COATES = COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES,
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ACT OF 1998
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PUBLIC LAW 105–285—OCT. 27, 1998
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRAINING AND
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ACT OF 1998
112 STAT. 2702 PUBLIC LAW 105–285—OCT. 27, 1998
Public Law 105–285
105th Congress
An Act
To amend the Head Start Act, the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981, and the Community Services Block Grant Act to
reauthorize and make improvements to those Acts, to establish demonstration
projects that provide an opportunity for persons with limited means to
accumulate assets, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community
Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services Act
of 1998’’ or the ‘‘Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of
1998’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—HEAD START PROGRAMS
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Statement of purpose.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Financial assistance for Head Start programs.
Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 106. Allotment of funds.
Sec. 107. Designation of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 108. Quality standards.
Sec. 109. Powers and functions of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 110. Head Start transition.
Sec. 111. Submission of plans to Governors.
Sec. 112. Participation in Head Start programs.
Sec. 113. Early Head Start programs for families with
infants and toddlers.
Sec. 114. Technical assistance and training.
Sec. 115. Professional requirements.
Sec. 116. Research and evaluation.
Sec. 117. Reports.
Sec. 118. Repeal of consultation requirement.
Sec. 119. Repeal of Head Start Transition Project Act.
TITLE II—COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 201. Reauthorization.
Sec. 202. Conforming amendments.
TITLE III—LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Authorization.
Sec. 303. Definitions.
Sec. 304. Natural disasters and other emergencies.
Sec. 305. State allotments.
Sec. 306. Administration.
Sec. 307. Payments to States.
Sec. 308. Residential Energy Assistance Challenge option.
Sec. 309. Technical assistance, training, and compliance
reviews.
TITLE IV—ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Findings.
Sec. 403. Purposes.
Sec. 404. Definitions.
Sec. 405. Applications.
Sec. 406. Demonstration authority; annual grants.
Sec. 407. Reserve Fund.
Sec. 408. Eligibility for participation.
Sec. 409. Selection of individuals to participate.
Sec. 410. Deposits by qualified entities.
Sec. 411. Local control over demonstration projects.
Sec. 412. Annual progress reports.
Sec. 413. Sanctions.
Sec. 414. Evaluations.
Sec. 415. Treatment of funds.
Sec. 416. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE I—HEAD START PROGRAMS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start Amendments
of 1998’’.
SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote
school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of
low-income children through the provision, to low-income children and
their families, of health, educational, nutritional, social, and
other services that are determined, based on family needs assessments, to be necessary.’’.
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.
Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(16) and (17) and inserting the paragraphs at the end of
the section;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (3) the following:
‘‘(1) The term ‘child with a disability’ means—
‘‘(A) a child with a disability, as defined in section
602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
‘‘(B) an infant or toddler with a disability, as
defined in section 632(5) of such Act.
‘‘(2) The term ‘delegate agency’ means a public,
private nonprofit, or for-profit organization or agency to which a grantee has delegated all or part of the responsibility of
the grantee for operating a Head Start program.’’;
(3) by striking paragraph (4);
(4) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
(5) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(3) The term ‘family literacy services’ means
services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of
sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and
that integrate all of the following activities:
‘‘(A) Interactive literacy activities between parents
and their children.
‘‘(B) Training for parents regarding how to be the
primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children.
‘‘(C) Parent literacy training that leads to economic
self-sufficiency.
‘‘(D) An age-appropriate education to prepare children
for success in school and life experiences.’’;
(6) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
require an agency to provide services to a child who has not reached the age of compulsory school attendance for more than the
number of hours per day permitted by State law (including regulation) for the provision of services to such a child.’’;
(7) by striking paragraph (12) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(12) The term ‘migrant and seasonal Head Start
program’ means—
‘‘(A) with respect to services for migrant
farmworkers, a Head Start program that serves families who are engaged in agricultural labor and who have changed their residence
from one geographic location to another in the preceding 2-year period; and
‘‘(B) with respect to services for seasonal
farmworkers, a Head Start program that serves families who are engaged primarily in seasonal agricultural labor and who have not
changed their residence to another geographic location in the preceding 2-year period.’’;
(8) by inserting after paragraph (14) the following:
‘‘(15) The term ‘scientifically based reading
research’—
‘‘(A) means the application of rigorous, systematic,
and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading
difficulties; and
‘‘(B) shall include research that—
‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that
draw on observation or experiment;
‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are
adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or observational
methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and
observations; and
‘‘(iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal
or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific
review.’’; and
(9) in paragraph (17) (as redesignated in paragraph (1))—
(A) by striking ‘‘Term’’ and inserting ‘‘term’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘Virgin Islands,’’ and inserting
‘‘Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but for fiscal years ending
before October 1, 2001 (and fiscal year 2002, if the
legislation described in section 640(a)(2)(B)(iii) has not been enacted before September 30, 2001), also means’’; and
(C) by striking ‘‘Palau, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.’’ and inserting ‘‘and
the Republic of Palau.’’.
