This report responds to The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110–134, Sec. 635. [42 U.S.C. 9801] Sub-Section 649 (k) (1) (A-D), Indian Head Start Study, which requires a report to Congress detailing how the Department of Health and Human Services plans to carry out the activities listed in Sub-Section 649 (k) paragraph (1).
There are two requirements addressed in the Sub-Section, and in this report: (1) a plan for a set of studies that will focus on the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Head Start-eligible population related to the following areas: curriculum development, availability and need for services, appropriate research methodologies and measures, and best practices for teaching and educating American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Children, and (2) a plan to accurately determine the number of children nationwide who are eligible to participate in Indian Head Start programs each year and to document how many of these children are receiving Head Start services each year.