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FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan
5. PROMOTE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Approach for the Strategic Objective: Provide high quality early childhood programs, such as Head Start or accredited child care programs, so that early childhood experiences enhance children's development and school readiness.
5.1 CHILD CARE: QUALITY
Program Description, Context, Legislative Intent and Broad Program Goals
In our efforts to break the cycle of poverty and dependency, it is essential to focus both on parents and the next generation. Parents are more likely to succeed in employment and self-sufficiency if they have confidence in their child care arrangements. Beyond issues of health and safety, child care impacts the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children.
Research has begun to document the most important early influences on children’s development and factors that contribute to the quality of early child care. For example, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study of early child care, When Child-Care Classrooms Meet Recommended Guidelines for Quality (1998), shows that children attending centers meeting professional standards for quality score higher on school-readiness and language tests and have fewer behavioral problems than their peers in centers not meeting such standards. The study found that children fared better when child-staff ratios were lower and teachers had more training and education. Similarly, a four-year follow-up of children studied in the 1995 Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study, as well as the Carolina Abecedarian Program Study, show positive long-range effects of quality early childhood services.
ACF works with State administrators, professional groups, service providers, and others to identify elements of quality and appropriate measures; inform States, professional organizations, and parents about the constituents of child care quality; influence the training and credentialing of child care workers and accreditation of child care facilities; improve linkages with health care services and with Head Start; and take steps to improve the quality of child care nationally.
(See also information under Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability.)
Program Activities, Strategies and Resources
The CCB will work to expand partnerships with States and among early childhood programs to improve quality in early care and education. Close cooperation with Early Head Start is underway to address these populations and increase the number of infants and toddlers served by quality early childhood programs. Other activities will focus on building capacity in the field and among Federal staff. In addition, the results of new research grants awarded by the CCB will be used to improve services for infants and toddlers and to demonstrate the impact of quality early care.
At present, States are required to spend at least four percent of CCDF funds to improve the quality and availability of child care and offer additional services to parents, such as resource and referral counseling on selecting appropriate child care providers. In addition to the four percent, funds earmarked for infant and toddler care, quality improvements, school-age care, and resource and referral, must be targeted by States to improve quality and access.
The CCB awarded $2.5 million in discretionary grants for Technical Assistance to Improve Child Care Facilities in FY 2001. Ten organizations around the country, including one Tribe in Alaska, will provide technical assistance to child care providers to improve the quality and supply of child care facilities, including child care for infants and toddlers and children with disabilities.
A cooperative agreement was awarded to a university and its consortium of universities and early childhood organizations for the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. The purpose of this five-year project is to support the development of a national center to assist Head Start and child care programs to identify and implement practices that demonstrate effectiveness in promoting children's social and emotional competence.
As described under Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability, the CCB actively provides technical assistance and support to grantees in implementing CCDF. Directly, and through its technical assistance contractors, the CCB informs States about successful programs and models, offers on-site consultation, facilitates exchanges among peers, and sponsors meetings, conference calls, and conferences designed to offer training and peer linkages. In partnership with the DHHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the CCB sponsors the Healthy Child Care America campaign to develop and strengthen linkages between child care providers, health professionals, and families, and ultimately to improve the health and safety of children in child care settings. In addition, the Bureau has sponsored national forums on: using technology to support improved quality in child care; collaboration among early childhood programs; building public/private partnerships; and mental health.
Program Coordination, Partnerships, and Cross-cutting Issues
One key strategy for improving the quality of care, as well as its affordability and availability, is to create linkages between CCDF, early childhood programs, and other agencies that provide crucial services to children and families. The CCB has actively promoted collaboration through policy and technical assistance. In their biennial CCDF Plans, States are required to discuss both the coordination and collaboration that occurred in developing their plans and the results of that collaboration. The Bureau will monitor State progress toward the goal of collaboration through the State reports. As indicated in section 4.1, States submitted new plans on July 1, 2001, for the two-year period beginning October 1, 2001.
In addition, the CCB coordinates with partners in ACF, DHHS, and other departments to address barriers impeding States’ efforts to provide quality services to children and families. This coordination includes encouraging grantees to provide high quality full-day, full-year early childhood services by linking CCDFwith Head Start and State pre-kindergarten programs. The DHHS health agencies that assist with attaining health targets include: the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Community Health Centers, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and their constituencies. CCB works with the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council and others to ensure that special needs children eligible for CCDF services also receive assessments and early intervention services.
Program-wide Performance
States continue to expand their innovative uses of CCDF quality improvement funds to assure more children are cared for in environments that support their developmental needs. In their FY 2000-2001 CCDF State Plans, States reported using quality funds to: educate parents about making good child care choices; provide grants and loans to expand the number and quality of child care slots; increase child care provider wages, benefits, and training; and monitor the safety and quality of care.
Approximately 20 States now report offering higher subsidy reimbursement rates to providers demonstrating high quality care. Most States indicated they are working toward a system of professional development for child care providers and workers. Nearly a dozen States have implemented the North Carolina TEACH model combining professional development and training with salary enhancements. State-funded pre-kindergarten programs now exist in 42 States and nearly all States reported efforts to link child care, Head Start, and pre-kindergarten programs more closely together.
With their infant and toddler earmarks, States are recruiting additional caregivers; providing health outreach, including training and consultation; offering incentives for provider accreditation and training; and sponsoring specialized training for infant and toddler caregivers. A number of States implemented initiatives to improve the supply and quality of infant and toddler care -- some through partnerships with Early Head Start. The CCB will continue to work with States to improve the availability of quality infant and toddler care.