SEC. 104. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS.
Section 638(1) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833(1))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘aid the’’ and inserting ‘‘enable
the’’; and
(2) by striking the semicolon and inserting ‘‘and
attain school readiness;’’.
SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘1995 through 1998’’
and inserting ‘‘1999 through 2003’’; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs (1) and (2)
and inserting the following:
‘‘(1) for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to
carry out activities authorized under section 642A, not more
than $35,000,000 but not less than the amount that was made
available for such activities for fiscal year 1998;
‘‘(2) not more than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 1999 through 2003 to carry out impact studies under section
649(g); and
‘‘(3) not more than $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,
and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
2000 through 2003, to carry out other research, demonstration,
and evaluation activities, including longitudinal studies,
under section 649.’’.
SEC. 106. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.
(a) ALLOTMENTS.—Section
640(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by striking ‘‘and migrant’’ the first place it
appears and all that follows through ‘‘handicapped
children’’, and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs, services for children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal
Head Start programs’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘and migrant’’ each other place
it appears and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs and by migrant and seasonal’’; and
(iii) by striking ‘‘1994’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) payments’’
and all that follows through ‘‘Virgin Islands
according’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7)—
‘‘(i) to Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the United States;
‘‘(ii) for fiscal years ending before October 1, 2001,
to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau; and
‘‘(iii) if legislation approving renegotiated Compacts
of Free Association for the jurisdictions described in clause
(ii) has not been enacted before September 30, 2001, for
fiscal year 2002 to those jurisdictions;
according’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting ‘‘, of which not less than $3,000,000 of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year shall be made available
to carry out activities described in section 648(c)(4);’’;
(D) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘related to the
development and implementation of quality improvement plans under section 641A(d)(2).’’ and inserting ‘‘carried
out under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 641A(d)
related to correcting deficiencies and conducting proceedings to terminate the designation of Head Start agencies; and’’;
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
‘‘(E) payments for research, demonstration, and
evaluation activities under section 649.’’; and
(F) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No Freely
Associated State may receive financial assistance under this subchapter after fiscal year 2002.’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘equal’’
and all that follows through ‘‘amount;’’ and inserting
‘‘equal to the sum of—
‘‘(I) 60 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year
1999, 50 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2000,
47.5 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2001, 35
percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2002, and 25 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2003;’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) in clause (ii)—
(I) by striking ‘‘adequate qualified staff’’ and
inserting ‘‘adequate numbers of qualified staff’’; and
(II) by inserting ‘‘and children with disabilities’’
before ‘‘, when’’;
(ii) in clause (iv), by inserting before the period
the following: ‘‘, and to encourage the staff to
continually improve their skills and expertise by informing the staff of the availability of Federal and State
incentive and loan forgiveness programs for professional development’’;
(iii) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘and collaboration
efforts for such programs’’ before the period;
(iv) in clause (vi), by striking the period and inserting
‘‘, and are accessible to children with disabilities and their parents.’’;
(v) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii);
and
(vi) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
‘‘(vii) Ensuring that such programs have qualified
staff that can promote language skills and literacy growth of
children and that can provide children with a variety of skills
that have been identified, through scientifically based reading research, as predictive of later reading achievement.’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)—
(I) in subclause (I)—
(aa) by striking ‘‘this subparagraph’’ and
inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’;
(bb) by striking ‘‘of staff’’ and inserting
‘‘of classroom teachers and other staff’’;
(cc) by striking ‘‘such staff’’ and inserting
‘‘qualified staff, including recruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the requirements
set forth in section 648A(a)’’; and
(dd) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Preferences in awarding salary increases, in excess of cost-of-living allowances, with such
funds shall be granted to classroom teachers and staff who obtain additional training or
education related to their responsibilities as employees of a Head Start program.’’;
(II) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘the subparagraph’’
and inserting ‘‘this subparagraph’’; and
(III) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(III) From the remainder of the amount reserved
under this paragraph (after the Secretary carries out subclause
