[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54648-54651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26365]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Part 1305
RIN 0970-AB53
Head Start Program
AGENCY: Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF),
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Administration on Children, Youth and Families is issuing
this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the requirements on
eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment and attendance in Head
Start, in six areas affecting Head Start programs which are serving
specific populations. The first and second proposed changes add a new
definition for Indian Tribe and amend the definition of a migrant
family to conform to a new statutory definition. The third change
requires migrant programs to give priority to children from families
that relocate most frequently. The fourth and fifth proposed changes
affect Head Start programs operated by Indian Tribes by expanding the
definition of a Head Start service area to include near-reservation
designations and by expanding the family income eligibility criteria
for Indian grantees meeting specific conditions. The sixth change
establishes the number of years children remain eligible for Head Start
when they are enrolled in an Early Head Start program.
DATES: In order to be considered, comments on this proposed rule must
be received on or before December 26, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Please address comments to the Associate Commissioner, Head
Start Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, P.O. Box
1182, Washington, D.C. 20013. Beginning 14 days after close of the
comment period, comments will be available for public inspection in
Room 2215, 330 C Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, Monday through
Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita Schwarz, (202) 205-8539.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Program Purpose
Head Start is authorized under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9801
et seq.). It is a national program providing comprehensive
developmental services primarily to low-income preschool children, who
are primarily age three to the age of compulsory school attendance, and
their families. In addition, Section 645A of the Head Start Act
provides authority to fund programs for families with infants and
toddlers. Programs receiving funds under the authority of this Section
are referred to as Early Head Start programs. To help enrolled children
achieve their full potential, Head Start programs provide comprehensive
health, nutritional, educational, social and other services.
Additionally, Head Start programs are required to provide for the
direct participation of the parents of enrolled children in the
development, conduct, and direction of local programs. Parents also
receive training and education to foster their understanding of and
involvement in the development of their children. In fiscal year 1994,
Head Start served 740,500 children through a network of over 2,000
grantees and delegate agencies.
While Head Start is intended to serve primarily children whose
families have incomes at or below the poverty line, or who receive
public assistance, Head Start policy permits up to 10 percent of the
children in local programs to be from families who do not meet these
low-income criteria. The Act also requires that a minimum of 10 percent
of the enrollment opportunities in each program be made available to
children with disabilities. Such children are expected to participate
in the full range of Head Start services and activities with their non-
disabled peers and to receive needed special education and related
services.
II. Summary of the Proposed Regulation
The authority for this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is
sections 637, 640, 641, 645 and 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9801 et seq.), as amended by Public Law 103-252, Title I of the Human
Service Amendments of 1994.
Section 637 contains a new definition for Indian Tribe which will
be incorporated into this regulation. It also contains a new definition
for ``migrant Head Start program'' which impacts the current definition
of ``migrant family'', found in 45 CFR 1305.2(l), by amending the
definition to include families that have changed their residence from
one geographical location to another in the preceding two-year period.
Section 640(l) states that the Secretary must give priority to
migrant Head Start programs which serve eligible children of migrant
families whose work requires them to relocate most frequently.
Section 641(b) expands the definition of community to include
Indians in any area designated as near-reservation. This requires a
change in 45 CFR 1305.3(a) regarding the designation of a grantee's
service area and the addition of a new paragraph (b) to that section.
Section 645(d) expands the eligibility for participation in Head
Start programs operated by Indian Tribes to include children from
families whose income exceeds the income-eligibility guidelines when
specific conditions exist in the community served by the Tribe,
provided the program predominantly serves children from families who
meet the low-income guidelines. This requires a change in 45 CFR
1305.4(b) regarding family income eligibility.
Section 645(d) also requires the Secretary to specify by regulation
the requirements contained in that section after consultation with
Indian Tribes. In preparation for developing these amendments to 45 CFR
1305, ACYF solicited input from Indian Tribes through three meetings
with members of the Indian community. Their comments and
recommendations were considered in developing the amendments to this
regulation that are applicable to Head Start programs operated by
Tribes.
Section 645A authorizes the funding of programs for families with
infants and toddlers. Specifically, it states in section 645A(b) that
programs receiving
[[Page 54649]]
assistance for this purpose shall provide ``* * * early, continuous,
intensive and comprehensive child development and family support
services * * *.'' In order to provide continuous services for children
funded under this authority in Early Head Start programs, 45 CFR
1305.7(c) is being amended to extend the length of time the child's
family remains income-eligible.
