application

can be made for funds from one or more grant

programs. In preparing the budget, adhere to

any existing Federal grantor agency

guidelines which prescribe how and whether

budgeted amounts should be separately

shown for different functions or activities

within the program. For some programs,

grantor agencies may require budgets to be

separately shown by function or activity. For

other programs, grantor agencies may require

a breakdown by function or activity. Sections

A, B, C, and D should include budget

estimates for the whole project except when

applying for assistance which requires

Federal authorization in annual or other

funding period increments. In the latter case,

Sections A, B, C, and D should provide the

budget for the first budget period (usually a

year) and Section E should present the need

for Federal assistance in the subsequent

budget periods. All applications should

contain a breakdown by the object class

categories shown in Lines a-k of Section B.

Section A. Budget Summary

Lines 1–4, Columns (a) and (b)

For applications pertaining to a single

Federal grant program (Federal Domestic

Assistance Catalog number) and not requiring

a functional or activity breakdown, enter or

Line 1 under Column (a) the catalog program

title and the catalog number in Column (b).

For applications pertaining to a single

program requiring budget amounts by

multiple functions or activities, enter the

name of each activity or function on each

line in Column (a), and enter the catalog

number in Column (b). For applications

pertaining to multiple programs where none

of the programs require a breakdown by

function or activity, enter the catalog

program title on each line in Column (a) and

the respective catalog number on each line in

Column (b).

For applications pertaining to multiple

programs where one or more programs

require a breakdown by function or activity,

prepare a separate sheet for each program

requiring the breakdown. Additional sheets

should be used when one form does not

provide adequate space for all breakdown of

data required. However, when more than one

sheet is used, the first page should provide

the summary totals by programs.

Lines 1–4, Columns (c) Through (g.)

For new applications, leave Columns (c)

and (d) blank. For each line entry in Columns

(a) and (b), enter in Columns (e), (f), and (g)

the appropriate amounts of funds needed to

support the project for the first funding

period (usually a year).

For continuing grant program applications,

submit these forms before the end of each

funding period as required by the grantor

agency. Enter in Columns (c) and (d) the

estimated amounts of funds which will

remain unobligated at the end of the grant

funding period only if the Federal grantor

agency instructions provide for this.

Otherwise, leave these columns blank. Enter

in columns (e) and (f) the amounts of funds

needed for the upcoming period. The

amount(s) in Column (g) should be the sum

of amounts in Columns (e) and (f).

For supplemental grants and changes to

existing grants, do not use Columns (c) and

(d). Enter in Column (e) the amount of the

increase or decrease of Federal funds and

enter in Column (f) the amount of the

increase or decrease of non-Federal funds. In

Column (g) enter the new total budgeted

amount (Federal and non-Federal) which

includes the total previous authorized

budgeted amounts plus or minus, as

appropriate, the amounts shown in Columns

(e) and (f). The amount(s) in Column (g)

should not equal the sum of amounts in

Columns (e) and (f).

Line 5—Show the totals for all columns

used.

Section B. Budget Categories

In the column headings (1) through (4),

enter the titles of the same programs,

functions, and activities shown on Lines 1–

4, Column (a), Section A. When additional

sheets are prepared for Section A, provide

similar column headings on each sheet. For

each program, function or activity, fill in the

total requirements for funds (both Federal

and non-Federal) by object class categories.

Lines 6a–i—Show the totals of Lines 6a to

6h in each column.

Line 6j—Show the amount of indirect cost.

Line 6k—Enter the total of amounts on

Lines 6i and 6j. For all applications for new

grants and continuation grants the total

amount in column (5), Line 6k, should be the

same as the total amount shown in Section

A, Column (g), Line 5. For supplemental

grants and changes to grants, the total

amount of increase or decrease as shown in

Columns (1)–(4), Line 6k should be the same

as the sum of the amounts in Section A,

Columns (e) and (f) on Line 5.

Line 7—Enter the estimated amount of

income, if any, expected to be generated from

this project. Do not add or subtract this

amount from the total project amount. Show

under the program narrative statement the

nature and source of income. The estimated

amount of program income may be

considered by the federal grantor agency in

determining the total amount of the grant.

Section C. Non-Federal-Resources

Line 8–11—Enter amounts of non-Federal

resources that will be used on the grant. If

in-kind contributions are included, provide a

brief explanation on a separate sheet.

Column (a)—Enter the program titles

identical to Column (a), Section A. A

breakdown by function or activity is not

necessary.

Column (b)—Enter the contribution to be

made by the applicant.

Column (c)—Enter the amount of the

State’s cash and in-kind contribution if the

applicant is not a State or State agency.

Applicants which are a State or State

agencies should leave this column blank.

Column (d)—Enter the amount of cash and

in-kind contributions to be made from all

other sources.

Column (e)—Enter totals of Columns (b),

(c), and (d).

Line 12—Enter the total for each of

Columns (b)–(e). The amount in Column (e)

should be equal to the amount on Line 5,

Column (f), Section A.

Section D. Forecasted Cash Needs

Line 13—Enter the amount of cash needed

by quarter from the grantor agency during the

first year.

Line 14—Enter the amount of cash from all

other sources needed by quarter during the

first year.

Line 15—Enter the totals of amounts on

Lines 13 and 14.

Section E. Budget Estimates of Federal Funds

Needed for Balance of the Project

Lines 16–19—Enter in Column (a) the same

grant program titles shown in Column (a),

Section A. A breakdown by function or

activity is not necessary. For new

applications and continuation grant

applications, enter in the proper columns

amounts of Federal funds which will be

needed to complete the program or project

over the succeeding funding periods (usually

in years). This section need not be completed

for revisions (amendments, changes, or

supplements) to funds for the current year of

existing grants.

If more than four lines are needed to list

the program titles, submit additional

schedules as necessary.

Line 20—Enter the total for each of the

Columns (b)–(e). When additional schedules

are prepared for this Section, annotate

accordingly and show the overall totals on

this line.

Section F. Other Budget Information

Line 21—Use this space to explain

amounts for individual direct object-class

cost categories that may appear to be out of

the ordinary or to explain the details as

required by the Federal grantor agency.

Line 22—Enter the type of indirect rate

(provisional, predetermined, final or fixed)

that will be in effect during the funding

period, the estimated amount of the base to

which the rate is applied, and the total

indirect expense.

Line 23—Provide any other explanations or

comments deemed necessary.

ASSURANCES—NON-CONSTRUCTION

PROGRAMS

Note: Certain of these assurances may not

be applicable to your project or program. If

you have questions, please contact the

awarding agency. Further, certain Federal

awarding agencies may require applicants to

certify to additional assurances. If such is the

case, your will be notified.

As the duly authorized representative of

the applicant I certify that the applicant:

1. Has the legal authority to apply for

Federal assistance, and the institutional,

managerial and financial capability

(including funds sufficient to pay the nonFederal share of project costs) to ensure

proper planning, management and

completion of the project described in this

application.

2. Will give the awarding agency, the

Comptroller General of the United States, and

if appropriate, the State, through any

authorized representative, access to and the

right to examine all records, books, papers,

or documents related to the award; and will
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14565

establish a proper accounting system in

accordance with generally accepted

accounting standards or agency directives.

3. Will establish safeguards to prohibit

employees from using their positions for a

purpose that constitutes or presents the

appearance of personal or organizational

conflict of interest, or personal gain.

4. Will initiate and complete the work

within the applicable time frame after receipt

of approval of the awarding agency.

5. Will comply with the Intergovernmental

Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. §§ 4728–

4763) relating to prescribed standards for

merit systems for programs funded under one

of the nineteen statutes or regulations

specified in Appendix A of OPM’s Standards

for a Merit System of Personnel

Administration (5 CFR 900, Subpart F).