(I)), the Secretary shall carry out any or all of the activities described in clauses (ii) through (vii), placing the
highest priority on the activities described in clause (ii).’’;
(ii) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
‘‘(ii) To train classroom teachers and other staff to
meet the education performance standards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B), through activities—
‘‘(I) to promote children’s language and literacy
growth, through techniques identified through scientifically based reading research;
‘‘(II) to promote the acquisition of the English
language for non-English background children and families;
‘‘(III) to foster children’s school readiness skills
through activities described in section 648A(a)(1); and
‘‘(IV) to provide training necessary to improve the
qualifications of the staff of the Head Start agencies and to support staff training, child counseling, and other
services necessary to address the problems of children
participating in Head Start programs, including children from dysfunctional families, children who experience chronic
violence in their communities, and children who experience substance abuse in their families.’’;
(iii) by striking clause (v); and
(iv) by redesignating clauses (vi) and (vii) as
clauses (v) and (vi), respectively; and
(D) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II), by striking ‘‘and
migrant’’ and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs and
migrant and seasonal’’;
(3) in paragraph (4)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘1981’’ and
inserting ‘‘1998’’;
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
‘‘(B) any amount available after all allotments are
made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year shall be
distributed proportionately on the basis of the number of children
less than 5 years of age from families whose income is below
the poverty line.’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘For purposes of this paragraph, for each fiscal year
the Secretary shall use the most recent data available on the number of
children less than 5 years of age from families whose income is
below the poverty line, as published by the Department of
Commerce, unless the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce
determine that use of the most recent data available would be
inappropriate or unreliable. If the Secretary and the Secretary of
Commerce determine that some or all of the data referred to in this
paragraph are inappropriate or unreliable, the Secretaries shall
issue a report setting forth their reasons in detail.’’;
(4) in paragraph (5)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subparagraph
(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (D)’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period
the following: ‘‘and to encourage Head Start agencies
to collaborate with entities involved in State and local
planning processes (including the State lead agency administering the financial assistance received under the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the entities providing resource and referral
services in the State) in order to better meet the needs of low-income children and families’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)(I), by inserting ‘‘the appropriate
regional office of the Administration for Children and Families and’’ before ‘‘agencies’’;
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(iii) in clause (iv)—
(I) by striking ‘‘education, and national service
activities,’’ and inserting ‘‘education, and
community service activities,’’;
(II) by striking ‘‘and activities’’ and inserting
‘‘activities’’; and
(III) by striking the period and inserting
‘‘(including coordination of services with those State officials who are responsible for administering
part C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445,
1419)), and services for homeless children;’’; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(v) include representatives of the State Head Start
Association and local Head Start agencies in unified
planning regarding early care and education services at both the
State and local levels, including collaborative efforts to plan
for the provision of full-working-day, full calendar year early
care and education services for children; and ‘‘(vi) encourage local Head Start agencies to appoint
a State level representative to represent Head Start agencies
within the State in conducting collaborative efforts described in
subparagraphs (B) and (D), and in clause (v).’’;
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph
(F); and
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D) Following the award of collaboration grants
described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide, from the
reserved sums, supplemental funding for collaboration grants—
‘‘(i) to States that (in consultation with their State
Head Start Associations) develop statewide, regional, or local
unified plans for early childhood education and child care that
include the participation of Head Start agencies; and
‘‘(ii) to States that engage in other innovative
collaborative initiatives, including plans for collaborative training
and professional development initiatives for child care, early childhood education and Head Start service managers, providers, and
staff.
‘‘(E)(i) The Secretary shall—
‘‘(I) review on an ongoing basis evidence of barriers
to effective collaboration between Head Start programs and
other Federal, State, and local child care and early childhood
education programs and resources;
‘‘(II) develop initiatives, including providing
additional training and technical assistance and making regulatory changes, in necessary cases, to eliminate barriers to the
collaboration; and
‘‘(III) develop a mechanism to resolve administrative
and programmatic conflicts between programs described in
subclause (I) that would be a barrier to service providers, parents, or children related to the provision of unified services
and the consolidation of funding for child care services.
