Head Start Program

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

45 CFR Part 1302

RIN 0970-AB98

Head Start Program

AGENCY: Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF),

Administration for Children and Families (ACF), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Administration on Children, Youth and Families proposes to

amend Head Start regulations governing policies and procedures on

selection and funding of grantees. The amendment would remove the

section on priority for previously selected Head Start agencies. We

propose to remove this section because of increased confusion among

existing Head Start grantees about the meaning of ``priority'' as ACYF

acts to replace grantees who have been terminated or relinquish their

grant. This proposed change will clarify that the ``priority'' provided

under the Head Start Act (``Act'') applies to annual refunding of

existing grantees and not to competition to select a grantee to serve

an unserved area or an area previously served by a grantee no longer

with the program. Removal of this section will not affect the ongoing

funding or operation of Head Start grantees.

DATES: In order to be considered comments on this proposed rule must be

received on or before May 24, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to the Associate Commissioner, Head

Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, P.O. Box

1182, Washington, DC 20013. Beginning 14 days after close of the

comment period, comments will be available for public inspection on

Room 2219, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20201, Monday through

Friday, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kolb, (202) 205-8580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Program Purpose

Head Start is authorized under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9801

et seq.). It is a national program providing comprehensive

developmental services primarily to low-income preschool children,

primarily age three to the age of compulsory school attendance, and

their families. To help enrolled children achieve their full potential,

Head Start programs provide comprehensive health, nutritional,

educational, social and other services. Also, section 645A of the Head

Start Act provides authority (authorized in 1994) to fund programs for

families with infants and toddlers. Programs receiving funds under the

authority of this section are referred to as Early Head Start programs.

Additionally, Head Start programs are required to provide for the

direct participation of the parents of enrolled children in the

development, conduct, and direction of local programs. Parents also

receive training and education to foster their understanding of and

involvement in the development of their children. In fiscal year 1998,

Head Start served 823,000 children through a network of over 2,000

grantees and delegate agencies.

While Head Start is intended to serve primarily children whose

families have incomes at or below the poverty line or who receive

public assistance, Head Start policy permits up to 10 percent of the

children in local programs to be from families who do not meet these

low-income criteria. The Act also requires that a minimum of 10 percent

of the enrollment opportunities in each program be made available to

children with disabilities. Such children are expected to participate

in the full range of Head Start services and activities with their non-

disabled peers and to receive needed special education and related

services.

II. Discussion of the Proposed Removal of 45 CFR 1302.12

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing to

delete section 1302.12 entitled ``Priority for previously selected Head

Start agencies.'' A number of grantees have been terminated or have

relinquished their grant in the past several years because they have

been unable to meet quality standards applicable to Head Start

grantees. This section has caused confusion as ACF has acted to replace

these grantees. Removing this section will reduce confusion and

misunderstanding among existing Head Start grantees about the proper

application of ``priority.''

[Note: The references to Section 641 of the Head Start Act in

this Preamble reflect, where appropriate, the recent reauthorization

changes made to the Head Start Act in the Coats Human Services

Reauthorization Act of 1998, Public Law 105-285, enacted October 27,

1998. The Head Start statutory changes in the Reauthorization Act do

not affect the proposed removal of 45 CFR 1302.12.]

Since the Head Start, Economic Opportunity, and Community

Partnership Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-644) was enacted, the Head Start

Bureau has used the ``priority'' referred to in the current Section

641(c) of the Act as the basis for the noncompetitive refunding of

existing Head Start grantees. This is effected by making grant awards

with an indefinite project period. So long as a grantee meets the

programmatic and fiscal requirements of the Act and regulations, it

continues to receive priority for refunding. Pursuant to the intent of

Congress, this provision has assured continuity of services to children

and families, without the disruption that a periodic and routine change

of sponsoring agency would entail.

