Enrollment: FY 1997 = 793,809

Ages	%
Number of 5 year-olds and older	6%
Number of 4year-olds	60%
Number of 3year-olds	30%
Number under 3 years of age	4%

Racial/EthnicComposition	%
AmericanIndian	3.5%
Hispanic	26.1%
Black	36.1%
White	31.2%
Asian	3.1%

Number of Grantees: FY1997 = 1,456

Average Cost Per Child: FY1997 = $4,882

Staff:
PaidStaff: FY1997 = 155,300
Volunteers: FY1997 =1,315,000

Head Start Fiscal Year 1965-1997: Enrollment & Appropriation History

Year	Enrollment	Appropriation
1965 (Summer only)	561,000	$96,400,000
1966	733,000	$198,900,000
1967	681,400	$349,200,000
1968	693,900	$316,200,000
1969	663,600	$333,900,000
1970	477,400	$325,700,000
1971	397,500	$360,000,000
1972	379,000	$376,300,000
1973	379,000	$400,700,000
1974	352,800	$403,900,000
1975	349,000	$403,900,000
1976	349,000	$441,000,000
1977	333,000	$475,000,000
1978	391,400	$625,000,000
1979	387,500	$680,000,000
1980	376,300	$735,000,000
1981	387,300	$818,700,000
1982	395,800	$911,700,000
1983	414,950	$912,000,000
1984	442,140	$995,750,000
1985	452,080	$1,075,059,000
1986	451,732	$1,040,315,000
1987	446,523	$1,130,542,000
1988	448,464	$1,206,324,000
1989	450,970	$1,235,000,000
1990	540,930	$1,552,000,000
1991	583,471	$1,951,800,000
1992	621,078	$2,201,800,000
1993	713,903	$2,776,286,000
1994	740,493	$3,325,728,000
1995	750,696	$3,534,128,000
1996	752,077	$3,569,329,000
1997	793,809	$3,980,546,000

A total of 16,892,000 children have been served by the program since it began in 1965.

OTHER FACTS

The program is administered by Head Start Bureau, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF),Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Grants are awarded by the DHHS Regional Offices and the Head Start Bureau & American Indian and Migrant Programs Branches directly to local public agencies, private non-profit organizations and school systems for the purpose of operating Head Start programs at the community level.

During the 1996-1997 operating period, Head Start programs report that:

• 13 percent of the Head Start enrollment consisted of children with disabilities, (mental retardation, health impairments, visual handicaps, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, speech and language impairments, orthopedic handicaps and learning disabilities).
• 90 percent of the Head Start teachers had degrees in early childhood education or had obtained the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or a State certificate to teach in a pre-school classroom.
• 571 programs operated a home based program. Home based services were provided to 39,833 children by 4,562 home visitors.
• 30 percent of the staff were parents of current or former Head Start children. Over 808,147 parents volunteered in their local Head Start program.
• 61 percent of Head Start families have incomes of less than $9,000 per year and 77.7 percent have yearly incomes of less than $12,000.
• Head Start programs are encouraged to use non-Head Start resources in their communities for Head Start children and their families. Recent data show that 67.8 percent of the Head Start children are enrolled in the Medicaid/Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program which pays for their medical and dental services.
• About half of all programs provide some full day services to families who need child care services.
• 39 percent of families need child care for children enrolled in Head Start. Of those, 25 percent received child care through the Head Start program or its parent agency.

The 1994 reauthorization of the Head Start Act established a new Early Head Start program for low-income families with infants and toddlers. In Fiscal Year 1997, $159,000,000 was used to support 173 projects to provide, Early Head Start child development and family support services in all 50 States and in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These projects, plus a number of Parent and Child Centers and Comprehensive Child Development Program & serve 22,000 children under age three. In Fiscal Year 1998, funding of $279,250,000 will be used to support Early Head Start programs.

Head Start Fiscal Year 1997: Enrollments State Allocations