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[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45205-45207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20499]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

45 CFR Part 1302

RIN 0970-AC63

Head Start Program

AGENCY: Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Final rule; delay of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Head Start will delay the compliance date for 
background check procedures and the date for programs to participate in 
their state or local Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). 
Both requirements are described in the Head Start Program Performance 
Standards (HSPPS) final rule that was published in the Federal Register 
on September 6, 2016. We believe programs and states will benefit from 
more time to fully implement these changes.

DATES: The date for programs to comply with background checks 
procedures described in 45 CFR 1302.90(b) and for programs to 
participate in QRIS described in 45 CFR 1302.53(b)(2) is delayed until 
September 30, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Rathgeb, Division Director of 
Early Childhood Policy and Budget, Office of Early Childhood 
Development, [email protected], (202) 401-1195 (not a toll-free 
call). Deaf and hearing impaired individuals may call the Federal Dual 
Party Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private 
non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive education 
and child development services to economically disadvantaged children, 
birth to age 5, and families and to help young children develop the 
skills they need to be successful in school. We amended our Head Start 
Program Performance Standards in a final rule that published in the 
Federal Register on September 6, 2016.
    The Head Start Program Performance Standards define requirements 
grantees and delegate agencies must implement to operate high quality 
Head Start or Early Head Start programs and provide

[[Page 45206]]

a structure to monitor and enforce quality standards.

Promoting Child Safety and State Partnerships

    Child safety is a top priority in the final rule. We strengthened 
our criminal background check requirements at 45 CFR 1302.90(b), in the 
final rule, to reflect changes in the Improving Head Start for School 
Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110-134, and to complement background 
check requirements in the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
(CCDBG) Act of 2014, Public Law 113-186.
    In addition to background check requirements, we aim to strengthen 
partnerships between states and Head Start programs. As part of this 
effort, 45 CFR 1302.53(b) in the final rule requires Head Start 
programs to take an active role in promoting coordinated early 
childhood systems, including those in their state. As part of these 
requirements, most Head Start programs must participate in QRIS, if 
they meet certain conditions.

Compliance Dates

    In the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the final rule, we 
provided a table, Table 1: Compliance Table that lists dates by which 
programs must implement specific standards. We currently list September 
30, 2017, as the date by which programs must comply with background 
check requirements at 45 CFR 1302.90(b). We had previously extended 
background check requirements until September 30, 2017, to align with 
the background check requirement deadline in the CCDBG Act through a 
Federal Register document, published on December 6, 2016. However, 
programs are required to continue to adhere to the criminal record 
check requirements in section 648A of Head Start Act, as amended by the 
Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110-
134. We list August 1, 2017, as the date programs must participate in 
their states' Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) pursuant to 
45 CFR 1302.53(b)(2).

Background Checks Procedures in the Final Rule

    Generally, 45 CFR 1302.90(b)(1) requires that before a person is 
hired, programs must conduct a sex offender registry check and obtain 
either a state or tribal criminal history records, including 
fingerprint checks, or a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal 
history records, including fingerprint checks.
    In 45 CFR 1302.90(b)(2), (4), and (5), we afford programs 90 days 
to obtain whichever check they could not obtain before the person was 
hired, as well as child abuse and neglect state registry check, if 
available. We require programs to have systems in place that ensure 
these newly hired employees do not have unsupervised access to children 
until their background process is complete. A complete background check 
consists of a sex offender registry check, state or tribal history 
records, including fingerprint check and FBI criminal history records, 
including fingerprint check, as well as a child abuse and neglect state 
registry check, if available. We also require programs to conduct 
complete background checks for each employee at least once every five 
years.
    We believe programs will need more time to implement systems to 
complete the backgrounds checks process listed at 45 CFR 1302.90(b)(2), 
(4), and (5) in our final rule. Also, we recognize most states will 
have systems that can accommodate our programs' background checks 
requests by September 30, 2018. Congress requires states that receive 
CCDBG funds to implement systems for comprehensive background checks 
for all child care teachers and staff. These states must have 
requirements, as well as policies and procedures to enforce and conduct 
criminal background checks for existing and prospective child care 
providers, by September 30, 2017, but Congress gave states the 
authority to request extensions until September 30, 2018, and several 
states have done so. Since these systems enable Head Start programs to 
meet the HSPPS requirements in 45 CFR 1302.90(b), we can minimize 
burden on Head Start programs if we extend the compliance date for 45 
CFR 1302.90(b) to September 30, 2018. Until September 30, 2018, the 
criminal record check requirements from section 648A of the Head Start 
Act continue to remain in place.

QRIS Requirement in the Final Rule

    QRIS is a systemic approach to assess, improve, and communicate the 
level of quality in early and school-age care and education programs. 
QRIS award quality ratings to programs that meet a set of defined 
program standards. Since the 1990s, many states have developed a QRIS.
    The requirements at 45 CFR 1302.53(b) require Head Start programs 
to take an active role in promoting coordinated early childhood systems 
to maximize access to services, reduce system duplication, foster 
informed quality improvement, and ensure Head Start programs are part 
of larger early childhood systems within their states. These 
requirements went into effect on November 7, 2016. To further Head 
Start's role in state systems of quality improvement, the HSPPS 
requires programs to participate in QRIS, if they meet certain 
conditions described at 45 CFR 1302.53(b)(2).
    We understood from the public comment process and from subsequent 
discussions with Head Start grantees and state organizations that there 
are concerns about the time and resources needed by both the states and 
grantees to ensure Head Start grantees are able to participate in their 
QRIS. We understand programs have taken steps to participate in QRIS 
and that many states are assessing their QRIS with new Head Start QRIS 
participation policies, but additional time is needed to align these 
systems. We want to minimize any unintentional burden on states that 
choose to adapt their systems to incorporate Head Start participation, 
as well as alleviate programs' concerns about meeting the current 
compliance date for participation in QRIS.
    Given the variation in the state/local QRIS landscape and the 
applicability of the conditions in the regulation, the original 
compliance date for the requirement in the HSPPS at 45 CFR 
1302.53(b)(2) was August 1, 2017 in the previously mentioned compliance 
table. Through this document, we are delaying the date by which 
programs must implement the specific requirement for QRIS participation 
until September 30, 2018. The broader requirement for Head Start 
programs to take an active role in promoting coordinated early 
childhood systems continues to be in effect.

Conclusion

    We ordinarily publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the 
provisions of a rule take effect in accordance with section 553(b) of 
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). However, we 
can waive this notice and comment procedure if the Secretary finds, for 
good cause, that the notice and comment process is impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates a 
statement of the finding and the reasons therefore in the notice.
    We find good cause to waive public comment under section 553(b) of 
the APA because it is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest 
to provide for public comment in this instance. The delayed compliance 
date poses no harm or burden to programs or the public. A period for 
public comment would have only extended programs'

[[Page 45207]]

concerns about complying with these requirements by the compliance 
date. Programs may voluntarily come into compliance at an earlier date 
if they have the processes already in place. Programs that do not have 
processes already in place, have until September 30, 2018, to comply 
with the requirements on background checks at 45 CFR 1302.90(b) and the 
requirement to participate in their states' QRIS at 45 CFR 
1302.53(b)(2).

    Dated: September 6, 2017.
Steven Wagner,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
    Approved: September 6, 2017.
Thomas E. Price,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-20499 Filed 9-27-17; 8:45 am]
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