Increasing Our Knowledge of the Head Start Program Performance Standards
by E. Dollie Wolverton Chief, Education Services Branch, Head Start Bureau
The Head Start Program Performance Standards, originally developed in the 1970's, were recently revised to include standards for services to families with children ages birth to 3, pregnant women, family literacy, and transition. On November 5, 1996, the revised document was published as a Final Rule in the Federal Register. The effective date of these standards is January 1, 1998, beginning to implement them.
During the time between the Final Rule and implementation of the standards, Federal and local program staff, parents, and other community members are taking the opportunity to review and discuss the revised standards; determine how current services, program practices, and procedures compare with the revised standards; and plan to program changes that will help to assure quality services for children and families, including how to direct quality improvement funds to achieve these changes.
To help those in the Head Start community gain a better understanding of the revised Program Performance Standards, a number of materials will be available this summer. These include:
- Guidance for CFR Part 1304 (Program Performance Standards) and 1308 (Program Performance Standards for
Children with Disabilities), as well as the regulations for CFR Part 1301 (Grants and Administration Manual), 1302 (Policies and Procedures), 1303 (Appeal
Procedures), 1305 (Eligibility, Recruitment Selection, and Enrollment), and 1306 (Staff Requirements and Program Options). The guidance and regulations
will be packaged into one set, including a comprehensive index that will be available in both English and Spanish.
- Multimedia training materials,,
including a brochure, wall chart, video tape, transparencies, a user's guide for these materials, and a home page on the World Wide Web. All of these
materials will be in English and Spanish.
- Other materials.All of these tools are part of a larger array of materials which support the implementation of the
standards, including the publications: Revisit and Renew: Supporting Implementation of the Revised Head Start Program Performance Standards;
the Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community; and the newly developed Linking out Voices, a video package for program governance.
These materials will be unveiled at the National Head Start Associate's 24th Annual Training Conference in Boston at the end
of May. In addition, a process is being established to provide policy clarification on questions raised regarding the Head Start Program Performance Standards,
in order to ensure a uniform understanding of the revised standards.
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