
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC9836a]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                CHAPTER 105--COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMS
 
                   SUBCHAPTER II--HEAD START PROGRAMS
 
Sec. 9836a. Quality standards; monitoring of Head Start agencies 
        and programs
        

(a) Quality standards

                   (1) Establishment of standards

        The Secretary shall establish by regulation standards, including 
    minimum levels of overall accomplishment, applicable to Head Start 
    agencies, programs, and projects under this subchapter, including--
            (A) performance standards with respect to services required 
        to be provided, including health, parental involvement, 
        nutritional, social, transition activities described in section 
        9837(d) of this title, and other services;
            (B)(i) education performance standards to ensure the school 
        readiness of children participating in a Head Start program, on 
        completion of the Head Start program and prior to entering 
        school; and
            (ii) additional education performance standards to ensure 
        that the children participating in the program, at a minimum--
                (I) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness;
                (II) understand and use language to communicate for 
            various purposes;
                (III) understand and use increasingly complex and varied 
            vocabulary;
                (IV) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books; 
            and
                (V) in the case of non-English background children, 
            progress toward acquisition of the English language.\1\
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    \1\ So in original. The period should probably be a semicolon.

            (C) administrative and financial management standards;
            (D) standards relating to the condition and location of 
        facilities for such agencies, programs, and projects; and
            (E) such other standards as the Secretary finds to be 
        appropriate.

             (2) Considerations in developing standards

        In developing the regulations required under paragraph (1), the 
    Secretary shall--
            (A) consult with experts in the fields of child development, 
        early childhood education, child health care, family services 
        (including linguistically and culturally appropriate services to 
        non-English language background children and their families), 
        administration, and financial management, and with persons with 
        experience in the operation of Head Start programs;
            (B) take into consideration--
                (i) past experience with use of the standards in effect 
            under this subchapter on May 18, 1994;
                (ii) changes over the period since August 31, 1981, in 
            the circumstances and problems typically facing children and 
            families served by Head Start agencies;
                (iii) developments concerning best practices with 
            respect to early childhood education and development, 
            children with disabilities, family services, program 
            administration, and financial management;
                (iv) projected needs of an expanding Head Start program;
                (v) guidelines and standards currently in effect or 
            under consideration that promote child health services, and 
            projected needs of expanding Head Start programs;
                (vi) changes in the population of children who are 
            eligible to participate in Head Start programs, including 
            the language background and family structure of such 
            children; and
                (vii) the need for, and state-of-the-art developments 
            relating to, local policies and activities designed to 
            ensure that children participating in Head Start programs 
            make a successful transition to public schools; and

            (C)(i) review and revise as necessary the performance 
        standards in effect under this subsection; and
            (ii) ensure that any such revisions in the performance 
        standards will not result in the elimination of or any reduction 
        in the scope or types of health, education, parental 
        involvement, nutritional, social, or other services required to 
        be provided under such standards as in effect on October 27, 
        1998.

     (3) Standards relating to obligations to delegate agencies

        In developing standards under this subsection, the Secretary 
    shall describe the obligations of a Head Start agency to a delegate 
    agency to which the Head Start agency has delegated responsibility 
    for providing services under this subchapter and determine whether 
    the Head Start agency complies with the standards. The Secretary 
    shall consider such compliance during the review described in 
    subsection (c)(1)(A) of this section and in determining whether to 
    renew financial assistance to the Head Start agency under this 
    subchapter.

(b) Results-based performance measures

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary, in consultation with representatives of Head 
    Start agencies and with experts in the fields of early childhood 
    education and development, family services, and program management, 
    shall develop methods and procedures for measuring, annually and 
    over longer periods, the quality and effectiveness of programs 
    operated by Head Start agencies, and the impact of the services 
    provided through the programs to children and their families 
    (referred to in this subchapter as ``results-based performance 
    measures'').

                   (2) Characteristics of measures

        The performance measures developed under this subsection shall--
            (A) be used to assess the impact of the various services 
        provided by Head Start programs and, to the extent the Secretary 
        finds appropriate, administrative and financial management 
        practices of such programs;
            (B) be adaptable for use in self-assessment, peer review, 
        and program evaluation of individual Head Start agencies and 
        programs, not later than July 1, 1999; and
            (C) be developed for other program purposes as determined by 
        the Secretary.

    The performance measures shall include the performance standards 
    described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) of this section.

                         (3) Use of measures

        The Secretary shall use the performance measures developed 
    pursuant to this subsection--
            (A) to identify strengths and weaknesses in the operation of 
        Head Start programs nationally, regionally, and locally; and
            (B) to identify problem areas that may require additional 
        training and technical assistance resources.