The proposed rule:
Adds a new definition for Indian Tribe.
Amends the definition of a migrant family to include
families who are engaged in agricultural work who have changed their
residence from one geographical location to another within the
preceding two-year period.
Adds a requirement that migrant programs give priority to
children from families whose work requires them to relocate most
frequently.
Expands the meaning of a grantee's service area when the
grantee is an Indian Tribe to include a near-reservation designation.
Permits an Indian Tribe, under certain conditions, to have
more than ten percent of its Head Start program's enrollment be
children from families with incomes that exceed the low-income
guidelines. These conditions are: (1) That all income-eligible children
who wish to be enrolled are served by the program, including Indian
children from a near-reservation area, if the near reservation area is
part of the Tribe's approved service area; (2) that the program
predominantly serves children from families whose income meets the low-
income guidelines; and (3) that a Tribe may not use funds from HHS
intended for expansion to serve children from over-income families
beyond the ten percent permitted in current regulation.
Extends income eligibility of families with children
enrolled in an Early Head Start program funded under the authority of
Section 645A of the Head Start Act to cover the time their child is
enrolled in the Early Head Start program.
III. Section by Section Discussion of the NPRM
Section 1305.2 Definitions
Under definitions, we are adding ``Indian Tribe'' as a new
paragraph (k) to conform to the definition that is in section 637(10)
of the Head Start Act and redesignating the remaining paragraphs,
accordingly.
Section 1305.2(l), which will be new paragraph (m) under the
redesignation, currently defines a migrant family, for purposes of Head
Start eligibility, to include a family with children under the age of
compulsory school attendance who have changed their residence by moving
from one geographic location to another, either intrastate or
interstate, within the past twelve months, for the purpose of engaging
in agricultural work that involves the production and harvesting of
tree and field crops and whose family income comes primarily from this
activity. This NPRM proposes to amend the definition to change the
length of time between moves by the family from one geographic location
to another from the past twelve months to the preceding two years. This
will conform with new language in Section 637(12) of the Head Start Act
that defines a ``migrant Head Start program''.
Section 1305.3 Determining Community Needs
The current regulation requires each grantee to identify its
proposed service area in its Head Start grant application and define it
by county or sub-county area, such as a municipality, town or census
tract or a federally recognized Indian reservation. A service area is
currently defined in section 1305.2(q) as the geographic area
identified in an approved grant application within which a grantee may
provide Head Start services. This NPRM proposes to expand the meaning
of service area contained in this section for Head Start grantees that
are Indian Tribes to permit the Tribe to include all or part of any
areas designated as near-reservation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) as stated in Section 641(b) of the Head Start Act. In order to
provide increased flexibility to Tribes which do not have a BIA
designation but face the same needs for serving Indians who live near
the reservation, we are proposing to allow such Tribes an opportunity
to redefine their service area. If a Tribe does not have a BIA near-
reservation designation, it may, subject to the approval of the Tribe's
governing council and the Associate Commissioner of the Head Start
Bureau, propose to designate near-reservation areas in which Indian
people native to the reservation reside, as part of its service area.
Expanding the Tribe's service area to include a near-reservation area
would permit them to serve Indian children who live near, but not on,
the Tribe's reservation.
Section 1305.4 Age of Children and Family Income Eligibility
The current regulation requires at least 90 percent of the children
enrolled in Head Start to be from low-income families. Up to ten
percent of the children enrolled may be from families that exceed the
low-income guidelines. To conform with language in section 645(d) of
the Head Start Act, the NPRM proposes to amend the family income
eligibility requirements for Head Start programs operated by Indian
Tribes to permit them to enroll additional children, beyond the ten
percent, from families that exceed the low-income guidelines when the
following conditions are met: (1) All children in the Tribe's approved
service area from families that meet the low-income guidelines who wish
to be enrolled in Head Start are served by the program, including those
Indian children native to the reservation living in near reservation
communities when such communities have been included in the Tribe's
approved service area; (2) the Tribe has the resources to enroll these
children, without using additional funds from HHS intended to expand
Head Start services, and; (3) at least 51 percent of the children to be
served by the program are from families whose incomes are below the
low-income guidelines.
