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October 23, 2018
Head Start: Overview and Current Issues
Introduction
Table 1. Funding and Enrollment, FY2012-FY2019
The Head Start program has provided comprehensive early
childhood education and development services to low-
Fiscal
Funding
Head Start
EHS
income children since 1965. The program seeks to promote
Year
($ billions)
Enrollment
Enrollment
school readiness through the provision of educational,
FY2012
7.969
842,931
113,566
health, nutritional, social, and other services. Most Head
Start participants are three or four years old, but since 1995
FY2013
7.573 + 0.095
796,953
106,726
a growing number of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women
FY2014
8.598
810,581
116,694
have been served in Early Head Start (EHS) programs.
FY2015
8.598
791,886
152,695
Administration
FY2016
9.162
758,127
157,476
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
administers the Head Start program. HHS awards funds
FY2017
9.225
731,325
168,049
directly to local grantees. Programs are run by about 1,600
public and private nonprofit and for-profit agencies. The
FY2018
9.863 + 0.650
not avail.
not avail.
agencies must comply with detailed federal performance
FY2019
10.063
not avail.
not avail.
standards. Programs operate in all 50 states (plus the
District of Columbia), five territories, and Palau. Funds also
Sources: Congressional budget justifications and the FY2015 Head
go to American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and
Start Program Fact Sheet. Funding levels reflect rescissions, transfers,
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs.
and sequestration, where applicable. FY2013 and FY2018 show
annual and supplemental funds. EHS enrol ment includes estimates of
Eligibility
children in EHS-Child Care Partnerships starting in FY2015.
In general, regulations specify that children must be ages 0-
Allocation of Funds
2 in order to be eligible for EHS (pregnant women are also
eligible). For Head Start, regulations specify that children
Under law, Head Start and EHS grantees (including AIAN
must be at least three years old, but may not be older than
and MSHS grantees) generally receive the same base grant
minimum compulsory school age (which varies by state).
(total amount of funding) each year, if total appropriations
Children and pregnant women are eligible if their family
are sufficient. Typically, grantees must contribute a 20%
income does not exceed the federal poverty level, if their
non-federal match (cash or in-kind) to receive the full grant
family is receiving public assistance, or if a child is
award. The law also generally reserves the same dollar
homeless or in foster care. In addition, up to 35% of
amount or share of funds each year for state collaboration
children served by each grantee may have income between
grants and program set-asides (e.g., training and technical
100% and 130% of the poverty line, provided these children
assistance, research and evaluation, and costs associated
are not prioritized over those who are homeless or living
with program monitoring and corrective actions).
below the poverty line. Up to 10% of children served by
each grantee may exceed the income limits altogether.
If total appropriations decrease from the prior year, the law
generally calls for all grantees to receive proportionate
Authorization and Appropriations
reductions. If total appropriations increase, the law lays out
The Head Start Act was last reauthorized in December 2007
several steps to determine how the new funds should be
by P.L. 110-134. This law authorized appropriations for
allocated. Depending on the size of the increase, new funds
each of FY2008-FY2012. Though this authorization has
may go toward cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs),
lapsed, funding has been provided in each year since (see
program expansions, and/or quality improvement activities.
Table 1). In addition to annual appropriations, the program
occasionally receives supplemental funding, including $95
In recent years, however, annual appropriations acts have
million (post-sequester) in FY2013 for needs arising from
tended to target funding increases toward specific activities,
Hurricane Sandy, as well as $650 million in FY2018 for
rather than distributing new funds via the statutory formula.
needs arising from hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey.
Most often, these acts have prioritized COLAs for existing
grantees and new slots for EHS programs (via conversions
Funded Enrollment
of existing Head Start slots into new EHS slots and by
In FY2017, there were funded enrollment slots for 899,374
dedicating funds to new partnerships between EHS
children and pregnant women. About 81% of the slots were
programs and local child care providers). These priorities
for Head Start and 19% were for EHS (see Table 1). The
have affected the relative distribution of funded enrollment
term funded enrollment refers to the total number of slots
slots (see Table 1): slots in EHS programs have generally
that were funded, not the total number of children served
been increasing (+48% since FY2012), while slots in Head
during the year (which would be higher due to turnover).
Start programs have been declining (-13% since FY2012).