6. Will comply with all Federal statutes

relating to nondiscrimination. These include

but are not limited to: (a) Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88–352) which

prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,

color or national origin; (b) Title IX of the

Education Amendments of 1972, as amended

(20 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1683, and 1685–1686),

which prohibits discrimination on the basis

of sex; (c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation

Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794),

which prohibits discrimination on the basis

of handicaps; (d) the Age Discrimination Act

of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. §§ 6101–

6107), which prohibits discrimination on the

basis of age;

(e) the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment

Act of 1972 (P.L. 92–255), as amended,

relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of

drug abuse; (f) the Comprehensive Alcohol

Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention,

Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970

(P.L. 91–616), as amended, relating to

nondiscrimination on the basis of alcohol

abuse or alcoholism; (g) §§ 523 and 527 of the

Public Health Service Act of 1912 (42 U.S.C.

290 dd–3 and 290 ee–3), as amended, relating

to confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse

patient records; (h) Title VIII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.),

as amended, relating to nondiscrimination in

the sale, rental or financing of housing; (i)

any other nondiscrimination provisions in

the specific statute(s) under which

application for Federal assistance is being

made; and (j) the requirements of any other

nondiscrimination statute(s) which may

apply to the application.

7. Will comply, or has already complied,

with the requirements of Titles II and III of

the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real

Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970

(P.L. 91–646) which provide for fair and

equitable treatment of persons displaced or

whose property is acquired as a result of

Federal or federally assisted programs. These

requirements apply to all interests in real

property acquired for project purposes

regardless of Federal participation in

purchases.

8. Will comply with the provisions of the

Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 1501–1508 and 7324–

7328) which limit the political activities of

employees whose principal employment

activities are funded in whole or in part with

Federal funds.

9. Will comply, as applicable, with the

provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C.

§§ 276a to 276a–7), the Copeland Act (40

U.S.C. § 276c and 18 U.S.C. §§ 874), and the

Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards

Act (40 U.S.C. §§ 327–333), regarding labor

standards for federally assisted construction

subagreements.

10. Will comply, if applicable, with flood

insurance purchase requirements of Section

102(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of

1973 (P.L. 93–234) which requires recipients

in a special flood hazard area to participate

in the program and to purchase flood

insurance if the total cost of insurable

construction and acquisition is $10,000 or

more.

11. Will comply with environmental

standards which may be prescribed pursuant

to the following: (a) institution of

environmental quality control measures

under the National Environmental Policy Act

of 1969 (P.L. 91–190) and Executive Order

(EO) 11514; (b) notification of violating

facilities pursuant to EO 11738; (c) protection

of wetlands pursuant to EO 11990; (d)

evaluation of flood hazards in floodplains in

accordance with EO 11988; (e) assurance of

project consistency with the approved State

management program developed under the

Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16

U.S.C. §§ 1451 et seq.); (f) conformity of

Federal actions to State (Clear Air)

Implementation Plans under Section 176(c)

of the Clear Air Act of 1955, as amended (42

U.S.C. § 7401 et seq.); (g) protection of

underground sources of drinking water under

the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, as

amended, (P.L. 93–523); and (h) protection of

endangered species under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended, (P.L. 93–

205).

12. Will comply with the Wild and Scenic

Rivers Act of 1968 (16 U.S.C. §§ 1271 et seq.)

related to protecting components or potential

components of the national wild and scenic

rivers system.

13. Will assist the awarding agency in

assuring compliance with Section 106 of the

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 470), EO 11593

(identification and protection of historic

properties), and the Archaeological and

Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.

469a–1 et seq.).

14. Will comply with P.L. 93–348

regarding the protection of human subjects

involved in research, development, and

related activities supported by this award of

assistance.

15. Will comply with the Laboratory

Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (P.L. 89–544, as

amended, 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) pertaining to

the care, handling, and treatment of warm

blooded animals held for research, teaching,

or other activities supported by this award of

assistance.

16. Will comply with the Lead-Based Paint

Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 4801

et seq.) which prohibits the use of lead based

paint in construction or rehabilitation of

residence structures.

17. Will cause to be performed the required

financial and compliance audits in

accordance with the Single Audit Act of

1984.

18. Will comply with all applicable

requirements of all other Federal laws,

executive orders, regulations and policies

governing this program.

Signature of Authorized Certifying Official

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Applicant Organization

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Date Submitted

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BILLING CODE 4184–01–C
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Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, and Other Responsibility

Matters—Primary Covered

Transactions

By signing and submitting this

proposal, the applicant, defined as the

primary participant in accordance with

45 CFR Part 76, certifies to the best of

its knowledge and belief that it and its

principals:

(a) Are not presently debarred,

suspended, proposed for debarment,

declared ineligible, or voluntarily

excluded from covered transactions by

any Federal department or agency;

(b) Have not within a 3-year period

preceding this proposal been convicted

of or had a civil judgment rendered

against them for commission of fraud or

a criminal offense in connection with

obtaining, attempting to obtain, or

performing a public (Federal, State, or

local) transaction or contract under a

public transaction; violation of Federal

or State antitrust statutes or commission

of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery,

falsification or destruction of records,

making false statements, or receiving

stolen property:

(c) Are not presently indicted or

otherwise criminally or civilly charged

by a governmental entity (Federal, State

or local) with commission of any of the

offenses enumerated in paragraph (1)(b)

of this certification; and

(d) Have not within a 3-year period

preceding this application/proposal had

one or more public transactions

(Federal, State, or local) terminated for

cause or default.

The inability of a person to provide

the certification required above will not

necessarily result in denial of

participation in this covered

transaction. If necessary, the prospective

participant shall submit an explanation

of why it cannot provide the

certification. The certification or

explanation will be considered in

connection with the Department of

Health and Human Services (HHS)

determination whether to enter into this

transaction. However, a failure of the

prospective primary participant to

furnish a certification or an explanation

shall disqualify such person from

participation in this transaction.

The prospective primary participant

agrees that by submitting this proposal,

it will include the clause entitled

‘‘Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary

Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered

Transaction’’ provided below without

modification in all lower tier covered

transactions and in all solicitations for

lower tier covered transactions.

Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered

Transactions

(To Be Supplied to Lower Tier

Participants)

By signing and submitting this lower

tier proposal, the prospective lower tier

participant, as defined in 45 CFR Part

76, certifies to the best of its knowledge

and belief that it and its principals:

(a) Are not presently debarred,

suspended, proposed for debarment,

declared ineligible, or voluntarily

excluded from participation in this

transaction by any Federal department

or agency.

(b) Where the prospective lower tier

participant is unable to certify to any of

the above, such prospective participant

shall attach an explanation to this

proposal.

The prospective lower tier participant

further agrees by submitting this

proposal that it will include this clause

entitled ‘‘Certification Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility,

and Voluntary Exclusion—Lower Tier

Covered Transactions.’’ without

modification in all lower tier covered

transactions and in all solicitations for

lower tier covered transactions.

Certification Regarding Lobbying

Certification for Contracts, Grants,

Loans, and Cooperative Agreements

The undersigned certifies, to the best

of his or her knowledge and belief, that:

(1) No Federal appropriated funds

have been paid or will be paid, by or on

behalf of the undersigned, to any person

for influencing or attempting to

influence an officer or employee of any

agency, a Member of Congress, an

officer or employee of Congress, or an

employee of a Member of Congress in

connection with the awarding of any

Federal contract, the making of any

Federal grant, the making of any Federal

loan, the entering into of any

cooperative agreement, and the

extension, continuation, renewal,

amendment, or modification of any

Federal contract, grant, loan, or

cooperative agreement.