With CCDF monies, including funds earmarked for school-age care and resource and referral, States reported efforts to improve both the supply and quality of school-age care. These efforts include incentives for providers seeking accreditation, specialized curriculum development, grants to programs seeking to improve the quality of their services, and development of specialized licensing standards for school-age programs. In many States, efforts to improve the quality and supply of school-age care target low-income neighborhoods, and non-English speaking populations.
A GAO study completed in January 2000 entitled, Child Care: State Efforts to Enforce Safety and Health Requirements, found that States increased the resources for regulation and monitoring in recent years and are more likely to report regular monitoring visits to child care centers and homes. Several States have implemented, or are implementing, tiered licensing programs that pay higher rates for quality. Such programs help parents in making good child care choices and provide an incentive for improved quality of care.
The data needed for reporting performance on two of the three measures related to child care quality, i.e., accreditation of facilities (measure 5.1a) and the awarding of credentials to child care providers and staff (measure 5.1b) are furnished by independent national bodies. These organizations are credible sources of information about provider accreditation and certification. The Bureau established the baseline for measure 5.1a with CY 2000 data from the National Association for Family Child Care, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National School-Age Care Alliance. Based on their combined data, there were 9,535 accredited child care facilities nationwide in CY 2000.
It continues to be difficult to provide an accurate count of the total number of child care facilities. Therefore, the language for measure 5.1a has been revised to measure the number of accredited facilities in relationship to the number of regulated child care centers and homes, as reported by the organizations listed above. In February 2000, the Children's Foundation issued a report entitled The 2000 Child Care Center Licensing Study, containing the results of a survey of the regulatory offices of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Data in this report, collected from October 1999 through January 2000, indicate there are 106,246 regulated child care centers. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), one of several accrediting organizations reported 6,830 NAEYC-accredited child care facilities in 1999 and 8,332 in 2000. According to the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA), 211 of its member child care facilities were accredited in 2000. Therefore, of an estimated 106,246 regulated child care centers, 8,543 were accredited in 2000 through NAEYC and NSACA. In addition, 992 of the 290,667 regulated family and group child care homes reported by the Children’s Foundation were accredited through the National Association for Family Child Care in 2000.
The NAEYC is revising its accreditation system. The new system will be announced in November 2002 and is scheduled to be operational in 2005. The effects of this new system on measure 5.1a cannot be determined at this time. However, the impact could be substantial because NAEYC accredits a larger proportion of child care facilities annually than do the two other accrediting organizations that are sources of data for measure 5.1a.
Providing an accurate count of the total number of child care workers is also difficult. No reliable estimate of the number of such workers exists. The ability to provide the total number of workers is hampered by several factors; e.g., no common definition exists for the term child care worker. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix includes at least three employee categories applicable to child care workers.
The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition awards Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials to individual child care workers (measure 5.1b). In calendar year (CY) 1999, the Academy reported 112,130 individuals with CDA credentials and 127,893 in CY 2000, an increase of 12,277 or 14.06 percent.
FY 2000 data for the third measure, increasing the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated child care providers (measure 5.1c), were included as an optional element for the annual ACF-800 data collection. Although these three performance measures represent outputs or intermediate outcomes, they are critical strategies to measure our ability to assess quality improvements.
Data Issues
As discussed in Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability, the CCB has worked with States and Territories for several years to develop appropriate and achievable program goals and measures. The goals and measures in this document reflect the consensus-building and participatory process.
Some of these child care quality performance measures require new reporting and/or data gathering methods, including obtaining information from national organizations. The CCB intends to address these data issues in several ways. Information relevant to measures already included in State Plans will be used to help tell the performance story. The State Plan Preprint submitted biennially by States has been amended to include additional items related to the Bureau's performance measures.
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance |
Reference (page # in printed document) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROGRAM GOAL: The quality of child care services will improve over time. | |||
| Objective: Increase the number of accredited child care facilities | |||
| 5.1a. Increase by 1% (95) the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by a nationally recognized early childhood development professional organization from the CY 2000 baseline.* | CY 03: 9,822 CY 02: 9,725 CY 01: 9,630 CY 00: New in 2001 |
CY 03: CY 02: CY 01: 2/02 CY 00: 9,535 |
Px 108 |
| Objective: Increase the professional capacity of child care workers | |||
| 5.1b. Increase by 8% over the previous year the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide. | CY 03: 161,109 CY 02: 149,175 CY 01: 138,125 CY 00: New in 2001 |
CY 03: CY 02: CY 01: 2/02 CY 00: 127,893 CY 99: 112,130 |
Px 108 |
| 5.1c. Increase by 10% over the previous year the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline. ** | FY 03: 56 FY 02: 51 FY 01: New in 2002 |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 4/02 FY 00: 43 Baseline |
Px 109 |
| Availability of FY 2001 Data:Fiscal Year data will be available in April 2002; Calendar year data in February 2002. *The language for measure 5.1a has been revised to include regulated child centers and homes rather than all child care facilities. Data for measure 5.1a-b are based on calendar year reporting. **N=56 (50 States, the District of Columbia, and five Territories) |
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Performance Measures for FY 2003 and Final Measures for FY 2002
PROGRAM GOAL: Improve the quality of child care services
Objective: Increase the number of accredited child care facilities
5.1a. FY 2002: Increase by an additional 1% the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by nationally recognized early childhood development professional organizations and accrediting entities from the CY 2000 baseline.
