*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1994.01.12 : Report on Head Start Quality and Expansion Contact: David Siegel Wednesday, Jan. 12, 1994 (202) 401-9215 SHALALA CALLS FOR REFOCUSING, RE-ENERGIZING THE HEAD START PROGRAM Recommendations to improve, expand and reform America's Head Start program were presented today to HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala, and she pledged to use the recommendations to "refocus and re- energize Head Start." The final report of the 47-member bipartisan Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion said the Head Start program has been a tremendous success, but that high quality is not a uniform standard among different Head Start centers. In addition, the program needs to adjust to the realities of the 1990s, the report says. "I want a Head Start program that serves more children who need it, and serves them better," Secretary Shalala said in accepting the report. She congratulated members of the committee for "a blueprint that builds on the best of Head Start's past and responds to dramatic changes in the lives of today's children and families." Shalala said she will use the report to steer program and funding decisions as Head Start expands. "Over the years, legitimate concerns have surfaced about the quality of local programs, and there is a deep desire throughout the Head Start community to strengthen this program as we expand it," she said. "The advisory committee members addressed these issues head-on in their recommendations. I welcome the opportunity to implement a plan which will ensure that every Head Start program offers the comprehensive family services and high quality early childhood experience that are the core of the Head Start vision." "This report marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Head Start program," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Mary Jo Bane, chair of the advisory committee. "At its best, Head Start serves as a central institution in a community for low-income children and their families. It is our hope that the work of the committee will renew the promise of Head Start for the children and families we serve." To create a 21st century Head Start, the advisory committee set forth a set of recommendations that implement three broad principles: 1. We must ensure that every Head Start program can deliver on Head Start's vision, by striving for excellence in serving both children and families. 2. We must expand the number of children served and the scope of services provided in a way that is more responsive to the needs of families. 3. We must encourage Head Start to forge partnerships with key community and state institutions and programs in early childhood, family support, health, and mental health, and we must ensure that these partnerships are constantly renewed and recrafted to fit changes in families, communities, and state and national policies. For a copy of the report by the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion, please write to: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Public Affairs 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20447 ###