(2) If any funds other than Federal

appropriated funds have been paid or

will be paid to any person for

influencing or attempting to influence

an officer or employee of any agency, a

Member of Congress, an officer or

employee of Congress, or an employee

of a Member of Congress in connection

with this Federal contract, grant, loan or

cooperative agreement, the undersigned

shall complete and submit Standard

Form–LLL, ‘‘Disclosure Form to Report

Lobbying,’’ in accordance with its

instructions.

(3) The undersigned shall require that

the language of this certification be

included in the award documents for all

subawards at all tiers (including

subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts

under grants, loans, and cooperative

agreements) and that all subrecipients

shall certify and disclose accordingly.

This certification is a material

representation of fact upon which

reliance was placed when this

transaction was made or entered into.

Submission of this certification is a

prerequisite for making or entering into

this transaction imposed by section

1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any person

who fails to file the required

certification shall be subject to a civil

penalty of not less than $10,000 and not

more than $100,000 for each such

failure.

State for Loan Guarantee and Loan

Insurance

The undersigned states, to the best of

his or her knowledge and belief, that:

If any funds have been paid or will be

paid to any person for influencing or

attempting to influence an officer or

employee of any agency, a Member of

Congress, an officer or employee of

Congress, or an employee of a Member

of Congress in connection with this

commitment providing for the United

States to insure or guarantee a loan, the

undersigned shall complete and submit

Standard Form–LLL ‘‘Disclosure Form

to Report Lobbying,’’ in accordance with

its instructions.

Submission of this statement is a

prerequisite for making or entering into

this transaction imposed by section

1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any person

who fails to file the required statement

shall be subject to a civil penalty of not

less than $10,000 and not more than

$100,000 for each such failure.

Signature

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Title

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Organization

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Date

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Certification Regarding Environmental

Tobacco Smoke

Public Law 103–227, Part C—

Environmental Tobacco Smoke, also

known as the Pro-Children Act of 1994

(Act), requires that smoking not be

permitted in any portion of any indoor

facility owned or leased or contracted

for by an entity and used routinely or

regularly for the provision of health, day

care, education, or library services to

children under the age of 18, if the

services are funded by Federal programs

either directly or through State or local

governments, by Federal grant, contract,

loan, or loan guarantee. The law does

not apply to children’s services

provided in private residences, facilities

funded solely by Medicare or Medicaid

funds, and portions of facilities used for

inpatient drug or alcohol treatment.

Failure to comply with the provisions of

the law may result in the imposition of

a civil monetary penalty of up to $1000

per day and/or the imposition of an

administrative compliance order on the

responsible entity.

By signing and submitting this

application the applicant/grantee

certifies that it will comply with the

requirements of the Act. The applicant/

grantee further agrees that it will require

the language of this certification be

included in any subawards which

contain provisions for children’s

services and that all subgrantees shall

certify accordingly.

Appendix B

Executive Order 12372—State Single Points

of Contact

Arizona

Mrs. Janice Dunn, ATTN: Arizona State

Clearinghouse, 3800 N. Central Avenue,

14th Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85012,

Telephone (602) 280–1315

Arkansas

Tracie L. Copeland, Manager, State

Clearinghouse, Office of Intergovernmental

Services, Department of Finance and

Administration, PO Box 3278, Little Rock,

Arkansas 72203, Telephone (501) 682–

1074

California

Glenn Stober, Grants Coordinator, Office of

Planning and Research, 1400 Tenth Street,

Sacramento, California 95814, Telephone

(916) 323–7480

Delaware

Ms. Francine Booth, State Single Point of

Contact, Executive Department, Thomas

Collins Building, Dover, Delaware 19903,

Telephone (302) 736–3326

District of Columbia

Rodney T. Hallman, State Single Point of

Contact, Office of Grants Management and

Development, 717 14th Street NW., Suite

500, Washington, DC 20005, Telephone

(202) 727–6551

Florida

Florida State Clearinghouse,

Intergovernmental Affairs Policy Unit,

Executive Office of the Governor, Office of

Planning and Budgeting, The Capitol,

Tallahassee, Florida 32399–0001,

Telephone (904) 488–8441

Georgia

Mr. Charles H. Badger, Administrator,

Georgia State Clearinghouse, 254

Washington Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia

30334, Telephone (404) 656–3855

Illinois

Steve Klokkenga, State Single Point of

Contact, Office of the Governor, 107

Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois

62706, Telephone (217) 782–1671

Indiana

Jean S. Blackwell, Budget Director, State

Budget Agency, 212 State House,

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, Telephone

(317) 232–5610

Iowa

Mr. Steven R. McCann, Division of

Community Progress, Iowa Department of

Economic Development, 200 East Grand

Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309,

Telephone (515) 281–3725

Kentucky

Ronald W. Cook, Office of the Governor,

Department of Local Government, 1024

Capitol Center Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky

40601, Telephone (502) 564–2382

Maine

Ms. Joyce Benson, State Planning Office,

State House Station #38, Augusta, Maine

04333, Telephone (207) 289–3261

Maryland

Ms. Mary Abrams, Chief, Maryland State

Clearinghouse, Department of State

Planning, 301 West Preston Street,

Baltimore, Maryland 21201–2365,

Telephone (301) 225–4490

Massachusetts

Karen Arone, State Clearinghouse, Executive

Office of Communities and Development,

100 Cambridge Street, room 1803, Boston,

Massachusetts 02202, Telephone (617)

727–7001

Michigan

Richard S. Pastula, Director, Michigan

Department of Commerce, Lansing,

Michigan 48909, Telephone (517) 373–

7356

Mississippi

Ms. Cathy Mallette, Clearinghouse Officer,

Office of Federal Grant Management and

Reporting, 301 West Pearl Street, Jackson,

Mississippi 39203, Telephone (601) 960–

2174

Missouri

Ms. Lois Pohl, Federal Assistance

Clearinghouse, Office of Administration,

P.O. Box 809, room 430, Truman Building,

Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, Telephone

(314) 751–4834

Nevada

Department of Administration, State

Clearinghouse, Capitol Complex, Carson

City, Nevada 89710, Telephone (702) 687–

4065, Attention: Ron Sparks,

Clearinghouse Coordinator

New Hampshire

Mr. Jeffrey H. Taylor, Director, New

Hampshire Office of State Planning, Attn:

Intergovernmental Review, Process/James

E. Bieber, 21⁄2 Beacon Street, Concord, New

Hampshire 03301, Telephone (603) 271–

2155

New Jersey

Gregory W. Adkins, Acting Director, Division

of Community Resources, N.J. Department

of Community Affairs, Trenton, New Jersey

08625–0803, Telephone (609) 292–6613

Please direct correspondence and questions

to: Andrew J. Jaskolka, State Review

Process, Division of Community Resources,

CN 814, room 609, Trenton, New Jersey

08625–0803, Telephone (609) 292–9025

New Mexico

George Elliott, Deputy Director, State Budget

Division, room 190, Bataan Memorial

Building, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503,

Telephone (505) 827–3640, FAX (505) 827–

3006

New York

New York State Clearinghouse, Division of

the Budget, State Capitol, Albany, New

York 12224, Telephone (518) 474–1605

North Carolina

Mrs. Chrys Baggett, Director, Office of the

Secretary of Admin., N.C. State

Clearinghouse, 116 W. Jones Street,

Raleigh, North Carolina 27603–8003,

Telephone (919) 733–7232

North Dakota

N.D. Single Point of Contact, Office of

Intergovernmental Assistance, Office of

Management and Budget, 600 East

Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, North

Dakota 58505–0170, Telephone (701) 224–

2094

Ohio

Larry Weaver, State Single Point of Contact,

State/Federal Funds Coordinator, State

Clearinghouse, Office of Budget and

Management, 30 East Broad Street, 34th

Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43266–0411,

Telephone (614) 466–0698

Rhode Island

Mr. Daniel W. Varin, Associate Director,

Statewide Planning Program, Department

of Administration, Division of Planning,

265 Melrose Street, Providence, Rhode

Island 02907, Telephone (401) 277–2656

Please direct correspondence and questions

to: Review Coordinator, Office of Strategic

Planning.