The first condition requires the Tribe to serve all children who
are from families whose incomes are below the low-income guidelines,
who are between the ages of three and the age when kindergarten or
first grade is available in the child's community, and whose families
wish them to be served by Head Start before it may enroll children from
families that exceed the low-income guidelines. This would include all
children living on the Tribe's reservation, including those children
from low-income families who are not members of the Tribe. It may also
include Indian children who meet the low-income guidelines who live in
a near-reservation area, if the Tribe's approved service area includes
such near-reservation communities. The purpose of this condition is to
ensure that all children eligible for Head Start are permitted the
opportunity to attend Head Start, if they live on the Tribe's
reservation. It also ensures that low-income Indian families living in
near-reservation areas have an opportunity to enroll their children in
the Tribe's Head Start program, if the Tribe has included that area in
its approved service area.
The second condition requires that at the time the Tribe proposes
to serve more than ten percent of its Head Start enrollment from
families exceeding the low-income guidelines, the Tribe must have the
resources to enroll these children and that no funds provided by HHS
that are intended to expand Head Start services may be used for this
purpose. This means that such children must be served within the
Tribe's
[[Page 54650]]
existing Head Start funding or through the use of non-Federal
resources. Funds to expand Head Start services that are provided by HHS
to the Tribe would be intended to serve additional children from
families that meet the low-income guidelines.
The third condition is that at least 51 percent of the children to
be enrolled in a Head Start program operated by a Tribe are to be
children from families that meet the low-income guidelines. Section 645
of the Head Start Act states that, when serving children from families
whose income exceeds the low-income guidelines, the program must
predominantly serve children from families that meet the low-income
guidelines. We are defining the term ``predominantly'' to mean at least
51 percent of the children enrolled in the program. This allows the
Tribes as much flexibility as possible. This position was strongly
supported during consultation sessions that were held with Tribes on
this issue, as is required in the Head Start Act. Many individuals
supported this interpretation of ``predominantly'' and expressed strong
concern that Tribes be given this flexibility to serve children from
families whose income exceeds the low-income guidelines when special
circumstances on a Tribe's reservation exist. Several Tribal members
gave examples of changing economic conditions on their reservation
that, while varying from year to year, may limit the number of families
who are eligible to enroll their child in Head Start at certain times
using the low-income guidelines to determine eligibility.
If programs meet these conditions, we are proposing that the
program annually set criteria that are approved by the Policy Council
and the Tribal Council for selecting over-income children who would
benefit from enrollment in a Head Start program.
Section 1305.6 Selection Process
Paragraph (b) of this section will be amended to add a new
requirement that migrant programs must give priority to children from
families whose work required them to relocate most frequently within
the preceding two-year period. This change conforms with similar
language in section 640(l) of the Head Start Act. This should not be
interpreted to mean that frequency of relocation is the only factor to
be considered when selecting children to be served by the program.
Other factors should also be considered depending on the needs of the
community being served and the recruitment priorities established by
each program.
Section 1305.7 Enrollment and Re-enrollment
Paragraph (c) of this section will be amended to include an
exception to the current requirement which states that once a child has
been found to be income-eligible, they remain eligible for the current
and immediately succeeding enrollment year. The exception will apply to
children who are enrolled in an Early Head Start program funded under
the authority of section 645A of the Head Start Act for services to
families with infants and toddlers. In order to assure continuity of
services, once income-eligibility has been determined, such children
remain income eligible while they are enrolled in Early Head Start.
Income would have to be redetermined for the family if they wish to
enroll their child in a Head Start program serving children between the
ages of three and compulsory school attendance. This exception is
proposed to meet the intent of section 645A of the Head Start Act.
ACF appreciates the need to balance the assurance of continuity of
services for children and families enrolled in the Early Head Start
program with the assurance that Head Start programs are serving those
children and families most in need of the program. We encourage
comments on whether the correct balance has been achieved in this
proposed regulation by our approach of allowing children to stay in the
Early Start program for up to two additional years beyond when their
families' income eligibility was determined while requiring that
families whose children are scheduled to move from Early Head Start to
Head Start should first have their income reverified to assure they are
still income-eligible for the program.
IV. Impact Analysis
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 requires that regulations be drafted to
ensure that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set
forth in the Executive Order. The Department has determined that this
rule is consistent with these priorities and principles. This Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking implements the statutory authority for Head Start
grantees that are Indian Tribes to include a near-reservation area when
recruiting children for Head Start services and, under certain
circumstances, to enroll children from families with incomes that
exceed the low-income guidelines. It also changes the definition of a
migrant family, requires migrant Head Start grantees to give priority
to families that relocate most frequently, and establishes the number
of years children remain eligible for Head Start when they are enrolled
in a program receiving funds under the authority of section 645A of the
Head Start Act for services to families with infants and toddlers.
