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HEAD START
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 undergirding 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. Approximately 1,525 community-based organizations develop unique and innovative programs to meet specific needs, following the guidelines of Program Performance Standards, last updated in January 1998. In 2000, there were 18,000 centers and 45,000 classrooms, in which 857,664 children were served. Of the families 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.
Head Start programs endeavor to meet the needs of diverse communities and cultures in America. 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 teach an appreciation of the cultures of all enrolled children and provide culturally relevant classroom and other activities. 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 2000, Head Start served more than 115,646 children with disabilities, 13 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 2000, 93 percent of these children had Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
Head Start is requesting an increase of $125 million to serve a total of 917,000 children including approximately 55,000 children under age three. This increase will be used to maintain current service and enrollment levels and continue quality improvements.
Grants are awarded to local public or private non-profit agencies; the 1998 Head Start Reauthorization made profit-making agencies eligible as well. The community must contribute twenty percent of the total cost of a Head Start program. Head Start programs operate in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories.
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 2000, Early Head Start served approximate 45,000 children in 625 programs around the country.
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.
For the first time, Head Start is collecting its own data on child and family outcomes, in addition to the process data long available through program reports and monitoring. 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, is currently yielding 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 of both program quality and outcome measures will ensure that the Head Start program provides a regular, national picture of program quality. Current plans project a three-year cycle of data collection with new, nationally-representative samples of Head Start programs. 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. Administrative and process data will continue to be collected annually through the Program Information Report.
Program Activities, Strategies and Resources
Most of the Head Start program's appropriation funds local Head Start projects. The remainder is used 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; research, demonstration, and evaluation activities to test innovative program models and to assess program effectiveness; and required monitoring activities.
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. There is a national Early Head Start Resource Center for leadership and support in 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 Crosscutting Issues
Extensive input on future directions for the Head Start Program was obtained 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.
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. Major interagency partnerships in research include the ACYF/NIMH Head Start Mental Health Research Consortium, begun in 1997; the Head Start sub-study of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, and the ACYF/NICHD/ASPE/Ford Foundation study of low-income fathers of infants and toddlers. 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 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.
Early Head Start is pivotal to the ACF "Infants and Toddlers" priority, which requires ACF programs to coordinate 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.
Program-wide Performance
The FACES study of a nationally representative sample of Head Start children, families and programs, launched in 1997, has yielded encouraging results. First, Head Start classroom quality is good on average, with approximately 75 percent of over 500 observed classrooms rated 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. In addition, 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%) when they began Head Start in the fall of 1997 to one in three (34%) in the spring of 1998 -- nearly a 40% 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% of present Head Start employees are parents of Head Start children.
The target for FY 2000 established in the legislation for qualified teaching staff (measure 5.2i) was 100%; the actual was 94%. 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 has been 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 on page 95), 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.
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 next 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.
Summary Table
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, turntaking, attention).
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance |
Reference (page # in printed document) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
||||||
| 5.2a. Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the average gain in word knowledge. (New in FY 2001) | FY 01/02:
10 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 10 |
Px M-94 | |||
| 5.2b. Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the average gain in mathematical skills. (New in FY 2001) | FY 01/02:
3 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 3 |
Px M-94 | |||
| 5.2c. Increase from the FY 1999 baseline the average gain in letter identification. (New in FY 2001) | FY
01/02: 3.4 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 1.5 |
Px M-94 | |||
| Objective: (3) Children demonstrate improved gross and fine motor skills. | ||||||
| 5.2d. Increase from the FY 1999 baseline the average gain in fine motor skills. (New in FY 2001) | FY
01/02: 1.24 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 1.05 |
Px M-94 | |||
| Objectives: (4) Children demonstrate improved positive attitudes toward learning. (5) Children demonstrate improved social behavior and emotional well being. |
||||||
| 5.2e. Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the average gain in social skills. (New in FY 2001) | FY
