Early Head Start Program Grant Availability

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 self-sufficiency. 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 [[Page 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

low-income 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.

[[Page 14550]]

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, father-child 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. [[Page 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 parent-child 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 ``cross-trained'' in the

areas of child development, family development and community building,

in addition to the areas of home visiting, caregiving

[[Page 14552]] 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 [[Page 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 non-Federal share may be met by cash or in-kind

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

non-Federal 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 [[Page 14554]] 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 [[Page 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 non-English speaking families).

5. Explain how the program's child development approach will

promote parent/guardian-child interaction and support the mother-child

and/or father-child 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 well-child 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 [[Page 14556]] 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

multi-site 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 x 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.

[[Page 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

cross-referenced by number in the last paragraph of each criterion. All

persons [[Page 14558]] 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

double-spaced pages of program narrative (not including the forms which

make up the SF-424 and resumes) including the one-page 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 1\1/2\ 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--Non-Construction 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. [[Page 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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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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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 non-Federal 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

[[Page 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. Secs. 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.

Secs. 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. Sec. 794), which prohibits discrimination on

the basis of handicaps; (d) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as

amended (42 U.S.C. Secs. 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) Secs. 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.

Sec. 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.

Secs. 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. Secs. 276a to 276a-7), the Copeland Act (40

U.S.C. Sec. 276c and 18 U.S.C. Secs. 874), and the Contract Work

Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. Secs. 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. Secs. 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. Sec. 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. Secs. 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. Secs. 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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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,

2\1/2\ 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 [[Page 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:

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, [[Page 14572]] and

character strength which will in turn enable them to build successful

social relationships for learning and continued development through

later childhood and adulthood;

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;

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

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:

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;

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 self-sufficiency

across a wide variety of domains;

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

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

emotionally-available 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 Radke-Yarrow, 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). [[Page 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 family-centered and community-based. We

recommend that the following principles serve as the conceptual

foundation for Early Head Start:

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.

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 well-being, 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.

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 [[Page 14574]] 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 [[Page 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 [[Page 14576]] 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 family-centered 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 multi-disciplinary pre-service education and field

work experience is available for students who wish to work in family-

focused 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 [[Page 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 pla

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