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Head Start: Overview and Current Issues
Program Options
EHS-Child Care Partnerships
Federal regulations identify three main program options for
Since FY2014, Head Start appropriations have reserved
grantees: (1) center-based, (2) home-based, and (3) family
funding for EHS-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs) and
child care. In the center-based option, education and child
conversions of Head Start slots to EHS slots. These set-
development services are primarily delivered in classroom
asides initially totaled about $500 million in FY2014 and
settings. In the home-based option, services are primarily
FY2015, $635 million in FY2016, $640 million in FY2017,
provided in weekly home visits with the child’s family,
$755 million in FY2018, and $805 million in FY2019. The
paired with group activities or field trips. (While some EHS
EHS-CCP initiative seeks to increase the supply of high-
programs operate primarily through the home-based option,
quality, full-day, full-year child care for infants and toddlers
federal regulations specify that this may not be the primary
in low-income working families. EHS grantees partner with
method of service delivery for Head Start programs serving
child care providers who agree to meet EHS performance
preschool-aged children.) In the family child care option,
standards (e.g., class sizes and teacher-to-child ratios) and
services are primarily delivered in the home of a family
offer comprehensive services to eligible children.
child care provider or other home-like setting. Federal rules
include detailed requirements for each program option. In
Program Monitoring
addition to the three main program options, grantees may
The law requires grantees to go through a monitoring
request approval to use a locally designed program option.
process at least every three years. HHS uses data from
This option may be used to meet unique community needs
onsite and offsite monitoring reviews to assess compliance
or test alternative approaches for providing services.
with program standards and requirements. Grantees deemed
to have a deficiency or an area of noncompliance receive
Service Duration (Minimum Hours)
follow-up visits. The current monitoring system also
A final rule issued in September 2016 made significant
requires center-based Head Start (not EHS) programs to
revisions to Head Start performance standards. Among
participate in an observational assessment of teacher-child
other changes, the rule increased the minimum number of
interactions using the Pre-K Classroom Assessment Scoring
service hours required for center-based programs. The
System (CLASS: Pre-K).
intent of this change is to ensure that, over time, nearly all
center-based programs are serving children for at least a full
Designation Renewal System
school day and over a full school year.
The 2007 Head Start reauthorization law instituted a new
five-year designation period for Head Start grantees.
Under the new rule, center-based EHS programs must offer
(Previously, grantees had been given grant awards for
at least 1,380 annual class hours to all enrolled children.
indefinite periods.) Under the law, at the end of its five-year
This requirement became effective on August 1, 2018. Most
designation period a grantee must demonstrate that it is
(but not all) center-based EHS programs were meeting this
delivering “high-quality and comprehensive services,” or
standard even before the final rule was published and HHS
else the grant is to be opened for re-competition. The law
is responsible for oversight to ensure compliance.
refers to the process of identifying grantees for re-
competition as the Designation Renewal System (DRS).
The new rule generally requires center-based Head Start
programs to offer at least 1,020 annual class hours over at
In 2011, HHS published a final rule on the DRS. The rule
least eight months—but this requirement is to be phased in
established seven conditions to identify grantees for re-
over time. As an interim step, the rule calls for programs to
competition. The conditions address various aspects of
meet this standard for at least 50% of enrolled children by
program quality, licensing and operations, and fiscal and
August 1, 2019. As a final step, programs must meet this
internal controls. A 2016 report by HHS states that roughly
standard for all enrolled children by August 1, 2021.
450 grantees (about one-third of all grantees) were required
to re-compete under the DRS between 2011 and 2016.
The rule authorizes HHS to lower the duration requirements
Generally, these grantees met one of the seven conditions
for Head Start programs in advance of the interim and final
that trigger a requirement to re-compete—most often they
deadlines if there is not sufficient funding for programs to
had received a deficiency on their monitoring review (64%)
expand service hours without substantially reducing
or a low score on the CLASS: Pre-K (31%). A small share
enrollment. In January 2018, HHS used this authority to
(4%) triggered re-competition on more than one condition.
effectively waive the August 2019 deadline for the interim
(50%) requirement for center-based Head Start programs.
In February 2018, HHS solicited public comment on
HHS stated that without new funding for extended hours,
potential changes to the DRS, expressing special interest in
implementing this requirement would lead to the loss of
changes to the CLASS: Pre-K condition due to concerns
roughly 41,000 slots (about 5% of all Head Start slots).
raised by grantees and the results of a study on the early
implementation of the DRS. The study suggests the DRS is
Head Start appropriations in FY2016 and FY2018 provided
generally meeting its goal of spurring quality improvement,
some funding to expand the hours of program operations.
but found that DRS conditions may vary in their ability to
These funds, once awarded to a Head Start or EHS agency,
differentiate between higher- and lower-quality programs
become part of the agency’s base grant in future years and
(with particular concerns raised about the CLASS: Pre-K).
have been sustained in subsequent appropriations. HHS has
estimated that the funding provided thus far should be
Karen E. Lynch, Specialist in Social Policy
sufficient to cover roughly 87% of the costs of meeting the
combined EHS and interim (50%) Head Start requirements.
IF11008
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Head Start: Overview and Current Issues
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11008 · VERSION 2 · NEW