01/02: 1.4 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 1.4 |
Px M-94 | |||
| Objective: (6) Children demonstrate improved physical health. | ||||||
| 5.2f. Increase from the FY 1999 baseline the percentage of children rated by parent as being in excellent or very good health. (New in FY 2001) | FY
01/02: 80% FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 77% |
Px M-95 |
|||
| PROGRAM GOAL: Strengthen Families | ||||||
| Objective: (1) Head Start parents demonstrate improved parenting skills. | ||||||
| 5.2g. Increase from the FY 1999 baseline the percentage of parents who read to child three times per week or more. (New in FY 2001) | FY 01/02:
70% FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 66% |
Px M-96 | |||
| 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%* |
||||
| 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. | ||||||
| Objectives: (2) Parents improve their self-concept and emotional well being. (3) Parents make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals. |
||||||
| 5.2h. Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the number of Head Start parents who are employed as Head Start staff. | FY
02: 30% FY 01: 30% FY 00: 30% FY 99: 30% |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 30.9%* FY 99: 30.6% FY 98: 29% |
Px M-96 | |||
| *Among the 176,890 Head Start employees, 54,570 are present or former Head Start parents representing 30.9 percent of the total staff. | ||||||
| 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
02: 100% FY 01: 100% FY 00: 100% FY 99: 100% |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 94% FY 99: 93% FY 98: 95% |
Px M-96 | |||
| Objective: (2) Staff interact with children in a skilled and sensitive manner. | ||||||
| 5.2j. Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline the average lead teacher score on an observational measure of teacher-child interaction. (New) | FY
01/02: 73 FY 99/00: NA |
FY 01/02: FY 99/00: 73 |
Px M-96 | |||
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 2000 Data: Current FACES data for the 1999/2000 cohort are available and included in the chart. |
||||||
| Total Funding for All Head Start Programs (dollars in millions)See detailed Budget Linkage Table in Appendix 6 for line items included in funding totals. | FY
02: $6324.8 FY 01: $6199.8 FY 00: $3866.2 1/ FY 99: $4658.1 |
Bx: budget
just. Section H Px: page # performance plan |
||||
| 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 2002 and Final Measures for FY 2001
PROGRAM GOAL: Enhance children's growth and development.
Head Start's educational program is designed to meet the needs of each child, and the community served, with attention to ethnic and cultural characteristics. 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. On entry into the program in the fall of 1997, 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% of households received supplemental income from TANF (31%) 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 tap the major domains of social competence, also called school readiness. Children's cognitive development and early academic skills were measured through a direct child assessment administered by trained assessors. Children's developing social skills and approaches to learning were assessed by means of standardized scales filled out by teachers and parents and by direct observation of children's social play. Classroom quality was assessed 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.
Targets for child outcomes are based on the actual performance of Head Start children during the program year and in kindergarten follow-up. Average scores are calculated for a nationally representative sample of children completing the Head Start program. Scores are generally 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. Over the course of the Head Start year, on average, children should be expected to demonstrate progress on academic skills that is approximately half that observed during the kindergarten year. The targets have been set to be both educationally meaningful and realistically achievable. In some areas, Head Start children are already meeting this standard, while in other areas, increased programmatic attention to these goals will be required to meet the standard. 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.
Objectives:Children demonstrate improved emergent literacy, numeracy
and language skills.
Children demonstrate improved general cognitive skills.
5.2a FY 2001/2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 10 scale points the average gain in word knowledge.
5.2b. FY 2001/2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 3 scale points the average gain in mathematical skills.
5.2c. FY 2001/2002: Increase from the FY 1999 baseline of 1.5 to 3.4 scale points the average gain in letter identification.
Objective:Children demonstrate improved gross and fine motor skills.
5.2d. FY 2001/2002: Increase from the FY 1999 baseline of 1.05 to 1.24 scale points the average gain in fine motor skills.
Objectives:Children demonstrate improved positive attitudes toward learning
Children demonstrate improved social behavior and emotional well being.
5.2e. FY 2001/2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 1.4 scale points the average gain in social skills.
Objective:Children demonstrate improved physical health.
5.2f. FY 2001/2002: Increase from the FY 1999 baseline of 77% to 80% the percentage of children 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 55,000 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 2001/2002: Increase from the FY 1999 baseline of 66% to 70% the percentage of parents who read to child three times per week or more.
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 2001: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 30% the number of Head Start parents who are employed as Head Start staff.
FY 2002: Maintain at the FY 1999 baseline of 30% the number of Head Start parents who are employed as Head Start staff.
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 2001: 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 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.
Data Sources: PIR
Objective:Staff interact with children in a skilled and sensitive manner.
5.2j. FY 2001/2002: 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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