‘‘(ii) In the case of a collaborative activity funded
under this subchapter and another provision of law providing for
Federal child care or early childhood education, the use of equipment
and nonconsumable supplies purchased with funds made available under this subchapter or such provision shall not be
restricted to children enrolled or otherwise participating in the
program carried out under that subchapter or provision, during a period in
which the activity is predominantly funded under this
subchapter or such provision.’’; and
(5) in paragraph (6)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘From’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ and all that follows
and inserting the following: ‘‘7.5 percent for fiscal year
1999, 8 percent for fiscal year 2000, 9 percent for fiscal year 2001, 10 percent for fiscal year 2002, and 10 percent for
fiscal year 2003, of the amount appropriated pursuant to section 639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B).’’;
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B)(i) If the Secretary does not submit an interim
report on the preliminary findings of the Early Head Start impact
study currently being conducted by the Secretary (as of the date
of enactment of the Head Start Amendments of 1998) to the appropriate committees by June 1, 2001, the amount of the reserved
portion for fiscal year 2002 that exceeds the reserved portion for
fiscal year 2001, if any, shall be used for quality improvement
activities described in section 640(a)(3) and shall not be used to
serve an increased number of eligible children under section 645A.
‘‘(ii) If the Secretary does not submit a final report
on the Early Head Start impact study to the appropriate
committees by June 1, 2002, or if the Secretary finds in the report that
there are substantial deficiencies in the programs carried out
under section 645A, the amount of the reserved portion for fiscal year
2003 that exceeds the reserved portion for fiscal year 2002, if
any, shall be used for quality improvement activities described in
section 640(a)(3) and shall not be used to serve an increased
number of eligible children under section 645A.
‘‘(iii) In this subparagraph:
‘‘(I) The term ‘appropriate committees’ means the
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
‘‘(II) The term ‘reserved portion’, used with
respect to a fiscal year, means the amount required to be used in
accordance with subparagraph (A) for that fiscal year.
‘‘(C)(i) For any fiscal year for which the Secretary
determines that the amount appropriated under section 639(a) is not
sufficient to permit the Secretary to reserve the portion described
in subparagraph
(A) without reducing the number of children served by Head
Start programs or adversely affecting the quality of Head
Start services, relative to the number of children served and
the quality of the services during the preceding fiscal year, the
Secretary may reduce the percentage of funds required to be reserved for
the portion described in subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year
for which the determination is made, but not below the percentage
required to be so reserved for the preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(ii) For any fiscal year for which the amount
appropriated under section 639(a) is reduced to a level that requires a
lower amount to be made available under this subchapter to Head
Start agencies and entities described in section 645A, relative
to the amount made available to the agencies and entities for the
preceding fiscal year, adjusted as described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii),
the Secretary shall proportionately reduce—
‘‘(I) the amounts made available to the entities for
programs carried out under section 645A; and
‘‘(II) the amounts made available to Head Start
agencies for Head Start programs.’’.
(b) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—Section
640(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘1982’’ and inserting ‘‘1999’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 602(a) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such
policies and procedures shall require Head Start agencies to coordinate programmatic efforts with efforts to implement part C and
section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C 1431–1445, 1419).’’.
(c) INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
640(g) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘, and the performance history of the applicant in providing services under other Federal
programs (other than the program carried out under this subchapter);’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘, and organizations and public
entities serving children with disabilities;’’;
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘and the extent to which, and manner in which, the applicant demonstrates the ability to
collaborate and participate with other local community providers of child care or preschool services to provide full-working
day full calendar year services;’’;
(D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘program; and’’
and inserting ‘‘program or any other early childhood
program;’’;
(E) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(G) the extent to which the applicant proposes to
foster partnerships with other service providers in a manner that will enhance the resource capacity of the applicant; and
‘‘(H) the extent to which the applicant, in providing
services, plans to coordinate with the local educational agency
serving the community involved and with schools in which children participating in a Head Start program operated by such
agency will enroll following such program, regarding such
services and the education services provided by such local
educational agency.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), after taking
into account paragraph (1), the Secretary may allocate a portion of the
remaining additional funds under subsection (a)(2)(A) for the
purpose of increasing funds available for activities described in
such subsection.’’.