South Carolina

Omeagia Burgess, State Single Point of

Contact, Grant Services, Office of the

Governor, 1205 Pendleton Street, room

477, Columbia, South Carolina 29201,

Telephone (803) 734–0494
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14571

Tennessee

Mr. Charles Brown, State Single Point of

Contact, State Planning Office, 500

Charlotte Avenue, 309 John Sevier

Building, Nashville, Tennessee 37219,

Telephone (615) 741–1676

Texas

Mr. Thomas Adams, Governor’s Office of

Budget and Planning, P.O. Box 12428,

Austin, Texas 78711, Telephone (512) 463–

1778

Utah

Utah State Clearinghouse, Office of Planning

and Budget, ATTN: Carolyn Wright, room

116 State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Utah

84114, Telephone (801) 538–1535

Vermont

Mr. Bernard D. Johnson, Assistant Director,

Office of Policy Research & Coordination,

Pavilion Office Building, 109 State Street,

Montpelier, Vermont 05602, Telephone

(802) 828–3326

West Virginia

Mr. Fred Cutlip, Director, Community

Development Division, West Virginia

Development Office, Building #6, room

553, Charleston, West Virginia 25305,

Telephone (304) 348–4010

Wisconsin

Mr. William C. Carey, Federal/State

Relations, Wisconsin Department of

Administration, 101 South Webster Street,

P.O. Box 7864, Madison, Wisconsin 53707,

Telephone (608) 266–0267

Wyoming

Sheryl Jeffries, State Single Point of Contact,

Herschler Building, 4th floor, East Wing,

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone

(307) 777–7574

Guam

Mr. Michael J. Reidy, Director, Bureau of

Budget and Management Research, Office

of the Governor, P.O. Box 2950, Agana,

Guam 96910, Telephone (671) 472–2285

Northern Mariana Islands

State Single Point of Contact, Planning and

Budget Office, Office of the Governor,

Saipan, CM, Northern Mariana Islands

96950

Puerto Rico

Norma Burgos/Jose H. Caro, Chairman/

Director, Puerto Rico Planning Board,

Minillas Government Center, P.O. Box

41119, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00940–9985,

Telephone (809) 727–4444

Virgin Islands

Jose L. George, Director, Office of

Management and Budget, #41 Norregade

Emancipation Garden Station, Second

Floor, Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802

Please direct correspondence to:

Linda Clarke, Telephone (809) 774–

0750.

Appendix C—The Statement of the

Advisory Committee on Services for

Families With Infants and Toddlers

Table of Contents

Overview

Background, Vision, and Goals

Research Rationale

Program Principles

Program Cornerstones

Federal Commitment

Conclusion

References

Overview

All children from birth to age three

need early child development

experiences that honor their unique

characteristics and provide love,

warmth, and positive learning

experiences; and all families need

encouragement and support from their

community so they can achieve their

own goals and provide a safe and

nurturing environment for their very

young children. This recognition is

guiding the design of the new Early

Head Start program.

Early Head Start marks a turning

point in America’s commitment to our

youngest children and their families. By

focusing on child development, family

development, community building, and

staff development a new era of support

to very young children and their

families is born, building on the

experiences and lessons learned from

existing Head Start programs.

Early Head Start puts resources into a

constellation of high quality supports

and services that will promote healthy

child and family development, and

backs them with a Federal commitment

to training, standards and monitoring

for high quality, research and

evaluation, and services coordination at

the national level. It enables families

and communities to design flexible and

responsive programs but requires that,

at a minimum, programs provide child

development, family support, health

services for young children and

pregnant women, and home visits to

families with newborns. This would

include child care services that respond

to the needs of families. When services

are provided through referral, it requires

that the Early Head Start program

assures the services to which families

are referred are of highest quality,

available and accessible, and that

needed followup occurs. And although

service delivery mechanisms may vary,

a common characteristic will be that

each Early Head Start program will

establish a place which is recognized as

a source of support for very young

children, families, and caregiving staff.

Programs will be encouraged to give this

Early Head Start place visibility and

identity.

With this design, the Early Head Start

program will be suited to last well into

the next century, always reshaping itself

to provide high quality, responsive, and

respectful services to America’s

youngest children and their families.

Background, Vision, and Goals

The reauthorization of the Head Start

Act in 1994 made it possible to formally

open a new chapter of Federal support

for families with infants and toddlers by

establishing a special initiative within

the context of the Head Start program.

Beginning in Fiscal Year 1995, the

Secretary of Health and Human Services

will award grants to Early Head Start

programs which will provide early,

continuous, intensive, and

comprehensive child development and

family support services to low-income

families with children under age three.

This initiative will bring together under

one umbrella Head Start’s existing

programs for families with infants and

toddlers, the Comprehensive Child

Development Program and the Parent

and Child Centers; strengthen the

Migrant Head Start Program; and add

new resources to model high quality

child development and family

development services for very young

children and their families.

To help with the design of the new

initiative, the Secretary formed the

Advisory Committee on Services for

Families with Infants and Toddlers. The

Committee was charged with advising

the Secretary and Assistant Secretary for

Children and Families on the

development of program approaches for

the initiative that would address the

parenting and child development needs

of low-income parents and their infants

and toddlers. We were to pay particular

attention to the key principles and array

of models of effective culturally and

developmentally appropriate service

delivery. To fulfill this commitment, we

met three times during the summer of

1994 to engage in discussions about our

vision for a national approach to high

quality, responsive services for very

young children and their families. We

outlined the Federal role for carrying

forth this vision, ensuring such

programs can flourish.

We are excited about the fruits of

these deliberative efforts and confident

that the resulting initiative will advance

Head Start leadership in realizing a

national vision of communities where:

fl children, from birth, receive

support through their family and their

community to achieve optimal growth

and development and build a

foundation of security, self-confidence,
14572 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

and character strength which will in

turn enable them to build successful

social relationships for learning and

continued development through later

childhood and adulthood;

fl families receive support to meet

their personal goals, and resources and

guidance to prepare for their child’s

birth and provide a warm, caring,

responsive environment for their very

young child;

fl communities embrace and support

all families, celebrating the birth of their

children and creating an environment

where support and resources are

mobilized to ensure a comprehensive,

integrated array of services are available

and accessible for all very young

children and their families; and

fl staff receive the professional

education and personal support they

need to provide high quality

environments and experiences and

engage in responsive relationships that

promote the healthy development of

infants, toddlers, and their families.

In keeping with this vision, the goals

set forth by the Advisory Committee for

Early Head Start will be:

fl To provide safe and

developmentally enriching caregiving

and environments which promote the

physical, cognitive, social and

emotional growth of infants and

toddlers and prepare them for future

growth and development;

fl To support parents, both mothers

and fathers, in their role as primary

caregivers and educators of their

children, and families in meeting

personal goals and achieving selfsufficiency across a wide variety of

domains;

fl To mobilize communities to

provide the resources and environment

necessary to ensure a comprehensive,

integrated array of services and support

for families, and to foster the systems

change necessary to summon forth the

guiding vision of this initiative; and

fl To ensure the provision of high

quality responsive services to families

with infants and toddlers through the

development of highly-trained, caring

and adequately compensated program

staff.