FY 2003: Increase by an additional 1% the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by nationally recognized early childhood development professional organizations and accrediting entities from the CY 2000 baseline.
Data Source: National Association for Family Child Care, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National School-Age Care Alliance.
The above performance goal is an indicator of quality improvement. Accreditation of child care facilities has been linked to better outcomes for children and is increasingly accepted as a marker of good quality care. Several States use CCDF quality improvement funds in various ways to support accreditation for child care centers and homes.
The following performance goals have been developed. Through intense efforts with program stakeholders to explore alternative ways to measure progress toward improving the quality of child care services, These goals address the levels of safety in child care settings necessary to support children’s development and the higher levels of quality achieved by facilities in which staff possess nationally recognized educational credentials.
Objective: Increase the professional capacity of child care workers
5.1b. FY 2002: Increase by 8% over the previous year to 149,175 the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide.
FY 2003: Increase by 8% over the previous year to 161,109 the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide from the CY 1999 baseline.
Data Source: The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition.
5.1c. FY 2002: Increase by 10% over the previous year to 47 the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline.
FY 2003: Increase by 10% over the previous year to 51 the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline.
Program Description, Context, Legislative Intent and Broad Program Goals
Head Start is a national program that provides comprehensive developmental education, health, mental health, nutrition and social services for America's low-income, preschool children ages three to five and their families. The basic philosophy guiding the Head Start program is that children benefit from quality early childhood experiences and that effective intervention can be accomplished through high quality comprehensive services for children, along with family and community involvement. Head Start provides diverse services to meet the goals of three major content areas: early childhood development and health services; family and community partnerships; and program design and management. There are 1,525 community-based organizations, from Florida to Nome Alaska and from Puerto Rico to Micronesia, that develop unique and innovative programs to meet specific needs, following the guidelines of Program Performance Standards, last updated in January 1998.
The budget request for FY 2003 is an increase of approximately $130 million over the FY 2002 appropriation. This increase will be used to maintain current service and enrollment levels. All Head Start programs will be given an increase over their FY 2002 funding level of approximately 2.0 percent to offset inflationary increases and maintain competitive salaries for teachers. A small portion will be used to improve Head Start's training and technical assistance activities.
This request will allow Head Start to continue to provide high quality, comprehensive services to 915,000 Head Start children and families in FY 2003. In addition, it will allow Head Start to continue to strengthen its focus of improving early literacy and continue the funding of two comprehensive evaluation efforts designed to measure Head Start's overall effectiveness -- the Family and Children Experiences Survey and the National Impact Study.
Grants are awarded to local public or private non-profit agencies; the 1998 Head Start Reauthorization made profit-making agencies eligible as well. The communities contribute twenty percent of the total cost of a Head Start program. Head Start provides employment opportunities for children’s parents. Head Start programs employ more than 60,000 parents; parents represent one third of the total paid staff in Head Start.
The 1994 Head Start Reauthorization established a new program, Early Head Start, for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers. The program was designed with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Services to Families with Infants and Toddlers, established by the Secretary of DHHS. The program focuses on four cornerstones essential to quality programs: child development, family development, community building, and staff development. The program is accompanied by a major research effort to identify, develop, and apply measures of quality and outcomes for children and families. In 2001, Early Head Start served approximately 55,000 children in 650 programs.
The primary goal of Head Start is to promote the social competence and school readiness of low-income children. The program embraces the comprehensive view of school readiness recommended by the National Education Goals Panel (Kagan, Moore & Bredekamp, 1995). This view encompasses five developmental domains key to school readiness: physical well being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches to learning; language development and emerging literacy; and cognition and general knowledge. To carry out its primary goal, the Head Start Program Performance Measures are organized around five program goals:
- Enhance children's healthy growth and development;
- Strengthen families as the primary nurturers of their children;
- Provide children with educational, health, and nutritional services;
- Link children and families to needed community services; and
- Ensure well-managed programs that involve parents in decision-making.
Each program goal represents a cornerstone of the Head Start program. The child- and family-oriented program goals represent outcomes or results the program is designed to produce. The last three program goals contain the process measures that are key to attaining the first two. Head Start is collecting data on child and family outcomes. This effort is discussed in the Program-Wide Performance section below.
Program Activities, Strategies and Resources
Head Start sets aside funds for training and technical assistance to help local projects meet the Head Start program performance standards and maintain and improve the quality of local programs. In addition, Head Start conducts research, demonstration, and evaluation activities to test innovative program models and to assess program effectiveness. Head Start also conducts monitoring activities, which are required by the act.
Head Start program monitoring: Head Start's legislation requires a team led by a Federal representative to examine Head Start program compliance at least every three years for each program. ACF regional office and central office staff conduct more than 500 on-site reviews each year.
Other information and management systems: All local programs receiving Head Start funds are required to submit an annual Program Information Report tracking program participation statistics such as the age of children, the kind of education program they receive, and the medical, dental and mental health services the children receive. Annual one-time questions capture information about children's families and the kind of support services required such as job training, education, housing, counseling and other community based services. Head Start's new application includes a component which tracks costs hourly, daily and annually across service components and allows judgements to be made by Federal officials about the reasonableness of a Head Start grantee’s proposed costs.
Head Start training and technical assistance network and quality improvement centers: Head Start makes a substantial annual investment to support regional and sub-regional Head Start quality improvement centers. The national Early Head Start Resource Center for leadership and support provides training and technical assistance for programs enrolling infant, toddlers and pregnant women. All training and technical assistance services foster collaboration between community agencies, governments, academic institutions and Head Start programs.