                (4) Educational performance measures

        Such results-based performance measures shall include 
    educational performance measures that ensure that children 
    participating in Head Start programs--
            (A) know that letters of the alphabet are a special category 
        of visual graphics that can be individually named;
            (B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
            (C) identify at least 10 letters of the alphabet; and
            (D) associate sounds with written words.

       (5) Additional local results-based performance measures

        In addition to other applicable results-based performance 
    measures, Head Start agencies may establish local results-based 
    educational performance measures.

(c) Monitoring of local agencies and programs

                           (1) In general

        In order to determine whether Head Start agencies meet standards 
    established under this subchapter and results-based performance 
    measures developed by the Secretary under subsection (b) of this 
    section with respect to program, administrative, financial 
    management, and other requirements, the Secretary shall conduct the 
    following reviews of designated Head Start agencies, and of the Head 
    Start programs operated by such agencies:
            (A) A full review of each such agency at least once during 
        each 3-year period.
            (B) A review of each newly designated agency immediately 
        after the completion of the first year such agency carries out a 
        Head Start program.
            (C) Followup reviews including prompt return visits to 
        agencies and programs that fail to meet the standards.
            (D) Other reviews as appropriate.

                       (2) Conduct of reviews

        The Secretary shall ensure that reviews described in 
    subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)--
            (A) are performed, to the maximum extent practicable, by 
        employees of the Department of Health and Human Services who are 
        knowledgeable about Head Start programs;
            (B) are supervised by such an employee at the site of such 
        Head Start agency;
            (C) are conducted by review teams that shall include 
        individuals who are knowledgeable about Head Start programs and, 
        to the maximum extent practicable, the diverse (including 
        linguistic and cultural) needs of eligible children (including 
        children with disabilities) and their families;
            (D) include as part of the reviews of the programs, a review 
        and assessment of program effectiveness, as measured in 
        accordance with the results-based performance measures developed 
        by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and 
        with the performance standards established pursuant to 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1) of this section; 
        and
            (E) seek information from the communities and the States 
        involved about the performance of the programs and the efforts 
        of the Head Start agencies to collaborate with other entities 
        carrying out early childhood education and child care programs 
        in the community.

(d) Corrective action; termination

                          (1) Determination

        If the Secretary determines, on the basis of a review pursuant 
    to subsection (c) of this section, that a Head Start agency 
    designated pursuant to section 9836 of this title fails to meet the 
    standards described in subsection (a) of this section or results-
    based performance measures developed by the Secretary under 
    subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall--
            (A) inform the agency of the deficiencies that shall be 
        corrected;
            (B) with respect to each identified deficiency, require the 
        agency--
                (i) to correct the deficiency immediately, if the 
            Secretary finds that the deficiency threatens the health or 
            safety of staff or program participants or poses a threat to 
            the integrity of Federal funds;
                (ii) to correct the deficiency not later than 90 days 
            after the identification of the deficiency if the Secretary 
            finds, in the discretion of the Secretary, that such a 90-
            day period is reasonable, in light of the nature and 
            magnitude of the deficiency; or
                (iii) in the discretion of the Secretary (taking into 
            consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time 
            reasonably required to correct the deficiency), to comply 
            with the requirements of paragraph (2) concerning a quality 
            improvement plan; and

            (C) initiate proceedings to terminate the designation of the 
        agency unless the agency corrects the deficiency.

                    (2) Quality improvement plan

        (A) Agency responsibilities

            In order to retain a designation as a Head Start agency 
        under this subchapter, a Head Start agency that is the subject 
        of a determination described in paragraph (1) (other than an 
        agency required to correct a deficiency immediately or during a 
        90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(B)) 
        shall--
                (i) develop in a timely manner, obtain the approval of 
            the Secretary regarding, and implement a quality improvement 
            plan that specifies--
                    (I) the deficiencies to be corrected;
                    (II) the actions to be taken to correct such 
                deficiencies; and
                    (III) the timetable for accomplishment of the 
                corrective actions specified; and

                (ii) eliminate each deficiency identified, not later 
            than the date for elimination of such deficiency specified 
            in such plan (which shall not be later than 1 year after the 
            date the agency received notice of the determination and of 
            the specific deficiency to be corrected).

        (B) Secretarial responsibility

            Not later than 30 days after receiving from a Head Start 
        agency a proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to 
        subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall either approve such 
        proposed plan or specify the reasons why the proposed plan 
        cannot be approved.

                (3) Training and technical assistance

        The Secretary shall provide training and technical assistance to 
    Head Start agencies with respect to the development or 
    implementation of such quality improvement plans to the extent the 
    Secretary finds such provision to be feasible and appropriate given 
    available funding and other statutory responsibilities.