The Advisory Committee recognizes

that the vision and goals outlined above

have also been shaped by the lessons

learned from the Comprehensive Child

Development Program, Parent and Child

Centers, Migrant Head Start Programs,

locally designed Head Start programs,

and other early child development and

family support efforts serving families

with very young children. As part of the

overall consultation for the

development of this initiative, Federal

staff conducted over 30 focus groups

with parents, practitioners, researchers,

advocates, and representatives of

professional organizations. Focus

groups were designed to address topical

areas such as child care, family services,

health care, support and services for

children with disabilities and their

families, community mobilization,

parent involvement and parent

advocacy. In addition, Federal staff met

with or received materials and

recommendations from a number of

other experts and practitioners in the

field. The suggestions, guidance, and

information received through this

process have been invaluable to both the

Advisory Committee and the

Administration on Children, Youth and

Families.

Research Rationale

Findings from more than three

decades of research in child and family

development support the vision and

goals set forth for support to families

with infants and toddlers. We know that

the time from conception to age three is

a critical period of human development,

as change occurs more rapidly than in

any other period of the life span.

Growth in these early years establishes

the basic foundation for future

development. For infants and toddlers

to develop optimally, they must have

healthy beginnings and the continuity of

responsive and caring relationships.

Together, these supports help promote

optimal cognitive, social, emotional,

physical, and language development.

When these supports are missing, the

immediate and future development of

the child may be compromised.

Fortunately, recent research identifies

characteristics of effective programs that

enhance both child and family

development. This growing body of

knowledge provides a solid base upon

which the Early Head Start program can

be founded.

Maternal and Infant Health

Maternal and infant health are

essential for ensuring normal pre- and

post-natal development of very young

children. Late or inadequate prenatal

care, malnutrition, stress and exposure

to harmful substances are associated

with shortened gestation, reduced

birthweight, birth defects and

underdeveloped brain growth (Osofsky,

1975; U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, 1989; Carnegie

Corporation, 1994). These, in turn, have

been associated with higher

probabilities for infant mortality, illness,

disabilities, child abuse, difficulty in

relationships (Glasgow and Overall,

1979) and subsequent learning disorders

(Drillien, Thomson and Bargoyne,

1980). During the early years of life,

proper nutrition, routine well-child

health care, timely immunizations, safe

environments and health-promoting

behaviors are necessary to support

physical growth and development.

Given the paramount importance of

health for very young children, a major

focus of the Early Head Start program

must be to ensure women receive the

health services needed to promote a

healthy pregnancy and birth, and very

young children receive early and

ongoing well-baby care, immunizations,

and other essential health services to

support their development.

Child-Caregiver Relationships

The child-caregiver relationships with

the mother, father, grandparent and

other caregivers are critical for

providing infants and toddlers support,

engagement, continuity and emotional

nourishment necessary for healthy

development, and the development of

healthy attachments (Ainsworth, Blehar,

Waters and Wall, 1978). Within the

context of caregiving relationships, the

infant builds a sense of what is

expected, what feels right in the world,

as well as skills and incentives for social

turn-taking, reciprocity and cooperation

(Emde, Biringen, Clyman and

Oppenheim, 1991; Isabella and Belsky,

1991). The infant’s activities are

nourished and channeled in appropriate

ways so as to encourage a sense of

initiative and self-directedness. During

the toddler period, the child, through

repeated interactions with emotionallyavailable caregivers, also begins to learn

basic skills of self-control, emotional

regulation and negotiation (Kochanska,

1991; Kopp, 1989; Suess, Grossman and

Sroufe, 1992). Empathy for others and

prosocial tendencies for caring and

helping also develop during

toddlerhood as well as the emotions of

pride and shame; experiencing and

learning about these capacities require

responsive caregiving relationships in

the midst of life’s inevitable stresses and

challenges (Zahn-Waxler and RadkeYarrow, 1990).

A sense of pleasure, interest in

exploration, early imaginative

capacities, and the sharing of positive

emotions also begin in infancy—all of

which require repeated and consistent

caregiver relationship experiences and

form a basis for social competence that

carries through toddlerhood and the

preschool period (Emde, 1989; Dix,

1991). The opportunities for play for

both infant and caregiver, as well as the

skills that develop from play, are often

under-appreciated aspects of healthy

development (Bruner, 1986; Elicker,

Englund and Sroufe, 1992).
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14573

Finally, the importance of promoting

a network of healthy caregiving

relationships for the very young child

cannot be overstated (Crockenberg,

1981; Egeland, Jacobvitz and Sroufe,

1988; Sameroff and Emde, 1989;

Tronick, Winn and Morelli, 1985). The

network of caring relationships provides

an ever-expanding circle of support for

both child and family. Factors that

undermine optimal child-caregiver

relationships include isolation, lack of

support and maternal depression (Crnic,

Greenberg, Robinson and Ragozin,

1984), the latter reported to be as high

as 56% in some samples of low-income

new mothers (Hall, Gurley, Sachs and

Kryscio, 1991). In child care settings,

high staff turnover, low staff wages, low

quality programming and lack of

adequate staff training for substitute

caregivers negatively affects the quality

of child-caregiver relationships (Zigler

and Lang, 1991; Whitebook, Howes and

Phillips, 1989). This in turn further

compromises the nature and quality of

the child’s overall development.

Thus, it follows that a major focus for

Early Head Start services should be the

development of healthy and skillful

relationship building between very

young children and their parents and

caregivers that encourages interactions

and promotes attention and activity in

infants. Hence, opportunities for

sustained relationship-building over

extended periods of times will be an

explicit goal throughout the program.

Characteristics of Successful Programs

Serving Families with Infants and

Toddlers

The goal of many early child

development programs is to enable the

child, with the support of the parents as

primary caregivers and other caregivers,

to establish a developmental path that

will prepare him or her for long-term

success. Hundreds of programs with a

variety of specific emphases have

sought to achieve this goal. From these

many interventions, a picture of the

critical ingredients for successful

programs has emerged. In short, we

know effective programs often are

characterized by: early prenatal services

to the expectant woman (Olds,

Henderson, Tatelbaum and Chamberlin,

1986); a two-generational focus

(Zuckerman and Brazelton, 1994;

Administration on Children, Youth and

Families, 1994; Ramey and Campbell,

1984; Brooks-Gunn, Klebanov, Liaw,

Spiker, 1993); family-centered services

that address self-sufficiency through the

provision of social services and parent

education (Booth, Barnard, Mitchell and

Spieker, 1987; Olds, Henderson,

Tatebaum and Chamberlin, 1986; Olds,

Henderson, Tatebaum and Chamberlin,

1988); quality child development

services that are coupled with family

services (Lally, Mangione and Honig,

1987; Brooks-Gunn, Klebanov, Liaw and

Spiker, 1993); continuity of service

delivery for the child and family that

ensures the availability of support over

a number of years with smooth

transitions to other service delivery

systems (Campbell and Ramey, 1994);

continuity of caregivers (Howes and

Hamilton, 1992); intensity of service

delivery in terms of availability,

accessibility, and usage of services

(Booth, Barnard, Mitchell and Spieker,

1987; Ramey, Bryant, Wasik, Sparling,

Fendt and LaVange, 1992); and

consolidation or integration of service

delivery systems. Further, research tells

us that communities have been found to

become more responsive to the needs of

low-income families as a result of

program activities (Kirschner, 1970).

Clearly, research over the past three

decades has shown that when programs

focus on both child development and

family development through early, high

quality, comprehensive, continuous,

intensive services, opportunities for

optimal child and family development

can be realized, even for the most

vulnerable families and very young

children. The challenge for the

Administration on Children, Youth and

Families and the programs which will

receive funds through this initiative is

to translate these research findings into

the design and operation of high quality

programs so all families with young

children served by Early Head Start will

be able to grow and prosper. The

following principles and cornerstones

establish the framework for this to

occur.