Program Coordination, Partnerships and Cross-cutting Issues
Extensive input on future directions for the Head Start Program was gathered in 1993 by the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion. In addition, input specifically about developing Early Head Start was sought through the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers. Public comment on revised performance standards for the Head Start programs was solicited through focus groups and then through the rulemaking process. In operating local programs, revised Head Start regulations require grantees to coordinate activities on the transition of Head Start children to school and to encourage cooperation between Head Start staff and their counterparts in other preschool and child care programs, particularly those operated through title I funding and Even Start.
Head Start and Department of Education staff have developed strategies to support the attainment of the first Department of Education Goals 2000 Educate America objective that "all children in America will start school ready to learn," and have collaborated on issues arising from the transition of children from Head Start to school programs. Over the past several years, Head Start has increased the attention paid to promoting early language and literacy skills among children enrolled in Head Start and to tracking results in this and other areas of program quality and outcomes.
In 1996, ACF issued revised Performance Standards to guide the delivery of comprehensive Head Start services, including strengthened standards in key areas of curriculum, expectations for programs to foster cognitive development, literacy, numeracy, reasoning, and language development, and highlighted the importance of collaboration between Head Start programs and public schools. The 1998 reauthorization of the Head Start Act further strengthened the focus on children's literacy and language development by mandating more specific performance standards to strengthen classroom practices that support children’s early language and literacy. The National Head Start Child Development Institute, convened in December 2000, provided 3500 local Head Start Education Coordinators cutting edge training on outcomes-based instructional practices in literacy, language development, mathematics, science and social development. Head Start recently awarded a $3 million grant to the National Center for Family Literacy to enhance Head Start family literacy services, including new efforts to encourage parents to read with their children. A "Ready*Set*Read" Early Childhood Learning Kit was developed with America Reads and the Department of Education and disseminated to every Head Start agency to assure that children are read to daily and have access to books and literacy experiences. In addition, National Training Guides on Child and Family Literacy, Assessment, and Transition to School were developed to provide consistent staff training in core areas of education services. These efforts, combined with ongoing research, program improvement, and staff development initiatives, demonstrate Head Start's commitment to improving the school readiness of low-income children.
Extensive consultation and partnership opportunities have continued in the research domain. For example, an Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation was chartered in 1999 in response to the reauthorization of the Head Start Act, in order to make recommendations to the Secretary on Head Start research. The Early Head Start program is pivotal to the ACF "Infants and Toddlers" priority, which requires ACF programs to coordinate research efforts on behalf of this priority. A close working relationship has been established with the child care programs of ACF, NICHD, early childhood researchers at the Department of Education, and others. In addition, Head Start is closely involved with the Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, both the Kindergarten and Birth cohorts.
Head Start has developed strong research linkages with NIH, particularly with NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) and NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). With NICHD, Head Start has a longstanding interagency agreement to conduct an analysis of the low-income segment of the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. NICHD has provided major support for the Early Head Start Fathers Study, exploring the lives of low-income fathers of infants and toddlers. ACYF/Head Start are partners on the ongoing SEED (Science and Ecology of Early Development) initiative, including workshops and research announcements. Head Start has worked closely with NIMH on a variety of initiatives involving infant mental health, social and emotional school readiness (including the Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network), and a consortium of cooperative agreements testing assessments and interventions to improve Head Start practice in mental health.
HRSA and HSB recently signed an Inter-Agency Agreement to support the provision of technical expertise in the area of oral health to both the Head Start Bureau and Regional Offices. Soon to be announced is the awarding of funds to support the establishment of a National Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning. The Head Start Bureau and Child Care Bureau are jointly funding this center. The Head Start Bureau and HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) recently signed an Inter-Agency Agreement to fund activities of the National Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Technical Assistance Center. The funding is specifically given to test the feasibility of providing early hearing screening, diagnosis, and intervention services for infants, toddlers, and young children attending Migrant, American Indian, and Early Head Start Centers in Utah, Oregon, and Washington state.
The Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Health and Human Services is beginning a study of asthma in Head Start, which will review Head Start grantee efforts to address asthma among children enrolled in Head Start. The study will involve on-site review of a sample of Head Start grantees around the country and will select a sample of children with asthma, examine their health records and talk with parents and Head Start staff.The primary audience for this report is Head Start grantees and delegate agencies that run Head Start programs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also will be interested in the report, because Medicaid covers most Head Start children.
The Head Start Bureau has formed partnerships with the Office of Community Services (OCS) and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in support of the overall general welfare of Head Start families. Approximately 40 percent of Head Start grantees are community action agencies. Through community partnerships, the Head Start program provides a variety of services to Head Start families, including but not limited to, literacy, substance abuse treatment and prevention, housing and employment. Collaborations at both the national and between local Head Start programs and OCSE has resulted in the establishment of plans to increase the number of voluntary paternity establishments and the number of non custodial parents involved in Head Start programs. A collaborative project between Head Start and OCSE has resulted in approximately 60 Early Head Start Programs receiving Fatherhood Program development training in FY 2001.
