Karen E. Lynch
Analyst in Social Policy
Head Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. The program seeks to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Head Start is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Federal Head Start funds are provided directly to local grantees rather than through states. Programs are locally designed and are administered by a network of roughly 1,600 public and private nonprofit and for-profit agencies. Most children served in Head Start programs are three- and four-year olds, but in 1994 Head Start was expanded to include an Early Head Start program, which serves children from birth to three years of age. Except as noted, the term Head Start in this report typically refers to both of these programs.
The FY2012 President’s Budget, released on February 14, 2011, requests $8.1 billion for Head Start for FY2012, an increase of roughly $866 million over the program’s FY2010 funding level of $7.2 billion. The Budget indicates that this would be more than sufficient to sustain program expansions (e.g., enrollment levels) that occurred under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5), which appropriated $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start in FY2009. HHS awarded ARRA funds over two years and most recently estimated that over 61,000 enrollment slots (including more than 48,000 in Early Head Start) were created by the ARRA. This represents about 6% of total FY2010 funded enrollment, when combined with the roughly 904,000 slots that were funded by the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Meanwhile, Head Start funding for FY2011 has not yet been finalized. Congress has passed a series of continuing resolutions to provide federal funding for FY2011, the most recent of which, P.L. 112-6, is scheduled to expire on April 8, 2011. Each of the enacted continuing resolutions for FY2011 has maintained funding for Head Start at the FY2010 rate of $7.2 billion. This is roughly $990 million below the amount requested by the Obama Administration in the FY2011 President’s Budget ($8.2 billion), but it is the same level of funding the program received under the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-117). By contrast, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, H.R. 1, passed by the House on February 19, 2011, would reduce FY2011 Head Start funding to $6.1 billion. The Senate voted to reject H.R. 1 on March 9, 2011. That same day, the Senate voted to reject Senate Amendment 149 to H.R. 1 (in the nature of a substitute), which would have increased Head Start funding to nearly $7.6 billion in FY2011.
The Head Start Act was most recently reauthorized with the signing of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134) on December 12, 2007. This law authorized the program through the end of FY2012 (September 30, 2012), meaning that Head Start will be due for reauthorization during the 112th Congress. The 2007 reauthorization law included provisions to increase the authorized funding levels for the program; revise the allocation formula; limit grantee designation periods to five years (at which point the grant may possibly be re-competed); expand eligibility to allow grantees to fill up to 35% of their slots with children from families with income between 100% and 130% of the poverty line (in certain circumstances); increase the qualifications and training requirements for Head Start staff; delineate the roles and responsibilities of a grantee’s governing body and policy council; and terminate the National Reporting System. The law also contained a variety of provisions aimed at promoting coordination among Head Start grantees and other state and local early childhood programs.
Date of Report: March 22, 2011
Number of Pages: 58
Order Number: RL30952
Price: $29.95
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Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Analyst in Social Policy
Head Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. The program seeks to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Head Start is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Federal Head Start funds are provided directly to local grantees rather than through states. Programs are locally designed and are administered by a network of roughly 1,600 public and private nonprofit and for-profit agencies. Most children served in Head Start programs are three- and four-year olds, but in 1994 Head Start was expanded to include an Early Head Start program, which serves children from birth to three years of age. Except as noted, the term Head Start in this report typically refers to both of these programs.
The FY2012 President’s Budget, released on February 14, 2011, requests $8.1 billion for Head Start for FY2012, an increase of roughly $866 million over the program’s FY2010 funding level of $7.2 billion. The Budget indicates that this would be more than sufficient to sustain program expansions (e.g., enrollment levels) that occurred under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5), which appropriated $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start in FY2009. HHS awarded ARRA funds over two years and most recently estimated that over 61,000 enrollment slots (including more than 48,000 in Early Head Start) were created by the ARRA. This represents about 6% of total FY2010 funded enrollment, when combined with the roughly 904,000 slots that were funded by the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Meanwhile, Head Start funding for FY2011 has not yet been finalized. Congress has passed a series of continuing resolutions to provide federal funding for FY2011, the most recent of which, P.L. 112-6, is scheduled to expire on April 8, 2011. Each of the enacted continuing resolutions for FY2011 has maintained funding for Head Start at the FY2010 rate of $7.2 billion. This is roughly $990 million below the amount requested by the Obama Administration in the FY2011 President’s Budget ($8.2 billion), but it is the same level of funding the program received under the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-117). By contrast, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, H.R. 1, passed by the House on February 19, 2011, would reduce FY2011 Head Start funding to $6.1 billion. The Senate voted to reject H.R. 1 on March 9, 2011. That same day, the Senate voted to reject Senate Amendment 149 to H.R. 1 (in the nature of a substitute), which would have increased Head Start funding to nearly $7.6 billion in FY2011.
The Head Start Act was most recently reauthorized with the signing of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134) on December 12, 2007. This law authorized the program through the end of FY2012 (September 30, 2012), meaning that Head Start will be due for reauthorization during the 112th Congress. The 2007 reauthorization law included provisions to increase the authorized funding levels for the program; revise the allocation formula; limit grantee designation periods to five years (at which point the grant may possibly be re-competed); expand eligibility to allow grantees to fill up to 35% of their slots with children from families with income between 100% and 130% of the poverty line (in certain circumstances); increase the qualifications and training requirements for Head Start staff; delineate the roles and responsibilities of a grantee’s governing body and policy council; and terminate the National Reporting System. The law also contained a variety of provisions aimed at promoting coordination among Head Start grantees and other state and local early childhood programs.
Date of Report: March 22, 2011
Number of Pages: 58
Order Number: RL30952
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
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