(d) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PROGRAMS .—Section
640(l) (42 U.S.C. 9835(l)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘(l)(1)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘migrant Head Start programs’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘migrant and seasonal Head
Start programs’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘migrant families’’ and inserting
‘‘migrant and seasonal farmworker families’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) For purposes of subsection (a)(2)(A), in
determining the need and demand for migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs (and services provided through such programs), the
Secretary shall consult with appropriate entities, including providers of
services for migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. The
Secretary shall, after taking into consideration the need and demand for
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs (and such services),
ensure that there is an adequate level of such services for
eligible children of migrant farmworkers before approving an increase in the
allocation of funds provided under such subsection for unserved
eligible children of seasonal farmworkers. In serving the eligible
children of seasonal farmworkers, the Secretary shall ensure that
services provided by migrant and seasonal Head Start programs do
not duplicate or overlap with other Head Start services
available to eligible children of such farmworkers.
‘‘(3) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary
shall continue the administrative arrangement responsible for meeting the needs of children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and
Indian children and shall ensure that appropriate funding is
provided to meet such needs.’’.
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 644(f)(2) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9839(f)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘Except’’ and all that follows through ‘‘financial’’ and
inserting ‘‘Financial’’.
SEC. 107. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 641 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
‘‘or for-profit’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘(in consultation with the chief
executive officer of the State involved, if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs)’’
after ‘‘Secretary’’ the last place it appears;
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘area designated
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as near-reservation’’ and
inserting ‘‘off-reservation area designated by an appropriate
tribal government in consultation with the Secretary’’;
(3) in subsection (c)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘, in consultation with the chief
executive officer of the State involved if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start
programs,’’ after ‘‘shall’’;
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or for-profit’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’;
and
(iii) by striking ‘‘makes a finding’’ and all that
follows through the period at the end, and inserting the following: ‘‘determines that the agency involved
fails to meet program and financial management requirements, performance standards described in section
641A(a)(1), results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under section 641A(b), or
other requirements established by the Secretary.’’;
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in consultation
with the chief executive officer of the State if such
State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start
programs,’’ after ‘‘shall’’; and
(C) by aligning the margins of paragraphs (2) and
(3) with the margin of paragraph (1);
(4) in subsection (d)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
after the first sentence the following: ‘‘In selecting
from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall give priority to any qualified
agency that functioned as a Head Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head Start program
that the Secretary determines met or exceeded such performance standards and such results-based performance
measures.’’;
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and programs
under part C and section 619 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431–1445, 1419)’’ after
‘‘(20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)’’;
(C) in paragraph (4)—
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(at home
and in the center involved where practicable)’’ after ‘‘activities’’;
(ii) in subparagraph (D)—
(I) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end;
(II) by striking clause (iv); and
(III) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv);
(iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and (D)’’
and inserting ‘‘, (D), and (E)’’;
(iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E)
as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
(v) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D) to offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to local entities), including information on drug-exposed
infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;’’;
(D) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
‘‘(7) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
non-English background children and their families, including
needs related to the acquisition of the English language;’’;
(E) in paragraph (8)—
(i) by striking the period at the end and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(ii) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph
(9);
(F) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
‘‘(8) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
children with disabilities;’’; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(10) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with
other entities carrying out early childhood education and child
care programs in the community.’’;
(5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(e) If no agency in the community receives priority
designation under subsection (c), and there is no qualified applicant
in the community, the Secretary shall designate a qualified
agency to carry out the Head Start program in the community on an
interim basis until a qualified applicant from the community is so
designated.’’; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) If the Secretary determines that a nonprofit
agency and a for-profit agency have submitted applications for
designation of equivalent quality under subsection (d), the Secretary may
give priority to the nonprofit agency. In selecting from among
qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency under
subsection (d), the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that
have demonstrated capacity in providing comprehensive early childhood
services to children and their families.’’.
SEC. 108. QUALITY STANDARDS.
(a) QUALITY STANDARDS.—Section 641A(a) of the Head Start
Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
inserting ‘‘, including minimum levels of overall
accomplishment,’’ after ‘‘regulation standards’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘education,’’;
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D)
as subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
‘‘(B)(i) education performance standards to ensure the
school readiness of children participating in a Head Start program, on completion of the Head Start program and
prior to entering school; and
‘‘(ii) additional education performance standards to
ensure that the children participating in the program, at a minimum—
‘‘(I) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness;
‘‘(II) understand and use language to communicate
for various purposes;
‘‘(III) understand and use increasingly complex and
varied vocabulary;
‘‘(IV) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of
books; and
‘‘(V) in the case of non-English background children,
progress toward acquisition of the English language.’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (2);
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(4) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated in paragraph (3))—
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ‘‘child’’
and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)—
(I) by striking ‘‘not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this section,’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘section 651(b)’’ and all that
follows and inserting ‘‘this subsection; and’’;
and
(ii) in subclause (ii), by striking ‘‘November 2,
1978’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of
the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998’’; and
(5) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated in paragraph (3)),
by striking ‘‘to an agency (referred to in this
subchapter as the ‘delegate agency’)’’ and inserting ‘‘to a
delegate agency’’.