Program-wide Performance
In 2001, more than 905,000 children were enrolled in Head Start programs. Head Start programs operated 18,500 centers with 48,500 classrooms. Of the children served, 34.5 percent are African-American; 30.4 percent are White; 28.7 percent are Hispanic; 3.3 percent are American Indian; and 2.0 percent are Asian. Sixty-four percent of all Head Start programs enrolled children from more than one dominant language and 20 percent enrolled children from four or more dominant language groups. Head Start programs endeavor to meet the needs of diverse communities and cultures in America. Head Start programs teach an appreciation of the cultures of all enrolled children and provide culturally relevant classroom and other activities. In 2001 Head Start added approximately 38,000 new Head Start children and 10,000 new Early Head Start children (totalling approximately 55,000 children under the age of three) bringing the national enrollment in Head Start to more than 905,000 children. In FY 2003, Head Start is projecting an increase in enrollment levels to 915,000 children (62,000 in Early Head Start) while maintaining the current service and quality improvements.
Besides staffing Head Start centers with staff speaking the same language as the children enrolled, Head Start provides special programs for special populations. In FY 2001, Head Start served more than 135,000 children with disabilities, 15 percent of the total enrollment. Disabilities included visual, hearing, speech, and health impairments, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbances, specific learning disabilities, and developmental delays. In FY 2001, 93 percent of these children had Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
For the first time, Head Start is collecting data on child and family outcomes. The Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of 3,200 children and families in 40 Head Start programs. OMB granted approval in July 1997, following a field test of 2,400 children in spring 1997. Full implementation began in fall 1997 and includes assessment of the same children before and after their Head Start experience (whether one or two years), as well as in the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first grade. Data sources include parent interviews, staff interviews, teacher questionnaires, classroom observations, and direct child assessments. FACES, designed as a periodic, longitudinal data collection activity, provided the baseline data for 1999.
Because of the need to collect longitudinal data, (including pre- and post-test and follow-up data on child performance to assess progress), it is not feasible to provide FACES data on an annual basis. However, regular, periodic data collection for additional program quality and outcome measures provided by the Head Start Program Information Report will ensure a regular, national picture of program quality. Current plans project a three-year cycle of FACES data collection. A new cohort of FACES, including a new nationally representative sample of 43 programs, has received OMB approval; data collection began in fall 2000, following children and families for one or two years of program attendance, with a kindergarten follow-up.
The FACES data from the study launched in 1997 have yielded encouraging results. First, Head Start classroom quality is good on average, with approximately 75 percent of over 500 observed classrooms rating good quality or higher on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. No classrooms scored below a minimal level of quality, unlike many studies of other preschool and child care settings. Head Start classroom quality is linked to child outcomes. For example, children score higher on early literacy measures when they experience richer teacher-child interaction, more language learning opportunities, and a classroom well equipped with learning resources.
Head Start children have been found to be ready for school, having many of the cognitive and social skills that indicate readiness to learn more in kindergarten. FACES uses measures of child performance for which national norms are available, such as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test -- III and subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised. Note that national mean scores are the average scores achieved by children at all levels of income. Head Start works to narrow the gap between disadvantaged children and all children in school readiness skills during the program year. For example, the proportion of Head Start children scoring close to or above the national mean on an assessment of word knowledge (measure 5.2a) increased from only one in four (24 percent) when they began Head Start in the fall of 1997 to one in three (34 percent) in the spring of 1998 -- nearly a 40 percent increase. During the Head Start year, children made significant gains in some areas (i.e., vocabulary and social skills, measures 5.2a and 5.2e), while showing a need for improvement in other areas (i.e., letter recognition, measure 5.2c), suggesting that programs could be doing more. By the end of kindergarten, Head Start children show significant gains in knowing letters, writing letters, and writing their names compared to nationally normed data; in other words, their scores improved more than those of the typical kindergartner. Grantees have maintained a high level of employing parents in the Head Start program (measure 5.2h); nearly 31 percent of present Head Start employees are parents of Head Start children.
The target for FY 2001 established in the legislation for qualified teaching staff (measure 5.2i) was 100 percent; the actual was 86 percent. This shortfall is due to a combination of staff turnover and/or limited access to training and credentialing opportunities in certain areas of the country. In partnership with institutions of higher education, Head Start is working to ensure that a majority of teachers obtain associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education over the next few years. More than $80 million in annual funding was earmarked to pay for teacher training and to continue to increase staff compensation. Grantees were required to develop plans for using their allocation from the $80 million to increase the numbers of teachers with degrees. Head Start additionally provided $3 million in funding to 24 higher education training partnership projects, largely to provide training towards degrees at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU), Hispanic-serving Institutions of Higher Education (HIHE), and Indian-controlled land grant colleges and universities. We also have initiated a new 5-year project at $1 million per year with Wheelock College for higher education faculty development. Teacher’s education level is correlated with classroom quality (classrooms have higher-quality language activities, offer more creative activities to children and have higher overall quality as rated by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).
Head Start parents demonstrated remarkable involvement and satisfaction with the program. During 2000, the American Customer Satisfaction Index, an independent study, with follow-up of customer satisfaction among Head Start parents, yielded high ratings of Head Start among programs in the Federal Government. Findings from the Head Start FACES study (see chart under program goal, “Strengthen Families”), based on a national probability sample of parents, confirm these findings. For example, parents in both studies demonstrate a high degree of satisfaction with Head Start's support of their child's growth and development, preparation for kindergarten, and provision of health and other services. They also indicate Head Start's openness to their own cultural backgrounds, ideas, and participation, as well as its fostering their role in the wider community. Taken together, the findings of these two studies amply demonstrate that Head Start's customers are highly satisfied with the quality of the program they receive and support the continued provision of these important benefits to children and families.