Program Principles

In recognition that each child is an

individual who is supported by a family

and that families are supported by

neighborhoods and communities, the

Advisory Committee recommends that

programs funded under the new

initiative be encouraged to develop a

range of strategies for supporting the

growth of the very young child within

the family and the growth of the family

within the community. Thus, each Early

Head Start program should be familycentered and community-based. We

recommend that the following

principles serve as the conceptual

foundation for Early Head Start:

fl High Quality: Commitment to

excellence will enable the new

programs to be models for services to

families with infants and toddlers from

all socioeconomic strata of society. High

quality will be assured in the direct

services provided, and in the services

provided through referral. To this end,

each program will acknowledge and

utilize the bodies of knowledge, skills

and professional ethics surrounding the

fields of child development, family

development and community building.

In particular, programs will recognize

that the conception-to-three age period

is unique in both the rate of

development and in the way young

children’s physical and mental growth

reflects and absorbs experiences with

caregivers and the surroundings. Thus,

high quality caregiving practices will

spring from the healthy awareness that

the unique nature of infant and toddler

development not only carries with it

major opportunities for intervention, but

also leaves children especially

vulnerable to negative inputs. The

Federal government will share in the

commitment to high quality by

providing thorough and ongoing

monitoring to assure program adherence

to performance standards; technical

assistance that addresses each program’s

individual needs and amplifies

innovation and development across all

programs; evaluation which measures

program success against meaningful

outcomes for young children and

families; and research which contributes

to the state of the art on child

development, family development and

community building.

fl Prevention and promotion:

Recognizing that windows of

opportunity open and close quickly for

families and young children, programs

will seek and pursue opportunities to

play a positive role in promoting the

physical, social, emotional, cognitive

and language development of young

children and families before conception,

prenatally, upon birth, and during the

early years. By supporting the

promotion of their health and wellbeing, program staff will be able to

prevent and detect problems at their

earliest stages, rallying the services

needed to help the child and family

anticipate and overcome problems

before they interfere with healthy

development. While early and proactive

promotion of healthy development and

healthy behaviors will be emphasized,

programs will also need to be able to

understand and respond to family crises

that may occur while the family is

enrolled in the program.

fl Positive Relationships and

Continuity: The success of each program

will rest on its ability to support and

enhance strong, caring, continuous

relationships which nurture the child,

parents, family, and caregiving staff.

Programs will support the mother-child,

father-child bond by recognizing each
14574 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

parent as his or her child’s first and

primary source of love, nurturance and

guidance. Caregiving will be provided to

families who need it in ways that

support infant and toddler attachment

to a limited number of skilled and

caring individuals, thus maintaining

relationships with caregivers over time

and avoiding the trauma of loss

experienced with frequent turnover of

key people in the child’s life. These

relationships will aim to respectfully

enhance child interest, curiosity, play

and imagination, which, in turn, will

develop a shared sense of trust,

confidence and esteem for both

caregiver and child. In addition,

programs will model strong, mutually

respectful relationships between staff

and families, among staff, and with

other community organizations and

service providers. To do so, programs

will be receptive to individual strengths,

perspectives and contributions; affirm

the value of the child and family’s home

culture; and support an environment

where very young children, parents and

staff can teach and learn from each

other.

fl Parent Involvement: As in all

Head Start efforts, a hallmark of the new

initiative will be the creation and

sustenance of an environment that

supports the highest level of partnership

with parents, both mothers and fathers.

As such, programs will support parents

as primary nurturers, educators, and

advocates for their children; assure that

each parent has an opportunity for an

experience that supports his or her own

growth and goals, including that of

parenting; and provide a policy- and

decision-making role for parents.

Furthermore, opportunities for parent

involvement will encourage

independence and self-sufficiency for

parents. Special efforts will be made to

welcome and support fathers as

parenting partners.

fl Inclusion: Program will seek to

build communities that respect each

child and adult as an individual while

at the same time reinforcing a sense of

belonging to the group. Programs will

support participation in community life

by young children with disabilities and

their families; families of very young

children with significant disabilities

will be fully included in all program

services.

fl Culture: Children and their

families will come to the new programs

rooted in a culture which gives them

meaning and direction. Programs will

demonstrate an understanding of,

respect for, and responsiveness to the

home culture and home language of

every child, thus affirming the values of

each family’s culture and providing the

context for healthy identity

development in the early years of life.

Program staff will become aware of their

own core beliefs and values and be

attuned to the role culture and language

play in child development, family

development and the surrounding

community values and attitudes.

Programs will pursue opportunities to

support home culture and language,

while also recognizing the significance

of a common culture shared by all. In

building a more harmonious and

peaceful community for children to

grow in and for families to share,

programs will encourage and provide

opportunities for families and

community members to engage in

dialogue about culture, language,

cultural diversity and multiculturalism.

fl Comprehensiveness, Flexibility,

Responsiveness, and Intensity: Programs

will honor and build upon the unique

strengths and abilities of the children,

families and communities they serve

and continually adapt to meet emerging

needs. Developmental opportunities

provided to each infant and toddler will

address the whole child and be

continually adapted to keep pace with

his or her developmental growth. And

just as programs need to be responsive

and attentive to the special needs of

very young children with disabilities,

they also need to be responsive to

parents with disabilities. Family

development planning and service

provision will be grounded in the belief

that families, including those whose

problems seem overwhelming, can

identify their own goals, strengths and

needs, and are capable of growth and

change. Once these are identified,

program resources of varied intensity

will be marshaled to support the whole

family in an individualized and

responsive manner. Barriers which

prevent families from accessing needed

supports will be overcome through the

location, coordination, and assurance by

program staff that services are provided

and received. Attention will also be

given to ensure programs meet the

needs and schedules of working parents.

Ultimately, each parent’s sense of

empowerment and ability to identify

and address his or her family’s needs

will be fostered by responsive and

caring relationships with program staff.

fl Transition: Programs will be

responsible for ensuring the smooth

transition of children and their families

into Head Start or other preschool

programs which are of high quality and

provide consistent and responsive

caregiving. The Federal government

must support both Early Head Start and

Head Start programs in carrying out this

responsibility. Transition is important

for ensuring continued accessibility to

enriching early child development

experiences and for providing ongoing

family support services that promote

healthy family development. To

facilitate this transition, parents and

caregivers should jointly develop a

family and child transition plan,

identifying services which will continue

and new services and programs which

will be accessed. Caregivers from both

Early Head Start and the new service

programs will share responsibility for

coordinating and implementing the

plan.

fl Collaboration: Recognizing that no

one program will be able to meet all of

a child’s and family’s needs, programs

will initiate or become embedded in an

integrated community system of service

providers and strength building

organizations such as churches and

other religious institutions, schools and

civic groups. These efforts will foster a

caring, comprehensive and integrated

community-wide response to families

with young children, thus maximizing

scarce financial resources and avoiding

duplication of agency effort. Likewise,

the Federal Government will promote

systems change and the efficient use of

resources through the active pursuit of

local, State and Federal partnerships

which enhance the capacity of local

programs to collaborate and combine

financial resources.

Program Cornerstones

The principles outlined above

establish the foundation for Early Head

Start, a program that meets child

development, family development, and

health related goals while striving to

provide high quality, comprehensive,

and individualized support and

services. In order to accomplish this, the

Advisory Committee recommends that

the Secretary of Health and Human

Services adopt these key elements as the

four cornerstones for Early Head Start:

child development, family

development, community building, and

staff development.

Child Development

Programs will seek to enhance and

advance each child’s development by

providing individualized support that

honors the unique characteristics and

pace of infant/toddler physical, social,

emotional, cognitive and language

development, including early education

and health care. Critical to this

development is the promotion of

positive parent-child interactions and

the enhancement of each parent’s

knowledge about the development of

their child within healthy, safe

environments. An early step for
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14575

providing this support to parents will be

the provision of home visits to families

with newborns to offer early

encouragement and support and build

bridges for families to other resources in

the community. Also critical to the

child’s development is access to and

delivery of comprehensive health and

mental health services for children,

including regular child health care;

screening for health problems such as

hearing, anemia, lead poisoning,

metabolic problems; immunizations;

nutritional assessment; developmental

surveillance and anticipatory guidance.