(b) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 641A(b) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(b)) is amended—
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘RESULTS-BASED ’’
before ‘‘PERFORMANCE’’;
(2) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this section, the’’ and inserting
‘‘The’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘child’’ and inserting ‘‘early
childhood education and’’;
(C) by inserting before ‘‘(referred’’ the
following: ‘‘, and the impact of the services provided through the programs
to children and their families’’; and
(D) by striking ‘‘performance measures’’ and
inserting ‘‘results-based performance measures’’; and
(3) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘DESIGN’’
and inserting ‘‘CHARACTERISTICS’’;
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
‘‘shall be designed—’’ and inserting ‘‘shall—’’;
(C) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to assess’’
and inserting ‘‘be used to assess the impact of’’;
(D) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) by striking ‘‘to’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘and peer review’’ and inserting
‘‘, peer review, and program evaluation’’; and
(iii) by inserting ‘‘, not later than July 1, 1999’’
before the semicolon;
(E) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘be developed’’
before ‘‘for other’’; and
(F) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The
performance measures shall include the performance standards described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii).’’;
(4) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘and by region’’
and inserting ‘‘, regionally, and locally’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Such results-based
performance measures shall include educational performance measures that ensure that children participating in Head
Start programs—
‘‘(A) know that letters of the alphabet are a special
category of visual graphics that can be individually
named;
‘‘(B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
‘‘(C) identify at least 10 letters of the alphabet;
and
‘‘(D) associate sounds with written words.
‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL LOCAL RESULTS-BASED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—
In addition to other applicable results-based performance measures, Head Start agencies may establish local
results-based educational performance measures.’’.
(c) MONITORING.—Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and results-based
performance measures developed by the Secretary under
subsection (b)’’ after ‘‘standards established under this
subchapter’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘(including children with
disabilities)’’ after ‘‘eligible children’’; and
(ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(D) include as part of the reviews of the
programs, a review and assessment of program effectiveness, as
measured in accordance with the results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary pursuant to subsection
(b) and with the performance standards established pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection
(a)(1); and
‘‘(E) seek information from the communities and the
States involved about the performance of the programs and the efforts of the Head Start agencies to collaborate
with other entities carrying out early childhood education and child care programs in the community.’’.
(d) TERMINATION.—Section 641A(d) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or results-based performance
measures developed by the Secretary under subsection (b)’’
after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
‘‘(B) with respect to each identified deficiency,
require the agency—
‘‘(i) to correct the deficiency immediately, if the
Secretary finds that the deficiency threatens the health or safety of staff or program participants or poses
a threat to the integrity of Federal funds;
‘‘(ii) to correct the deficiency not later than 90
days after the identification of the deficiency if the Secretary finds, in the discretion of the Secretary, that
such a 90-day period is reasonable, in light of the nature and magnitude of the deficiency; or
‘‘(iii) in the discretion of the Secretary (taking
into consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time reasonably required to correct the deficiency), to
comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) concerning a quality improvement plan; and’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking ‘‘able to correct a deficiency
immediately’’ and inserting ‘‘required to correct a deficiency
immediately or during a 90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph
(1)(B)’’.
(e) REPORT.—Section 641A(e) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9836a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Such report shall be widely disseminated and available for
public review in both written and electronic formats.’’.
SEC. 109. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or for-profit’’
after ‘‘nonprofit’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (6)—
(i) by striking subparagraph (D); and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F)
and subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively;
(B) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as
paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively;
(E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
‘‘(6) offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to
local entities), including information on drug-exposed infants
and fetal alcohol syndrome;’’;
(F) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated in subparagraph
(D)), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (4) through (6)’’
and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (4) through (7)’’; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent
families that participate in programs, activities, or services
carried out or provided under this subchapter about the availability
of child support services for purposes of establishing
paternity and acquiring child support; and
‘‘(B) refer eligible parents to the child support
offices of State and local governments.’’;
(3) in subsection (c)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘and collaborate’’ after ‘‘coordinate’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘section 402(g) of the Social
Security Act, and other’’ and inserting ‘‘the State program
carried out under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)