Performance-based Budgeting Pilot
The Head Start program has been identified as a first-year pilot to begin the process of providing analyses relating resources, outputs and outcomes using resources and output knowledge to improve and document efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this pilot is to lay the groundwork for informing management decisions for resource allocation; improving internal management; and providing greater accountability through more integrated financial and performance reporting. Head Start has selected early literacy investments as a beginning step to link resource investments to performance. Because final decisions have not been made for FY 2002, we are unable to provide budgeted amounts for these activities. The table illustrates this effort.
| blank left header cell | ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION | FY 2002 EFFORTS |
|---|---|---|
| BOOKS & SHARED READING | blank cell |
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| RESEARCH-BASED TRAINING |
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| ACCOUNTABILITY FOR QUALITY & OUTCOMES |
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Data Issues
The FACES data collection effort requires a data collection site manager, trained field interviewers and child assessment specialists, and, therefore, includes resources for training data collection specialists. On-site quality control visits by trainers occur regularly to maintain reliability of observational assessments. As currently configured, FACES will not provide annual data. ACF anticipates drawing new samples every three years. The initial round of FACES data collection began in the 1997-98 program year, with follow-up for the second program year, 1998-99. This information was used as the baseline data for FY 1999. The second round of FACES data collection began in the fall of 2000 for the FY 2001-2002 reporting period. OMB approval has been granted for this cohort.
Data collection for FACES includes carefully defined collection procedures and methods for maximizing response rates. The methodology includes selecting a nationally representative sample of data collection sites with probability proportional to size; a random selection of a nationally representative sample of Head Start children and families across the country; and a central study processing point for data cleansing, entry and verification. These procedures are specifically noted in Head Start's OMB-approved study design.
For performance measures which are supported, in part, by the Head Start Program Information Report, automated edit checks of most fields are used to ensure accuracy. These data are collected at all sites and there is a 100 percent annual response rate.
The indicators below refer to numerical measures of gain in word knowledge (vocabulary), mathematical skills, letter identification, fine motor skills (e.g., writing, copying designs), and social skills (e.g., classroom social behavior such as following instructions, turn-taking, paying attention).
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance | Reference (page # in printed document) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROGRAM GOAL: Enhance Children’s Growth and Development: | ||||||
| Objectives: (1) Children demonstrate improved emergent literacy, numeracy and language skills, and (2) Children demonstrate improved general cognitive skills. |
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| 5.2a. Achieve at least an average 32 percent gain (10 scale points) in word knowledge for children completing the Head Start program. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 32% FY 02: 32% FY 01: 10 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 10 |
Px 121 | |||
| 5.2b. Achieve at least an average 43 percent gain (3 scale points) in mathematical skills for children completing the Head Start program. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 43% FY 02: 43% FY 01: 3 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 3 |
Px 121 | |||
| 5.2c. Achieve at least an average 70 percent gain (3.4 scale points) in letter identification for children completing the Head Start program. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 70% FY 02: 70% FY 01: 3.4 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 1.5 |
Px 121 | |||
| Objective: (3) Children demonstrate improved gross and fine motor skills. | ||||||
| 5.2d. Achieve at least an average 43 percent gain (1.24 scale points) in fine motor skills for children completing the Head Start program. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 43% FY 02: 43% FY 01: 1.24 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 1.05 |
Px 122 | |||
| Objectives: (4) Children demonstrate improved positive attitudes toward learning. (5) Children demonstrate improved social behavior and emotional well being. |
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| 5.2e. Achieve at least an average 10 percent gain (1.4 scale points) in social skills for children completing the Head Start program. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 10% FY 02: 10% FY 02: 1.4 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 1.4 |
Px 122 | |||
| Objective: (6) Children demonstrate improved physical health. | ||||||
| 5.2f. Achieve goal of at least 80% of children completing the Head Start program rated by parent as being in excellent or very good health. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 80% FY 02: 80% FY 01: 80% FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 77% |
Px 122 | |||
| PROGRAM GOAL: Strengthen Families | ||||||
| Objective: (1) Head Start parents demonstrate improved parenting skills. | ||||||
| 5.2g. Achieve goal of at least 70% the percentage of parents who read to child three times per week or more. (New in FY 2001) | FY 03: 70% FY 02: 70% FY 01: 70% FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 12/02 FY 00: 66% |
Px 123 | |||
| Maintain the percentage of children who are taken to the library at least once a month. (Measure dropped in FY 2000.) |
FY 00: dropped FY 99: 30% |
FY 99: 30% FY 98: 30%* |
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| Data for the seven measures listed above are selected from the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) which provides information over a two-year period for each cohort. The baseline was established in FY 1999 for the PY 1997-1998 cohort. The next cohort covers PY 2000-2001, with a kindergarten follow-up in 2002 and program year data will be available in 2002. FACES will not provide annual data, because it is a longitudinal survey following children from entry into program, exit from program (after one or two years), and kindergarten follow-up. Scale points represent the amount of change expected during the Head Start year (standardized with regard to nationally normed data based on children at all income levels, with a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 points). * This percentage is based on the most recent FACES survey information. |
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| Objectives: (2) Parents improve their self-concept and emotional well being. (3) Parents make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals. |
