§9836. Designation of Head Start agencies

(a) Authorization; prerequisites

The Secretary is authorized to designate as a Head Start agency any local public or private nonprofit or for-profit agency, within a community, which (1) has the power and authority to carry out the purposes of this subchapter and perform the functions set forth in section 9837 of this title within a community; and (2) is determined by the Secretary (in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State involved, if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs) to be capable of planning, conducting, administering, and evaluating, either directly or by other arrangements, a Head Start program.

(b) Definition

For purposes of this subchapter, a community may be a city, county, or multicity or multicounty unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including Indians in any off-reservation area designated by an appropriate tribal government in consultation with the Secretary), or a neighborhood or other area (irrespective of boundaries or political subdivisions) which provides a suitable organizational base and possesses the commonality of interest needed to operate a Head Start program.

(c) Priority

(1) In the administration of the provisions of this section (subject to paragraph (2)), the Secretary shall, in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State involved if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs, give priority in the designation of Head Start agencies to any local public or private nonprofit or for-profit agency which is receiving funds under any Head Start program on August 13, 1981, unless the Secretary determines that the agency involved fails to meet program and financial management requirements, performance standards described in section 9836a(a)(1) of this title, results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under section 9836a(b) of this title, or other requirements established by the Secretary.

(2) If there is no agency of the type referred to in paragraph (1) because of any change in the assistance furnished to programs for economically disadvantaged persons, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs, give priority in the designation of Head Start agencies to any successor agency that is operating a Head Start program in substantially the same manner as the predecessor agency that did receive funds in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall not give such priority to any agency with respect to which financial assistance has been terminated, or an application for refunding has been denied, under this subchapter by the Secretary after affording such agency reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair hearing in accordance with section 9841(a)(3) of this title.

(d) Designation; Head Start agency; qualified applicants

If no entity in a community is entitled to the priority specified in subsection (c) of this section, then the Secretary may designate a Head Start agency from among qualified applicants in such community. In selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall give priority to any qualified agency that functioned as a Head Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head Start program that the Secretary determines met or exceeded such performance standards and such results-based performance measures. In selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each such applicant to provide Head Start services, based on-

(1) any past performance of such applicant in providing services comparable to Head Start services, including how effectively such applicant provided such comparable services;

(2) the plan of such applicant to provide comprehensive health, nutritional, educational, social, and other services needed to aid participating children in attaining their full potential;

(3) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the Head Start program it proposes to carry out, with other preschool programs, including Even Start programs under part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ¹ (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.) and programs under part C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445, 1419), and with the educational programs such children will enter at the age of compulsory school attendance;

(4) the plan of such applicant-

(A) to seek the involvement of parents of participating children in activities (at home and in the center involved where practicable) designed to help such parents become full partners in the education of their children;

(B) to afford such parents the opportunity to participate in the development, conduct, and overall performance of the program at the local level;

(C) to offer (directly or through referral to local entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start programs under part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ¹ (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), public and school libraries, and family support programs) to such parents-

(i) family literacy services; and

(ii) parenting skills training;

(D) to offer to parents of participating children substance abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to local entities), including information on drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;

(E) at the option of such applicant, to offer (directly or through referral to local entities) to such parents-

(i) training in basic child development;

(ii) assistance in developing communication skills;

(iii) opportunities for parents to share experiences with other parents; or

(iv) any other activity designed to help such parents become full partners in the education of their children; and

(F) to provide, with respect to each participating family, a family needs assessment that includes consultation with such parents about the benefits of parent involvement and about the activities described in subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) in which such parents may choose to become involved (taking into consideration their specific family needs, work schedules, and other responsibilities);

(5) the ability of such applicant to carry out the plans described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4);

(6) other factors related to the requirements of this subchapter;

(7) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of non-English background children and their families, including needs related to the acquisition of the English language;

(8) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of children with disabilities;

(9) the plan of such applicant who chooses to assist younger siblings of children who will participate in the proposed Head Start program to obtain health services from other sources; and

(10) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with other entities carrying out early childhood education and child care programs in the community.

(e) Designation of agency on an interim basis

If no agency in the community receives priority designation under subsection (c) of this section, and there is no qualified applicant in the community, the Secretary shall designate a qualified agency to carry out the Head Start program in the community on an interim basis until a qualified applicant from the community is so designated.

(f) Involvement of parents and area residents in selection of agencies

The Secretary shall require that the practice of significantly involving parents and area residents affected by the program in selection of Head Start agencies be continued.

(g) Priority for nonprofit agencies and applicants with demonstrated capacity

If the Secretary determines that a nonprofit agency and a for-profit agency have submitted applications for designation of equivalent quality under subsection (d) of this section, the Secretary may give priority to the nonprofit agency. In selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency under subsection (d) of this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that have demonstrated capacity in providing comprehensive early childhood services to children and their families.