All children deserve a medical home

that provides these and other prevention

and treatment services. To help

facilitate this, Early Head Start programs

will collaborate with a variety of

organizations and disciplines to ensure

health supervision for children and

their families.

It is particularly important that Early

Head Start ensure coordination and

continuity of services for infants and

toddlers with or at risk of a disability,

who are eligible for services through

Early Head Start and Part H of the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act. These two service systems should

be coordinated and integrated so that

families and their children experience a

seamless system of services, as

identified in their family development

plan or individualized service plan.

As programs provide child

development services, they must ensure

that infants and toddlers who need

child care receive high quality part- and

full-day services. Such child care can be

provided directly or in collaboration

with other community providers as long

as the Early Head Start program assumes

responsibility for ensuring that all

settings meet the Early Head Start

performance standards.

In general, the setting where these

services are delivered is left to local

option and the preferences of families as

identified through their individual

family development plan. Settings can

represent a range of options including

home visiting; family support centers;

family child care homes; child care

centers; centers where families are

engaged in education, training, or

employment; community health centers;

and others.

Family Development

Programs must recognize that the key

to optimal child development and

family development is the

empowerment of parents in goal setting

for themselves and their children.

Therefore, families and staff will

collaboratively design and update

individualized family development

plans which ensure that service delivery

strategies are rooted in the foundation

principles and are responsive to the

goals and ideals of the families. When

families are served by additional

programs which also require an

individualized family service plan, such

as Part H of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act and family

employability plans, then a single

coordinated plan should be developed

so families experience a seamless

system of services. Based on the plan,

programs will ensure the provision of a

full range of family services which

consider the different support and

educational opportunities needed by

new parents, pregnant women and

expectant fathers, and potential parents,

as well as by siblings and extended

family members who influence the

development of the family and very

young child.

It is particularly important that

parental health is linked to children’s

health and development. As such,

health services for parents need to be

included as part of a two-generational

model of health care. Health services

must be accessible for parents with a

special emphasis on women’s health

that occurs prior to, during, and after

pregnancy.

Services which programs must

provide directly or through referral, and

which local Early Head Start programs

must actively ensure are of high quality

and appropriately followed up include:

child development information; health

services, including services for women

prior to, during, and after pregnancy;

mental health services; services to

improve health behavior such as

smoking cessation and substance abuse

treatment; services to adults to support

self-sufficiency, including adult

education and basic literacy skills, job

training, assistance in obtaining income

support, food, and decent, safe housing,

and emergency cash or in-kind

assistance; and transportation to

program services. Programs must

provide direct opportunities for parent

involvement in the program so that

parents can be involved as

decisionmakers, volunteers, and/or

employees. Additional services not

listed above, but identified by families

through community needs assessments

and mappings, may be provided either

directly or through referral at local

option.

Community Building

The commitment of programs to high

quality care for very young children and

their families serves as a catalyst for

creating a community environment that

shares responsibility for the healthy

development of its children. A program

approach that exemplifies openness and

caring is the start of community

building. Programs should function in

communities in a way that mirrors the

principles that are the foundation of the

program itself: parents become a vital

resources for each other and the

community at large; staff nurture

networks of support; and programs

develop relationships of trust with other

community institutions, businesses, and

with community leaders. By becoming a

key actor in the life of the community,

programs can serve to mobilize

community resources and energies on

behalf of children and families.

Essential to community building is

ensuring a comprehensive network of

services and supports for very young

children and their families which are

culturally responsive. Programs will be

expected to establish collaborative

relationships with other community

providers and strength-building

organizations such as churches and

other religious institutions, schools and

civic groups. The goal of these

relationships will be threefold:

increased access to high quality services

for program families; assurance that the

program’s approach to serving families

with infants and toddlers fits into the

existing constellation of services in the

community so that there is a coherent,

integrated approach to supporting

families with very young children; and

systems change which will spark

community caring and responsive

service delivery for all the families with

young children who live there. Thus, all

programs will be required to conduct an

in-depth assessment of existing

community resources and needs and

engage in an ongoing collaborative

planning process with a range of

stakeholders, including parents and

residents of the community.

Staff Development

Programs are only as good as the

individuals who staff them. This is

particularly true of programs which

serve young children, since the

potential to do harm during the

vulnerable years of infancy and

toddlerhood is so great. Thus, staff

development has been included as a key

element in order to underscore its

centrality to the success of the initiative.

Programs will be required to select

staff who, together, cover the spectrum

of skills, knowledge and professional

competencies necessary to provide high

quality, comprehensive, culturally

appropriate, and family-centered

services to young children and families.

Equally critical will be each program’s

ability to recognize individuals capable
14576 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

of entering into one-to-one caregiving

relationships with infants and toddlers

which support the positive formation of

their identities. Likewise, programs will

need to identify the capacity of potential

staff members to develop caring,

respectful and empowering

relationships with families and other

coworkers. Such individuals will

demonstrate characteristics such as high

self-esteem, personal strength, and the

capacity for being emotionally available.

The program directors who make these

selections will, themselves, need to

possess these characteristics in addition

to being highly skilled administrators

who exemplify leadership qualities such

as integrity, warmth, intuition and

holistic thinking.

Ongoing staff training, supervision

and mentoring of both line staff and

supervisors will be an integral part of

staff development. Such training,

supervision, and mentoring will reflect

an interdisciplinary approach and

emphasis on relationship building. Staff

training programs will ensure that staff

are ‘‘cross-trained’’ in the areas of child

development, family development and

community building. Particular

emphasis will be placed on building

skills in the areas of home visiting;

caregiving relationships; effective

communication with parents; family

literacy; healthy/safe environments and

caregiving practices; early identification

of unhealthy behaviors or health

problems; service coordination; and the

provision of services and support to

diverse populations, including families

and children with disabilities and

developmental delays. In addition,

training efforts and supervision will be

designed to develop each staff person’s

capacity to function as a member of a

well-integrated, diverse and mutually

supportive team comprised of families

and other staff. To this end, training and

supervision will support opportunities

for practice, feedback and reflection.

Another strategy for training is the

development of multi-disciplinary

teams of caregivers who can engage in

team teaching, sharing concerns and

problems, exploring different

approaches, and learning practical skills

for working with participants of the

program and service providers from

other relevant delivery systems. As

such, training will model and reinforce

the foundation principles of this

initiative.

And finally, staff selection, training

and supervision will be grounded in the

knowledge that high quality

performance and development occurs

when they are linked to rewards such as

salary, compensation, and career

advancement; provided in environments

that spark curiosity, excitement and

openness to new ideas; and grounded in

best practices revealed by ongoing

research, evaluation and monitoring.

Federal Commitment

Both individual programs and the

Federal government must work hand in

hand to realize the vision, principles,

and program concept outlined above the

Early Head Start program. The Advisory

Committee believes that a Federal

commitment to training, monitoring,

research and evaluation, and

partnership building which respects and

supports local program responsibility,

initiative, and flexibility is paramount

for the programs’ success. In addition,

Federal commitment is also needed to

support and learn from existing Federal

programs serving families with infants

and toddlers so that they will have the

opportunity to achieve excellence and

meet the standards that will be set forth

for this initiative. With this

commitment, we feel the initiative for

families with infants and toddlers will

be able to serve as a national laboratory

both testing and exemplifying quality

child development and family

development programs.

Training

Clearly the quality of programs is

contingent upon the ongoing support

and development of program staff who

are trained in the various disciplines

which support the principles of familycentered services. As described earlier,

program staff need to be able to facilitate

both the development of very young

children and the development of

families. But in too many communities,

staff who can play this dual role are few

or nonexistent.