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| 5.2h. Maintain the percentage of Head Start employees who are parents of Head Start children. | FY 03: 30% FY 02: 30% FY 01: 30% FY 00: 30% FY 99: 30% |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 29%* FY 00: 30.9% FY 99: 30.6% FY 98: 29% |
Px 124 | |||
| *Of 194,173 employees, 55,900 are parents. | ||||||
| PROGRAM GOAL: Children receive educational services. | ||||||
| Objective: (1) Programs provide developmentally appropriate educational environments. | ||||||
| 5.2i. Increase the number of classroom teachers with a degree in early childhood education (ECE), a child development associate credential, a State-awarded preschool certificate, a degree in a field related to ECE plus a State-awarded certificate or who are in CDA training and have been given a 180-day waiver, consistent with the provisions of Section 648A(a)(1) of the Head Start Act. | FY 03: 100% FY 02: 100% FY 01: 100% FY 00: 100% FY 99: 100% |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 86%* FY 00: 94% FY 99: 93% FY 98: 95% |
Px 124 | |||
| *40,486 teachers of 47,077 teachers with degree or credential. An additional 3,200 are in training for a child development associate credential. | ||||||
| 5.2j. Increase the percentage of teachers with AA, BA, Advanced Degree or a degree in a field related to early childhood education. (New) | FY 03: 50% FY 02: 47% (new) |
FY 03: FY 02: FY 01: 45%** FY 00: 41% FY 99: 37% FY 98: 32% FY 97: 33% |
Px 124 | |||
| **21,215 of 47,077 teachers have a college degree. | ||||||
| Objective: (2) Staff interact with children in a skilled and sensitive manner. | ||||||
| 5.2k. Maintain the average lead teacher score on an observational measure of teacher-child interaction. (New) | FY 03: 73 FY 02: 73 FY 01: 73 FY 00: NA |
FY 03: FY 02:: FY 01:12/02 FY 00: 73 |
Px 125 | |||
| Data for the above measure are from the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) which provides information over a two-year period for each cohort. The baseline was established in FY 1999 for the PY 1997-1998 cohort. The next cohort covers PY 2000-2001 and data will be available in 2002. FACES will not provide annual data, because it is a longitudinal survey following children from entry into program, exit from program (after one or two years), and kindergarten follow-up. Availability of FY 2001 Data: PIR Data will be available in October 2001; FACES data will be available in 2002. |
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| Total Funding for All Head Start Programs (dollars in millions) See detailed Budget Linkage Table in Appendix. 8 for line items included in funding totals. |
FY 03: $6667.5 FY 02: $6537.6 FY 01: $6199.8 FY 00: $3866.2 1/ FY 99: $4658.1 |
Bx: budget just. Section Px: page # performance plan |
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| 1/ $1.4 billion was provided in advanced funding - not available for obligation until FY 2001, and therefore not budget authority in FY 2000. | ||||||
Performance Measures for FY 2003 and Final Measures for FY 2002
PROGRAM GOAL: Enhance children's growth and development.
Head Start's preschool educational program is designed to meet the needs of three and four-year old children from low-income families. Every child receives a variety of learning experiences to foster intellectual, social, and emotional growth.
Head Start children are likely to face various conditions that put them at risk. The data below are based on a nationally representative sample of Head Start children studied starting in fall 1997. On entry into the preschool program, only 43 percent lived with both parents, and changes in family configuration were common over the year. Seventy percent of mothers had at least a high school diploma or GED, with less than nine percent having an Associate's or higher college degree. Forty-two percent of households reported less than $1,000 in monthly income from all sources, including TANF. Over 85 percent of households received supplemental income from TANF (31 percent) or other sources such as WIC and food stamps. About one-fifth of children were reported to have been exposed to community or domestic violence in their lives. (FACES study, fall 1997)
The measures, baseline data and targets for the following indicators are based on data from FACES, a periodic longitudinal data collection from a nationally representative sample of 3,200 Head Start children and families. The instruments used in FACES were designed to measure school readiness. FACES measured children's cognitive development and early academic skills through a direct child assessment administered by trained assessors. FACES assessed children's developing social skills and approaches to learning by means of standardized scales filled out by teachers and parents and by direct observation of children's social play. It assessed classroom quality through direct observations during the course of the Head Start day by trained observers using tools common to large-scale studies of early educational settings.
Head Start children enter the program with scores below national norms on most measures of school readiness. The targets have been set to be both educationally meaningful and realistically achievable. In some areas, such as word knowledge and early writing, Head Start children are already achieving these improvements, and show more progress over the course of the year than the typical preschool child. Children are also meeting the target in progress on social skills. However, in other areas, such as letter identification, increased programmatic attention to these goals will be required. Our target represents the goal of more than doubling the percentage improvement in this area over what Head Start children currently demonstrate (from 32 to 70 percent). This increased attention is being addressed through multiple approaches at the program level, including new initiatives in family literacy, teacher credentialing, a National Child Development Institute for Head Start managers, and a new emphasis on local program use of child outcome data in self-evaluations. Data for 2003-04 will be based on a new cohort of FACES, collected in fall 2000-spring 2002.
Objectives: Children demonstrate improved emergent literacy, numeracy and language skills. Children demonstrate improved general cognitive skills.
5.2a. FY 2002: Achieve at least an average 32% gain (10 scale points) in word knowledge for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 19 percent.)
FY 2003: Achieve at least an average 32% gain (10 scale points) in word knowledge for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 19 percent.)
5.2b. FY 2002: Achieve at least an average 43% gain (3 scale points) in mathematical skills for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 30 percent.)
FY 2003: Achieve at least an average 43% gain (3 scale points) in mathematical skills for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 30 percent.)
5.2c. FY 2002: Achieve at least an average 70% gain (3.4 scale points) in letter identification for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 50 percent.)
