Amendments subsequent to the 1994 reauthorization include a requirement, enacted in 1996, that instructional services be intensive. Recent amendments included in the FY 1999 Appropriations Bill for Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education address the need for local evaluations to collect data on program effectiveness and require the Department to provide technical assistance to states and Even Start projects to ensure that local evaluations provide accurate information on the effectiveness of local projects. The legislation also requires states to develop results-based indicators of program quality and to use these indicators to monitor, evaluate, and improve Even Start programs. Beginning in 1995-96, more teen parents became eligible for Even Start. I allocation formula.
States hold grant competitions and make subgrant awards.
These funds support Even Start projects tailored for groups of participants with special circumstances. In addition to economic and educational limitations common to all Even Start families, many migratory parents and children are recent immigrants and have limited English language skills. MEES educational services need to account for great diversity in language and cultural backgrounds of participants. One of the major challenges for MEES projects is to design and deliver meaningful educational services to families who may participate for only a few months before moving. Even Start projects experience a different set of special challenges.