The Advisory Committee urges the

Secretary to engage in public-private

partnerships aimed at establishing a

cadre of highly trained practitioners and

trainers who will be able to support the

development of very young children

and their families. Such an effort should

extend beyond the scope of the new

initiative for families with infants and

toddlers, so that children cared for in a

variety of settings will benefit from this

commitment to enhancing the quality

and quantity of caregivers. An example

of such a partnership would be a

commitment on the part of the Federal

government to work with institutions of

higher learning to ensure multidisciplinary pre-service education and

field work experience is available for

students who wish to work in familyfocused programs serving very young

children and their families. Another

example would be partnering with the

foundation or philanthropic community

to develop scholarship programs for

low-income students desiring but

unable to enter the field. A further

example is coordinating with

organizations of professional trainers to

ensure they have the skills, resources

and supports needed to work with

programs providing early, continuous,

intensive and comprehensive services

and support to very young children and

their families.

When designing the specific training

and technical assistance plan for Early

Head Start, the Federal government

must focus on the whole spectrum of

support and services that are needed for

developing and advancing high quality

staff, from pre-service and in-service

training to supervision and monitoring.

These supports and services must be

provided in a continuous, holistic,

responsive manner with the goal of

building and nurturing the highest

quality caregiving in all programs.

In addition to the focus on training,

the Federal government also needs to

take the lead in modeling a commitment

to and respect for the importance of the

caregiving profession. Given this, the

Advisory Committee urges the Secretary

to implement the Early Head Start

program so that it models appropriate

competencies, institutionalization of

career ladders for staff working within

the programs, and provision of staff

salaries that are comparable to the

importance of the job.

Monitoring

All programs need support and

guidance to engage in continuous

improvement. As directed by the

legislation, the Secretary of the

Department of Health and Human

Services must provide this support and

guidance through ongoing monitoring of

the operation of these programs,

evaluating their effectiveness, and

providing training and technical

assistance tailored to the particular

needs of such programs.

The Advisory Committee reminds the

Secretary that performance standards

must be developed and issued in order

to set forth the expectation of high

quality services and environments for

programs serving families with infants

and toddlers. It is recommended that

there be consistency in the principles

and framework of the Early Head Start

and Head Start performance standards,

with the goal being a seamless approach

to Federal performance standards for

children from birth to age five. While

the goal should be a seamless approach,

clearly the content of the standards will

vary to reflect the differences in

development of children during this age

span. Once these are issued, monitoring
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14577

should become a tool for both

measuring progress toward these high

quality standards and for engaging in

continuous improvement.

Research and Evaluation

Evaluation of Early Head Start is

essential for determining the

effectiveness of the initiative and for

advancing our understanding about

which services work best for different

families under different circumstances.

Evaluation data and information

collected at the local level as part of

management information systems and

ethnographic research are helpful to

provide ongoing feedback to programs

and support staff in packaging and

delivering a comprehensive array of

services which are responsive to and

reflective of the individual needs of very

young children and their families.

The Advisory Committee believes that

the Secretary must approach evaluation

not just as a mechanism for producing

summary statistics and reports about the

changes in child and family

development as a result of these new

efforts, but as a tool for individual

programs so that they can continuously

refine their practices based on feedback

from their own program evaluation.

This feedback is essential to identify the

particular conditions and activities that

enable parents and other caregivers to

most successfully support children’s

development. It is also essential to test

and refine as appropriate the quality of

planning, training, staff selection,

supervision and program management

that is crucial to program success. These

lessons learned will benefit local Early

Head Start programs, add new

knowledge to the fields of child and

family development, and will help

shape future efforts at the Federal level

for very young children and their

families.

In keeping with the Head Start

national laboratory role, we encourage

research that examines variations in

Early Head Start experiences on child

development to learn more about the

effectiveness of different interventions

for very young children and their

families. Accordingly, we encourage the

testing of new models which might

focus on linkages between this initiative

and welfare reform, special coordination

with Part H of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act, or efforts to

support teen parents who are either in

school or training. Equally important

will be research that identifies features

of intervention which optimize

relationship building, and research that

examines variations in caregiving

experiences as they influence child

development.

We also recommend that research and

evaluation for this initiative be part of

an overall research agenda for Head

Start which places Head Start in the

broader context of research on young

children, families, and communities;

ensures a commitment to ongoing

themes; and has the flexibility to

respond to new and emerging

developments in the broader early

childhood and family development

fields.

Partnership Building

Just as local programs will be required

to coordinate services in the State and

community to ensure a comprehensive

array of services, the Federal

government must also build

partnerships across programs, agencies

and departments to facilitate effective

integration and coordination of

resources and services.

The Advisory Committee points out

that it is especially important that the

Head Start Bureau work with the U.S.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau and

the Medicaid program to enhance the

availability of and access to

comprehensive health services for

pregnant women, and very young

children and their families. The

Advisory Committee particularly

recommends Federal leadership in the

development of services that are scarce

in communities, such as mental health

services that meet the needs of families

with infants and toddlers. It is equally

important that linkages be made with

the U.S. Department of Education,

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services and the Federal

Interagency Coordination Council so

that there is a clear message from the

Federal government about the

importance of partnership around early

intervention at the Federal, State and

community levels, especially between

this initiative and Part H of the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act. The formation of a single Federal

Interagency Coordination Council to

address services for families with

infants and toddlers who are served by

Head Start and/or by Part H is

recommended. Further, the Head Start

Bureau is advised to develop

partnerships with the National Institute

of Child Health and Development and

the National Institute of Mental Health

so that programmatic and research

activities can be coordinated and the

results benefit and influence the work of

all institutions.

Beyond coordination and partnership

building among the many programs,

agencies, and departments of the

Federal government, the Advisory

Committee advises the Head Start

Bureau to continue consultation with

professional organizations from relevant

child and family development

disciplines. Such consultation will help

staff of the Head Start Bureau learn

about emerging knowledge and apply

this to the planning, implementation,

and evaluation of this and other

programs.

Finally, it is equally important that

the Head Start Bureau re-evaluate its

own regulations and procedures to

support local creativity and

responsiveness to the needs of very

young children and their families. As a

first step, the Advisory Committee

recommends that the Secretary explore

opportunities for Early Head Start

programs to combine these resources

with other public and private funding

sources in order to serve more very

young children and their families who

might benefit from Early Head Start

services and support. This is especially

important as many Advisory Committee

members feel that all children within a

very low income community should be

afforded access to these services. By

allowing and encouraging Early Head

Start communities to partner with other

funding streams, it may be possible in

some communities to provide access to

most or all families with very young

children.

Funding

All of the above issues—from the

principles to the program concept and

Federal commitments—are moot when

there are not adequate resources to

develop and sustain high quality in each

program. Advisory Committee members

see the role of Early Head Start as a

national laboratory and catalyst for

change. The members point out that a

Federal commitment is needed to

ensure that resources are available in

the short- and long-term to support the

provision of high quality, wellintegrated services.

Conclusion

Early Head Start represents a new era

of support for America’s youngest

children and their families. It sets forth

a vision that honors the unique

strengths of very young children, their

families and communities, and the staff

who work with them. It calls for

programs to provide family-centered

and community-based services and

supports that are individualized, of

highest quality, and that promote

positive health and development. And it

commands significant attention at the

Federal level for training, technical

assistance, monitoring, and research and

evaluation to ensure these programs can

flourish.
14578 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices

The members of the Advisory

Committee on Services for Families

with Infants and Toddlers are proud to

set forth this vision and implementation

design for Early Head Start. We call on

the Secretary and the nation to move

ahead rapidly with a series of steps to

make this vision a reality. So much is

at stake for our youngest children and

their families.

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[FR Doc. 95–6545 Filed 3–16–95; 8:45 am]

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