HHS Announces National Effort to Reshape and Raise Quality in Head Start Programs

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new proposed regulations that for the first time require lower performing Head Start programs to compete against other entities for continued funding. The proposed regulations will be implemented with a number of new training and technical assistance initiatives to help Head Start grantees meet higher standards.

Under the proposed rules, Head Start grantees will be required to compete for their grants if they fall short of quality benchmarks, including classroom instruction and health and safety standards as well as financial accountability and integrity. Among the factors that will be considered is a classroom assessment that was developed by researchers at the University of Virginia and has been validated through rigorous research.

"These new regulations represent an important step in raising the bar on quality in Head Start programs," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. "Head Start has a critical mission - to help vulnerable children achieve their full potential. It is a top priority for the Obama Administration to ensure that the program fulfills that mission by holding programs accountable for classroom quality and high standards of program integrity."

Under the proposed rule, at least 25 percent of grantees will be required to compete for funding. This proposal goes beyond a recommendation from an advisory committee convened in early 2008 that 15 to 20 percent of programs compete for funding. The Head Start proposed rule is consistent with the Administration's broad commitment to hold those that receive federal funding accountable and to use competition to ensure that only the highest quality entities receive federal funding.

HHS is also announcing this week, four new national training and technical assistance centers which will identify and disseminate evidence-based best practices to local Head Start programs. Head Start training and technical assistance centers will support Head Start programs to bring best practices into Head Start classrooms around the country, promoting continuous improvement and innovation at the ground level. HHS is also placing expert mentors/coaches in a number of Head Start programs across the country to provide on-the-ground training to teachers and program directors, to help them improve their classrooms. Further, 10 exceptional local Head Start programs, each nominated by the governor in its state, are being named as Centers of Excellence and will provide peer-to-peer technical assistance. A goal of all of these training and technical assistance initiatives is to help Head Start grantees meet the standards articulated in the proposed rule that is also being released today.

"These important reforms will directly benefit the children and families we serve," said David Hansell, Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. "Head Start and Early Head Start serve nearly a million of our most vulnerable children during the critical first few years of cognitive and social development. Holding programs accountable for meeting quality standards, and providing the help grantees need to meet these standards, will ensure that programs provide a quality Head Start experience that children need to be successful in school and life."

"A renewed era of innovation, improvement and integrity in Head Start is here," Secretary Sebelius said. "Helping all children realize their dreams and potential will help us build tomorrow's workforce, strengthen our economy, and fulfill American's promise. Giving poor children and families the tools they need to succeed is in everyone's best interest."

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HHS Accelerates Head Start Quality Improvements and Submits Impact Study on 2002-2003 Head Start Programs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced plans to strengthen the Head Start and Early Head Start programs as part of an Administration-wide effort to close achievement gaps and promote early learning through the first eight years of life for the nation's most vulnerable children. These quality improvements respond to growing
evidence on what works in early learning policy and practice, and incorporates Congressional mandates from the 2007 reauthorization of the Head Start Act.

"Head Start is a key part of the Obama Administration's strategic focus on early learning," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announcing the new initiative. "The program provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition and social services to low income children and families. "Still, for Head Start to achieve its full potential, we must improve its quality and promote high standards across all early childhood programs."

A Congressionally-mandated study on the impact of the 2002-2003 Head Start program was submitted to Congress on January 13, 2010. The study measured the cognitive and social/emotional development, health status and behavior of approximately five thousand 3 and 4 year olds who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that had access
to a Head Start program.

"These results make it clear that we need to build a more coordinated system of early care and education, and to focus on key improvements to teaching and learning in the early grades," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Through our collaboration with our partners at
HHS, we have begun to tackle this challenge by identifying the key elements of high quality early learning programs, and studying what works to improve and sustain outcomes once children reach school."

The study showed that at the end of one program year, access to Head Start positively influenced children's school readiness. When measured again at the end of kindergarten and first grade, however, the Head Start children and the control group children were at the same level on
many of the measures studied.

"Research clearly shows that Head Start positively impacts the school readiness of low-income children. Now we must increase its effectiveness and continue to provide the support that our children, from birth to eight, need to prepare to succeed later in school and in life," Secretary Sebelius said. "The President has looked to HHS and the Department of Education to develop a coordinated and seamless plan to get children off to great starts, and to help families and
communities to break cycles of poverty."

To strengthen the impact of Head Start, HHS is in the process of:

* raising program performance standards
* increasing program accountability by only renewing grants for
high-quality, constantly improving programs
* improving classroom practices by providing higher quality training for
classroom teachers, staff and program directors and improving technical
assistance to grantees looking to improve their programs
* convening a research advisory committee to gather insights from the
Head Start Impact Study and other relevant research
* partnering with the Department of Education to collaborate with early
childhood education and ensuring continuity of quality programs

"Head Start has been changing lives for the better since its inception," said Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Carmen R. Nazario. "Now we are raising the bar with the Head Start program to make sure it does all it can to expand children's vocabulary, develop math skills,
and help them engage with teachers and other children in ways that enrich their lives and prepare them for school and beyond. We will work to ensure that the advantages children gain in the program are sustained in the years ahead."

Nazario went on to explain how the Administration has begun to ramp up efforts to improve the quality of all early childhood programs, with a focus on those serving low income families. One key element to this integrated effort will involve the Early Learning Challenge Grant program now under consideration in Congress. The program, which would be administered jointly by HHS and the Department of Education, would challenge states to develop innovative models that promote high standards of quality in all early childhood settings - including Head Start, child care centers and public and private preschools. Funds would be granted to states already making progress on reform and excellence, allowing them to bring their models to scale. Grants would also go to states that show promise, but need additional assistance to launch a standards-based, outcomes-driven system.

Established in 1965, Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low income families by enhancing their social and cognitive development through educational, nutritional, health, social and other services. Head Start, and the more recently launched Early Head Start,
have provided services to 25 million children and currently serve nearly a million children each year.

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