( Pub. L. 97–35, title VI, §641, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 501 ; Pub. L. 98–558, title I, §104, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2878 ; Pub. L. 101–501, title I, §§107, 108, Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1229 , 1230; Pub. L. 102–401, §2(e)(1), (f)–(h), Oct. 7, 1992, 106 Stat. 1957 ; Pub. L. 103–252, title I, §107, May 18, 1994, 108 Stat. 629 ; Pub. L. 105–285, title I, §107, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2712 .)

References in Text

Part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (d)(3), (4)(C), means part B of chapter 1 of title I of Pub. L. 89–10 which was classified generally to part B (§2741 et seq.) of division 1 of subchapter I of chapter 47 of Title 20, Education, prior to being omitted in the general amendment of Pub. L. 89–10 by Pub. L. 103–382, title I, §101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3519 . See section 6361 et seq. of Title 20.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(3), is title VI of Pub. L. 91–230, Apr. 13, 1970, 84 Stat. 175 , as amended. Part C of the Act is classified generally to subchapter III (§1431 et seq.) of chapter 33 of Title 20, Education. Section 619 of the Act is classified to section 1419 of Title 20. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1400 of Title 20 and Tables.

Amendments

1998-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(1), inserted "or for-profit" after "nonprofit" and "(in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State involved, if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs)" after "Secretary" in cl. (2).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(2), substituted "off-reservation area designated by an appropriate tribal government in consultation with the Secretary" for "area designated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as near-reservation".

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(3)(A), inserted ", in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State involved if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs," after "Secretary shall" and "or for-profit" after "nonprofit" and substituted "determines that the agency involved fails to meet program and financial management requirements, performance standards described in section 9836a(a)(1) of this title, results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under section 9836a(b) of this title, or other requirements established by the Secretary" for "makes a finding that the agency involved fails to meet program, financial management, and other requirements established by the Secretary".

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(3)(B), (C), inserted ", in consultation with the chief executive officer of the State if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs," after "Secretary shall" and realigned margins.

Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(3)(C), realigned margins.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(A), inserted in introductory provisions "In selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall give priority to any qualified agency that functioned as a Head Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head Start program that the Secretary determines met or exceeded such performance standards and such results-based performance measures."

Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(B), inserted "and programs under part C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445, 1419)" after "(20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)".

Subsec. (d)(4)(A). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(i), inserted "(at home and in the center involved where practicable)" after "activities".

Subsec. (d)(4)(D). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(v), added subpar. (D). Former subpar. (D) redesignated (E).

Subsec. (d)(4)(D)(iii). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(ii)(I), inserted "or" at end.

Subsec. (d)(4)(D)(iv), (v). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(ii)(II), (III), redesignated cl. (v) as (iv) and struck out former cl. (iv) which read as follows: "substance abuse counseling; or".

Subsec. (d)(4)(E). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(iv), redesignated subpar. (D) as (E). Former subpar. (E) redesignated (F).

Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(iii), substituted ", (D), and (E)" for "and (D)".

Subsec. (d)(4)(F). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(C)(iv), redesignated subpar. (E) as (F).

Subsec. (d)(7). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(D), amended par. (7) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (7) read as follows: "the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of non-English language background children and their families in the community; and".

Subsec. (d)(8) to (10). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(4)(E)–(G), added pars. (8) and (10) and redesignated former par. (8) as (9).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(5), added subsec. (e) and struck out former subsec. (e) which read as follows: "If, in a community served by a Head Start program, there is no applicant qualified for designation as a Head Start agency to carry out such program, the Secretary may appoint an interim grantee to carry out such program until a qualified applicant is so designated."

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105–285, §107(6), added subsec. (g).

1994-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(a), inserted "(including Indians in any area designated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as near-reservation)" after "Indian reservation".

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(b)(2), (3), (5), inserted "(subject to paragraph (2))" after "the provisions of this section", struck out subpar. (A), inserted "the Secretary makes a finding that the agency involved fails to meet program, financial management, and other requirements established by the Secretary." after "unless", and redesignated subpar. (B) as par. (2) and concluding provisions as par. (3).

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(b)(1), (3), (4), (6), redesignated par. (1)(B) as (2) and realigned margins, substituted "If" for "except that, if" and "paragraph (1)" for "subparagraph (A)", and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows:

"(2)(A) The Secretary shall conduct a full review of each designated Head Start agency at least once during each 3-year period, and shall determine whether each agency meets program and fiscal requirements established by the Secretary.

"(B) The Secretary shall conduct a review of each newly designated Head Start agency immediately after the completion of the first year such agency carries out a Head Start program.

"(C) The Secretary shall conduct followup reviews of Head Start agencies when appropriate."

Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(b)(1), (5), redesignated concluding provisions of par. (1) as (3), substituted "this subsection" for "this paragraph", and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: "In carrying out a review of each Head Start agency under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall-

"(A) to the maximum extent practicable, carry out such review by using employees of the Department of Health and Human Services who are knowledgeable about Head Start programs;

"(B) ensure that an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services who is knowledgeable about Head Start programs supervises such review at the site of such agency;

"(C) measure the compliance of the programs of such agency with the performance standards in effect under section 9846(b) of this title; and

"(D) identify the types and conditions of facilities in which such programs are located."

Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(b)(1), struck out par. (4) which read as follows: "The results of a review conducted under this subsection shall not be sufficient alone for the purpose of determining whether to continue, or to discontinue, providing funds to a particular Head Start agency."

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(c)(1)–(3)(A), in introductory provisions substituted "If no entity in a community is entitled to the priority specified in subsection (c) of this section," for "If there is no Head Start agency as described in subsection (c)(2) of this section, and no existing Head Start program serving a community," and struck out "Any such designation shall be governed by the program and fiscal requirements, criteria, and standards applicable on September 1, 1983, to then existing Head Start agencies." after first sentence and "subject to the preceding sentence" after "as a Head Start agency".

Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(c)(3)(B), inserted ", including Even Start programs under part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)," after "preschool programs".

Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(c)(3)(C), amended par. (4) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (4) read as follows: "the plan of such applicant to involve parents of children who will participate in the proposed Head Start program in appropriate educational services (in accordance with the performance standards in effect under section 9846(b) of this title or through referral of such parents to educational services available in the community) in order to aid their children to attain their full potential;".

Subsec. (d)(7). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(c)(4), substituted "non-English language background children and their families" for "non-English language children" and inserted "and" after semicolon.

Subsec. (d)(8), (9). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(c)(5), (6), redesignated par. (9) as (8) and struck out former par. (8) which read as follows: "the plan of such applicant to provide (directly or through referral to educational services available in the community) parents of children who will participate in the proposed Head Start program with child development and literacy skills training in order to aid their children to attain their full potential; and".

Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 103–252, §107(d), redesignated subsec. (g) as (f) and struck out former subsec. (f) which read as follows: "The provisions of subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section shall be applied by the Secretary in the distribution of any additional appropriations made available under this subchapter during any fiscal year as well as to initial designations of Head Start agencies."

1992-Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 102–401, §2(e)(1), inserted at end "Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, the Secretary shall not give such priority to any agency with respect to which financial assistance has been terminated, or an application for refunding has been denied, under this subchapter by the Secretary after affording such agency reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair hearing in accordance with section 9841(a)(3) of this title."

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 102–401, §2(f), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A) and added subpars. (B) and (C).

Subsec. (d)(8), (9). Pub. L. 102–401, §2(g), added pars. (8) and (9).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102–401, §2(h)(3), added subsec. (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).

Pub. L. 102–401, §2(h)(1), substituted "(c), (d), and (e)" for "(c) and (d)".

Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 102–401, §2(h)(2), redesignated subsecs. (e) and (f) as (f) and (g), respectively.

1990-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–501, §107, designated existing provisions as par. (1), redesignated former par. (1) as subpar. (A), added subpar. (B) and pars. (2) to (4), and struck out former par. (2) and last sentence which read as follows:

"(2) except that if there is no such agency because of any change in the assistance furnished to programs for economically disadvantaged persons, then the Secretary shall give priority in the designation of Head Start agencies to any successor agency which is operated in substantially the same manner as the predecessor agency which did receive funds in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made.

The provisions of clause (2) shall apply only to agencies actually operating Head Start programs."

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–501, §108, inserted at end "In selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency and subject to the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each such applicant to provide Head Start services, based on-" and pars. (1) to (7).

1984-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–558, §104(a), inserted ", within a community," after "private nonprofit agency".

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–558, §104(b)(1), substituted "unless" for ", except that" in provisions preceding cl. (1).

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–558, §104(b)(2), (3), substituted "makes a finding" for "shall, before giving such priority, determine" and "fails to meet" for "meet".

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 98–558, §104(b)(4), inserted "except that" before "if".

Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 98–558, §104(c), added subsecs. (d) and (e) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (f).

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 103–252 effective May 18, 1994, but not applicable to Head Start agencies and other recipients of financial assistance under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) until Oct. 1, 1994, see section 127 of Pub. L. 103–252, set out as a note under section 9832 of this title.

Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

Section 2(e)(2) of Pub. L. 102–401 provided that: "The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall apply only with respect to terminations of financial assistance, and denials of refunding, occurring after July 29, 1992."

Amendment by section 2(f)–(h) of Pub. L. 102–401 effective Oct. 7, 1992, but not applicable with respect to fiscal years beginning before Oct. 1, 1992, and amendment by section 2(e)(1) of Pub. L. 102–401 effective July 30, 1992, see section 4 of Pub. L. 102–401, set out as a note under section 9835 of this title.

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–501 effective Oct. 1, 1990, see section 1001(a) of Pub. L. 101–501, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 9833, 9836a, 9841, 9846 of this title; title 20 section 6312.

¹ See References in Text note below.