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1993.05.06 :  Village Center Head Start Program

Contact:  ACF Press Office
Thursday, May 6, 1993                        (202) 401-9215

       HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today used a visit to the 
Village Center, a Washington, D.C., Head Start program, to
reaffirm her commitment to assure quality in the Head Start
program as it expands.  "As Head Start grows it must also be
enhanced and enriched,"  Secretary Shalala said.  "Not enough
attention has been paid to quality in recent years."
       The department is undertaking an in-depth review of Head
Start, and will use the results to make recommendations on how to
improve the Head Start program in order to assure that all Head
Start centers provide high quality services to the nation's
children, Secretary Shalala said.
       "The HHS Inspector General has issued two reports on Head
Start expansion which examined the impact of recent growth on
grantees and delegate agencies as well as on the department.  It
raises a number of concerns about the federal management and
oversight of the program in recent years and about uneven quality
among local programs.  This department will address these and
other observations and develop a plan that will guide the Head
Start program successfully into the next century."
       Secretary Shalala said HHS "will be taking a top-to-bottom
look at a program which has already demonstrated real success in
serving our nation's children.  Head Start has a proven track
record of helping kids and enabling them to begin school ready to
learn.  Yet the program currently reaches only a fraction of the
eligible children.  We are deeply committed to expanding it to
meet the need, and to ensuring its continued success."

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