FY 2003: Achieve at least an average 70% gain (3.4 scale points) in letter identification for children completing the Head Start program. (The average gain among all children during the pre-K year is 50 percent.)
5.2d. FY 2002: Achieve at least an average 43% gain (1.24 scale points) in fine motor skills for children completing the Head Start program.
FY 2003: Achieve at least an average 43% gain (1.24 scale points) in fine motor skills for children completing the Head Start program.
Objectives: Children demonstrate improved positive attitudes toward learning
Children demonstrate improved social behavior and emotional well being.
5.2e. FY 2002: Achieve at least an average 10% gain (1.4 scale points) in social skills for children completing the Head Start program.
FY 2003: Achieve at least an average 10% gain (1.4 scale points) in social skills for children completing the Head Start program.
Objective: Children demonstrate improved physical health.
5.2f. FY 2002: Achieve goal of at least 80% of children completing the Head Start program rated by parent as being in excellent or very good health.
FY 2003: Achieve goal of at least 80% of children completing the Head Start program rated by parent as being in excellent or very good health.
Data Sources: Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) including child assessments, parent interviews and teacher ratings.
PROGRAM GOAL: Strengthen families
An essential part of Head Start is the involvement of parents in parent education, program planning, and operating activities. Many parents serve as members of policy councils and committees and have a voice in administrative and managerial decisions. Participation in classes and workshops on child development and staff visits to the home allow parents to learn about the needs of their children and about educational activities that can take place at home. Currently, approximately 56,000 parents of Head Start children are employed as paid program staff. Head Start aims to foster family and community partnerships so community resources can be brought to bear in helping families meet their needs. Services are geared to each family after its specific needs are determined, in areas such as education, training and employment services, counseling, and crisis/emergency intervention and services.
FACES included interviews with parents of Head Start children. In the spring of 1998, 2,688 parents interviewed were a nationally representative sample of all those with children enrolled in Head Start. The parents were asked a series of questions about satisfaction with Head Start services and perceptions of their Head Start experiences.
Parents participating in the Head Start FACES study reported very high levels of satisfaction with the program’s performance in each of eight areas. Responses were given on a 5-point scale, ranging from "very dissatisfied" to "very satisfied."
| Head Start Performance | % parents "satisfied" or "very satisfied" | % parents "very satisfied" |
|---|---|---|
| Head Start prepared their child for kindergarten. | over 96% | 85% |
| Head Start is open to their ideas and participation. | over 97% | 77% |
| Head Start helped their child grow and develop. | 98% | 86% |
| Head Start supported and respected the family’s culture and background. | 98% | 87% |
| Head Start identified and provided services for the child – health screenings, help with speech and language development. | 96% | 86% |
| Head Start maintained a safe program. | 98% | 89% |
| Head Start identified and helped provide services to help the families. | 84% | 65% |
| Head Start helped parents become more involved in groups active in the community. | 87% | 60% |
Additional questions from the FACES parent interview gave a very positive picture of parent attitudes toward their child's and their own experiences with Head Start. For example, 96 percent of parents reported that their child "has been happy in the program" often or always; over 97 percent reported that their child "is treated with respect by teachers"; and nearly 96 percent noted that the teacher is supportive of them as parents. While this information on parent participation and satisfaction is not directly reflected in the GPRA goals, parent involvement with and reliance on the program is believed to be a mediator in obtaining positive outcomes for both children and families.
Objective: Head Start parents demonstrate improved parenting skills.
5.2g. FY 2002: Increase from the FY 1999 baseline of 66% to 70% the percentage of parents who read to child three times per week or more
FY 2003: Maintain the increase from the baseline year at 70% the percentage of parents who read to child three times per week or more.
Data Sources: Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) parent interviews
Objectives: Parents improve their self-concept and emotional well being.
Parents make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.5.2h. FY 2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the percentage of Head Start employees who are parents of Head Start children.
FY 2003: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the percentage of Head Start employees who are parents of Head Start children.
Data Sources: Head Start Program Information Report.
PROGRAM GOAL: Children receive educational services.
Objective: Programs provide developmentally appropriate educational environments.
Head Start has devoted quality improvement dollars specifically for the purpose of upgrading teacher qualifications.
5.2i. FY 2002: Maintain at 100% the number of classroom teachers with a degree in early childhood education (ECE), a child development associate credential, a State-awarded preschool certificate, a degree in a field related to ECE plus a State-awarded certificate, or who are in CDA training and have been given a 180 day waiver, consistent
with the provisions of Section 648A(a)(2) of the Head Start Act.FY 2003: Maintain at 100% the number of classroom teachers with a degree in early childhood education (ECE), a child development associate credential, a State-awarded preschool certificate, a degree in a field related to ECE plus a State-awarded certificate, or who are in CDA training and have been given a 180 day waiver, consistent with the provisions of Section 648A(a)(2) of the Head Start Act.
5.2j. FY 2002: Increase the percentage of teachers with an AA, BA, Advanced Degree or a degree in a field related to early childhood education.
FY 2003: Increase the percentage of teachers with an AA, BA, Advanced Degree or a degree in a field related to early childhood education.Data Sources: PIR
Objective: Staff interact with children in a skilled and sensitive manner.
5.2k. FY 2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 73 points the average lead teacher score on an observational measure of teacher-child interaction.
FY 2003: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 73 points the average lead teacher score on an observational measure of teacher-child interaction.
Data Sources: Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) observation of classroom teachers
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