HHS - Program Plan

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Last updated: 2009-05-12

Table of Contents

Click on each of the links below to read the part of the Plan relating to each topic.

Objectives | Measures |  Schedule and Milestones | Projects and Activities | Review Process | Cost and Performance Plan | Energy Efficiency Spending Plans | Program Plan Award Types

Objectives

Program Purpose
The purpose of this program is to promote the school readiness of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers.

Public Benefits
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), $1 billion will be provided to the Office of Head Start to promote the school readiness of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers, by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development of low-income children, through the provision of comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social and other services and to involve parents in their children’s learning and to help parents make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.

Measures

The measures have been revised to enrich the performance metrics for Recovery targets. In some instances, targets will not be available until additional baseline data has been collected.

Measure	Target/Actual
	2009	2010	2011	2012
Number of additional centers used to serve the increased Head Start enrollment. Frequency : Quarterly Direction : Increasing Type : Output Explanation : Not Available Unit : centers	0/0	0/0	-	-
Percent of Head Start eligible children (3-4 year olds) served by Head Start. Frequency : Annual Direction : Increasing Type : Output Explanation : Not Available Unit : %	0/0	0/0	-	-
Number of Head Start children served by Recovery Act funds. Frequency : Quarterly Direction : Increasing Type : Output Explanation : Not Available Unit : children served	0/0	0/0	-	-
Number of Head Start jobs created as a result of Recovery Act funds.Frequency : Quarterly Direction : Increasing Type : Output Explanation : Not Available Unit : jobs	0/0	0/0	-	-
Increase the percentage of teachers with AA, BA, Advanced Degree, or a degree in a field related to early childhood educationFrequency : Annual Direction : Not Available Type : Outcome Explanation : Teacher credentials are tied to classroom quality. FACES findings indicate that teachers with higher levels of education tend to be in classrooms rated higher on a number of quality indicators, including the ECERS-R Language subscale, the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale, and the ECERS-R total score. Teachers with higher levels of education also tend to have more positive attitudes and knowledge of early childhood education practices, which in turn are associated with higher levels of classroom quality. In 1998, Congress mandated that by September 30, 2003, at least 50% of Head Start teachers in center-based programs must have an Associate, Bachelor, or Advanced Degree in early childhood education, or a degree in a field related to early childhood education. (See Head Start Act, Section 648A(a)(2)). Head Start has shown a steady increase in the number of teachers with degrees in early childhood education and met the 2003 goal required by the Head Start Act. (The current Head Start reauthorization, however, may further raise the bar on this requirement.) For FY 2004, 65 percent of Head Start's teachers had an AA degree or higher. Of the 56,208 teachers, 31 percent had an AA degree, 30 percent had a BA degree, and 4 percent had a graduate degree. The total FY 2004 figure represents an increase of 6,071 degreed teachers over the previous year (7.3 percentage points). The target 3% growth set for 2007 and 2008 recognizes the difficulty recruiting and retaining credentialed teachers. HS salaries are approximately 50% lower than salaries for elementary school teachers. Turnover for HS teachers is high (15% in FY 2004) and requires ongoing intensive professional development, including assisting staff without degrees to pursue academic training, and recruiting efforts for HS. The targets also account for the methods traditionally used by Head Start programs in their professional development. In particular, Head Start programs often recruit parent volunteers and develop them into teachers - in fact, many effective Head Start teachers began as Head Start parents. Since many Head Start parents have low education levels, it often takes time for them to move through the higher education system and attain the credentials. Note: the large target increase from 2006 to 2007 is due to the fact that the 2006 target was exceeded in 2005, with 69% of teachers possessing the specified credentials. Because the 2006 target has already been set (per the FY 2007 Congressional Justification), the 2007 target was revised to account for the 2005 actual. The Office of Head Start tracks progress in meeting this Congressional mandate through its Program Information Report (PIR), which all Head Start grantees complete annually. For detail on the data collection methods and status the PIR, please see 3.1. Unit : Not Available	0/Jan-10	0/Jan-11	-	-

Schedule and Milestones

• Issue program instruction on how to apply for COLA and quality – complete (April 2, 2009)
  
• Synopsis of Grant Opportunity for Head Start expansion funds published online – within one week after approval by OMB – complete (April 2, 2009)
  