We are proposing to eliminate 45 CFR 1302.12 from the regulations

governing the selection of grantees. This change is being proposed to

make it clear that the application of the priority provided by section

641(c) of the Head Start Act does not apply to competitions to select a

grantee to serve an unserved area or an area previously served by a

grantee no longer with the program. The statute as now written provides

in section 641(a) that in order to be designated as a Head Start

grantee an organization must be within the community to be served.

Under section 641(d), a competition for award of Head Start funding is

only held where no entity in the community is eligible for a priority.

``Community'' is defined in section 641(b) as ``a city, county, or

multicity or multicounty unit within a State, an Indian reservation

(including Indians in any off reservation area designated by an

appropriate tribal government in the consultation with the Secretary),

or a neighborhood or other area (irrespective of boundaries or

political subdivisions) which provides a suitable organizational base

and possesses the commonality of interest needed to operate a Head

Start program.'' As the result of the adoption of 45 CFR 1305.3, all

grantees must specify in their annual applications for funding the

``service area'' that they plan to serve. They must define it by

``county or sub-county area, such as a municipality, town or census

tract or a federally recognized Indian reservation'' and it must not

overlap with the service areas where other grantees have been

[[Page 14203]]

designated to provide services. A Head Start grantee that is not

receiving funding to provide Head Start services in the particular

service area would be ineligible for a priority in selection to serve

that community under section 641(c) because it is not eligible for

selection as a Head Start grantee within the community under section

641(a). Therefore, 45 CFR 1302.12 is no longer needed in the

regulation. (The 1998 Head Start reauthorization, however, provides

priority to a delegate agency that functioned in the community when the

Secretary is designating a Head Start agency but this change would not

affect this NPRM.)

Eliminating Sec. 1302.12 will clarify that priority applies to the

annual refunding of existing grantees providing services within their

communities, not to other circumstances such as selection of a

replacement grantee. Section 641(a) provides the relevant guidance in

these cases by specifying that ``[t]he Secretary is authorized to

designate as a Head Start agency any local public or private nonprofit

or for-profit agency, within a community . . .'' (emphasis added). A

Head Start agency's approved service area defines the community it is

serving. A geographic area outside the grantee's approved service area

(e.g., the service area of a grantee that has left the program) would

not be within its community and thus priority would not apply.

We want to emphasize that this proposed rule does not affect in any

way the annual refunding of existing grantees to continue to provide

Head Start services in their approved service area. Grantees will

continue to receive this priority for funding without interruption.

Only when a grantee is terminated or relinquishes its grant, and the

service area thus has no provider, does this proposed rule have an

effect.

III. Impact Analysis

Executive Order 12866

Executive Order 12866 require that regulations be drafted to ensure

that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set forth

in the Executive Order. The Department has determined that the removal

of 45 CFR 1302.12 is consistent with these priorities and principles.

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5.U.S.C. Ch. 6) requires the

Federal government to anticipate and reduce the impact of rules and

paperwork requirements on small businesses. For each rule with a

``significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities'' an analysis must be prepared describing the rule's impact on

small entities. Small entities are defined by the Act to include small

businesses, small non-profit organizations and small governmental

entities. Removal of section 1302.12 will not affect any Head Start

grantees, including those that are small entities. The change brings

the regulations into conformity with requirements of the regulations

and the statute.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13,

all Departments are required to submit to the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) for review and approval any reporting or record-keeping

requirement inherent in a proposed or final rule. The removal of

section 1302.12 is not affected by the PRA requirement.

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1302

Education of disadvantaged, Grant programs--social programs.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 93.600,

Project Head Start)

Dated: October 19, 1998.

Olivia A. Golden,

Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.

Approved: December 10, 1998.

Donna E. Shalala,

Secretary.

For the reasons set forth in the Preamble, 45 CFR part 1302 is

proposed to be amended to read as follows:

PART 1302--POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION, INITIAL FUNDING,

AND REFUNDING OF HEAD START GRANTEES, AND FOR SELECTION OF

REPLACEMENT GRANTEES

1. The authority citation for part 1302 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.

2. Section 1302.12 is removed.

[FR Doc. 99-7220 Filed 3-23-99; 8:45 am]

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