(e) Summaries of monitoring outcomes

    Not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall publish a summary report on the findings of reviews 
conducted under subsection (c) of this section and on the outcomes of 
quality improvement plans implemented under subsection (d) of this 
section, during such fiscal year. Such report shall be widely 
disseminated and available for public review in both written and 
electronic formats.

(Pub. L. 97-35, title VI, Sec. 641A, as added Pub. L. 103-252, title I, 
Sec. 108, May 18, 1994, 108 Stat. 631; amended Pub. L. 105-285, title I, 
Sec. 108, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2713.)


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(1)(A), inserted 
``, including minimum levels of overall accomplishment,'' after 
``regulation standards'' in introductory provisions.
    Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(1)(B), struck out 
``education,'' after ``including health,''.
    Subsec. (a)(1)(B) to (E). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(1)(C), (D), 
added subpar. (B) and redesignated former subpars. (B) to (D) as (C) to 
(E), respectively.
    Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(2), (3), redesignated 
par. (3) as (2) and struck out heading and text of former par. (2). Text 
read as follows: ``The regulations promulgated under this subsection 
shall establish the minimum levels of overall accomplishment that a Head 
Start agency shall achieve in order to meet the standards specified in 
paragraph (1).''
    Subsec. (a)(2)(B)(iii). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(4)(A), 
substituted ``early childhood education and'' for ``child''.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(C)(i). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(4)(B)(i), struck 
out ``not later than 1 year after May 18, 1994,'' before ``review'' and 
substituted ``this subsection; and'' for ``section 9846(b) of this title 
on the day before May 18, 1994; and''.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(C)(ii). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(4)(B)(ii), 
substituted ``October 27, 1998'' for ``November 2, 1978''.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(5), substituted ``to a 
delegate agency'' for ``to an agency (referred to in this subchapter as 
the `delegate agency')''.
    Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(3), redesignated par. (4) as (3). 
Former par. (3) redesignated (2).
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(a)(3), redesignated par. 
(4) as (3).
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(1), inserted ``Results-
based'' in heading.
    Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(2), substituted ``The 
Secretary'' for ``Not later than 1 year after May 18, 1994, the 
Secretary'', ``early childhood education and'' for ``child'', and 
``results-based performance measures'' for ``performance measures'' and 
inserted ``, and the impact of the services provided through the 
programs to children and their families'' before ``(referred''.
    Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(3)(A), (B), (F), 
substituted ``Characteristics'' for ``Design'' in heading and ``shall--
'' for ``shall be designed--'' in introductory provisions and inserted 
concluding provisions.
    Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(3)(C), substituted 
``be used to assess the impact of'' for ``to assess''.
    Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(3)(D), substituted 
``be adaptable'' for ``to be adaptable'' and ``, peer review, and 
program evaluation'' for ``and peer review'' and inserted ``, not later 
than July 1, 1999'' before semicolon.
    Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(3)(E), inserted ``be 
developed'' before ``for other''.
    Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(4), substituted ``, 
regionally, and locally'' for ``and by region''.
    Subsec. (b)(4), (5). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(b)(5), added pars. 
(4) and (5).
    Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(c)(1), inserted ``and 
results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under 
subsection (b) of this section'' after ``standards established under 
this subchapter''.
    Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(c)(2)(A), struck out 
``and'' at end.
    Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(c)(2)(B), inserted 
``(including children with disabilities)'' after ``eligible children'' 
and substituted semicolon for period at end.
    Subsec. (c)(2)(D), (E). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(c)(2)(C), added 
subpars. (D) and (E).
    Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(d)(1)(A), inserted ``or 
results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under 
subsection (b) of this section'' after ``subsection (a) of this 
section'' in introductory provisions.
    Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(d)(1)(B), amended 
subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: 
``with respect to each identified deficiency, require the agency--
        ``(i) to correct the deficiency immediately; or
        ``(ii) at the discretion of the Secretary (taking into 
    consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time 
    reasonably required to correct the deficiency), to comply with the 
    requirements of paragraph (2) concerning a quality improvement plan; 
    and''.
    Subsec. (d)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(d)(2), substituted 
``required to correct a deficiency immediately or during a 90-day period 
under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(B)'' for ``able to correct a 
deficiency immediately'' in introductory provisions.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 108(e), inserted at end ``Such 
report shall be widely disseminated and available for public review in 
both written and electronic formats.''


                             Effective Date

    Section effective May 18, 1994, but not applicable to Head Start 
agencies and other recipients of financial assistance under the Head 
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) until Oct. 1, 1994, see section 127 
of Pub. L. 103-252, set out as an Effective Date of 1994 Amendment note 
under section 9832 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 9835, 9836, 9841, 9843, 9846 
of this title; title 20 section 6312.