• Expansion announcement published in grants.gov – May 8, 2009
  
• Begin issuing COLA, and quality funds to grantees – June 2009 (about 60 percent of funds will be released in June with remaining funds released according to grantee refunding cycle) all funds to be released by August 2009
  • Expansion applications due – June 23, 2009
  
• Panel reviews – late June or early July 2009
  
• Award Head Start expansion grants – July or August 2009
  
• Award State Advisory Council grants to states – starting July 2009 (awarded on rolling basis as soon as applications are submitted by Governors and reviewed)

Projects and Activities

Kinds and Scope of Program Activities
Recovery Act funds must be used in a manner consistent with the detailed requirements for the allocation of funds included in the Head Start Act. Additionally, Conference report language that accompanied the Recovery Act bill stated: The conferees expect the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work with Head Start grantees in order to manage these resources in order to sustain fiscal year 2009 awards through fiscal year 2010.

Review Process

All Recovery Act programs will be assessed for risk and to ensure that appropriate internal controls are in place throughout the entire funding cycle. These assessments will be done consistent with the statutory requirements of the Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act and the Improper Payments Information Act, as well as OMB’s circular A-123 “Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control.”

The Office of Head Start (OHS) will follow its existing internal control structure in implementing the new discretionary grants. The expenditure of these funds will be carefully monitored by OHS regional staff and by OA grants specialists with strong oversight from the national office. On-going Risk Management Meetings conducted with each grantee will focus on the use of these funds and the frequency of these meetings will be increased to quarterly for all grantees receiving any recovery funds. All Head Start programs are subject to regular monitoring visits where their records, including fiscal records will be carefully reviewed to assure an appropriate use of these funds. The fiscal monitoring tools will be revised to ensure that the use of these funds is thoroughly and separately examined. In addition, all Head Start grantees must submit an annual audit to the Office of Head Start. The Head Start Enterprise System provides management reports that will assure that grants are being awarded on time and consistent with the requirements of the Head Start Act.

Cost and Performance Plan

Transparency:
ACF will be open and transparent in all of its grant awards and contracts that involve spending of Recovery Act funding consistent with statutory and OMB guidance. ACF will ensure that recipient reporting required by Section 1512 of the Recovery Act and OMB guidance is made available to the public on Recovery.gov by October 10, 2009. ACF will inform recipients of their reporting obligation through standard terms and conditions, grant announcements, contract solicitations, and other program guidance. ACF will provide technical assistance to grantees and contractors and fully utilize Project Officers to ensure compliance with reporting requirements.

The Office of Head Start (OHS) will post on its website ( http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/) quarterly information about the spending of Recovery Act funds, including updates on the output measures from Table 1, including how many new children are being served, how many new staff have been hired, and how many additional centers have been established to serve new Head Start participants. Annual performance results are available in the annual ACF Budget Justification and Online Performance Appendix (available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/olab/budget/index.html).

Accountability:
The Office of Head Start (OHS) is legislatively required to perform reviews of each Head Start program every three years. Erroneous Payment reviews are conducted to determine whether documentation demonstrated that a Head Start child was income eligible. In the case of errors, Head Start grantees are required to develop corrective action plans. ACF has also issued a memorandum reminding all grantees of documentation requirements, developed a standard signed statement template form, increased oversight of documentation activities being performed by ACF Regional Offices, and increased grantee emphasis for on-going monitoring through training and development of a monitoring protocol to review management systems. Head Start Regional Program managers are charged with assuring all programs in their regions are providing appropriate services to enrolled children and families and using their grants funds as required by statute and regulation. Grantees that are not must correct their problems or face de-funding.

To ensure that managers are held to high standards of accountability in achieving program goals under the Recovery Act, ACF will build on and strengthen existing processes. Senior ACF and Office of Head Start officials will meet regularly with senior Department officials to ensure that projects are meeting their program goals, assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring transparency, and incorporating corrective actions. The personnel performance appraisal system will also incorporate Recovery Act program stewardship responsibilities for program and business function managers. Managers are held accountable for assuring quality grantee performance through their Performance Management Appraisal Program (PMAP) plans. PMAP plans define clear expectations for managerial performance related to ACF-wide goals, the HHS Strategic Plan, and other key performance measures.

Energy Efficiency Spending Plans

N/A

Program Plan Award Types

Competitive Grant Program Recipient Applicant Type: Other Private Institution/Organization Beneficiary Type: Low Income

Source: Data provided by the Agency through the Office of Management and Budget.