Head Start has a long tradition of delivering comprehensive
and high quality services designed to foster healthy development in low-income
children. Head Start grantee and delegate agencies operate at the community
level. Programs must adhere to Head
Start Performance Standards (PDF) (NOTE: This document requires the Adobe
Reader. Click here
for your free download). The Head Start Program Performance Standards define
the services that Head Start programs are to provide to the children and
families they serve. They constitute the expectations and requirements that
Head Start grantees must meet. They are designed to ensure that the Head
Start goals and objectives are implemented successfully, that the Head Start
philosophy continues to thrive, and that all grantee and delegate agencies
maintain the highest possible quality of services.
Monitoring and Oversight
Region I currently serves over 90 Head Start and
Early Head Start programs in New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT).
From the Maine Turnpike to Connecticut, Region I is providing Head Start
services to many ethnic and culturally diverse families. Each program is
assigned a Program Specialist who provides federal oversight,
guidance, technical assistance, and clarification on Head Start Performance
Standards as well as any new policies, rules, or regulations. Program Specialists
also monitor Head Start programs for compliance with Head Start Performance
Standards. Each program is reviewed every 3 years by a team of consultants
with the Program Specialist as Team Leader. Head Start review teams use
the Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring (PRISM)
to review Head Start programs.
In addition to working with grantees at the local level,
Program Specialists also work closely with the 6 New England states individually
(Head Start State Collaboration Projects). This is accomplished
by assigning a Program Specialist as state lead to individual states.
Technical Assistance
Region I works closely with grantees to ensure quality services
to children and families. The goal is to provide quality services to every
eligible family. Our efforts are supported by the Region
1 Head Start Quality Initiative (PDF), a technical assistance contractor.
State child care and education agencies also contribute to the support of
Head Start programs through additional state funding.
Fatherhood Initiative
For information about efforts in Region 1 to include fathers
in Head Start and other ACF programs, see Focus on Fatherhood.
Improving Head Start
The Head Start program, serving disadvantaged pre-school
children and their families, must be reauthorized this year. As part
of reauthoriziation, President Bush has made proposals to further
improve school-readiness standards for the program, as well as provisions
that would allow states to better integrate Head Start programs with
other pre-school and education programs. For more information on the
Administration’s efforts to strengthen Head Start see the Head
Start Bureau’s website at www.hhs.gov/headstart/.