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. CH. 6) requires the
Federal government to anticipate and reduce the impact of rules and
paperwork requirements on small businesses. For each rule with a
``significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities'' an analysis must be prepared describing the rule's impact on
small entities. Small entities are defined by the Act to include small
businesses, small non-profit organizations and small governmental
entities. While these regulations would affect small entities, they
would not affect a substantial number. For this reason, the Secretary
certifies that this rule will not have a significant impact on
substantial numbers of small entities.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, all
Departments are required to submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval any reporting or record-keeping
requirement inherent in a proposed or final rule. This NPRM does not
contain information collection and record-keeping requirements.
List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1305
Disabilities, Education of Disadvantaged, Grant Programs/Social
Programs, Head Start Enrollment, Preschool Education.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 93.600,
Project Head Start)
Dated: October 4, 1995.
Mary Jo Bane,
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
For the reasons set forth in the Preamble, 45 CFR Part 1305 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 1305--ELIGIBILITY, RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, ENROLLMENT AND
ATTENDANCE IN HEAD START
1. The authority citation continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.
2. Section 1305.2 is amended by redesignating current paragraphs
(k) through (r) as paragraphs (l) through (s); adding a new paragraph
(k); and revising newly redesignated paragraph (m) to read as follows:
[[Page 54651]]
Sec. 1305.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
(k) Indian Tribe means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other
organized group or community of Indians, including any Native village
described in section 3 (c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1602 (c)) or established pursuant to such Act (43 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians because of their
status as Indians.
* * * * *
(m) Migrant family means, for purposes of Head Start eligibility, a
family with children under the age of compulsory school attendance who
changed their residence by moving from one geographic location to
another, either intrastate or interstate, within the preceding two
years, for the purpose of engaging in agricultural work that involves
the production and harvesting of tree and field crops and whose family
income comes primarily from this activity.
* * * * *
3. Section 1305.3 is amended by revising paragraph (a),
redesignating current paragraphs (b) through (f) as paragraphs (c)
through (g), and adding a new paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 1305.3 Determining community needs.
(a) Each grantee must identify its proposed service area in its
Head Start grant application and define it by county or sub-county
area, such as a municipality, town or census tract or a federally
recognized Indian reservation. With regard to Indian Tribes, the
service area may include Indian families living in areas designated as
near-reservation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), or in the
absence of such a designation, areas within the Tribe's approved
service area. A Tribe lacking a BIA near-reservation designation may
propose to define its service area to include Indian children and
families native to the reservation living in near-reservation areas,
provided the service area is approved by the Tribe's governing council.
(b) The grantee's service area must be approved, in writing, by the
responsible HHS official in order to assure that the service area is of
reasonable size and, except in situations where a near-reservation
designation has been approved for a Tribe, does not overlap with that
of other Head Start grantees.
* * * * *
4. Section 1305.4 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as
follows:
Sec. 1305.4 Age of children and family income eligibility.
* * * * *
(b)(1) At least 90 percent of the children who are enrolled in each
Head Start program must be from low-income families.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, up to
ten percent of the children who are enrolled may be children from
families that exceed the low-income guidelines but who meet criteria
the program has established for selecting such children and who would
benefit from Head Start services.
(3) A Head Start program operated by an Indian Tribe may enroll
more than ten percent of its children from families whose income
exceeds the low-income guidelines when the following conditions are
met:
(i) All children from Indian and non-Indian families living on the
reservation that meet the low-income guidelines who wish to be enrolled
in Head Start are served by the program.
(ii) All children from income-eligible Indian families native to
the reservation living in near-reservation communities, if those
communities are approved as part of the Tribe's service area, who
wished to be enrolled in Head Start are served by the program;
(iii) The Tribe has the resources within its Head Start grant or
from non-Federal sources to enroll these children, without using
additional funds from HHS intended to expand Head Start services; and
(iv) At least 51 percent of the children to be served by the
program are from families that meet the income-eligibility guidelines.
(4) Programs who meet the conditions of paragraph (b)(3) of this
section must annually set criteria that are approved by the Policy
Council and the Tribal Council for selecting over-income children who
would benefit from such a program.
* * * * *
5. Section 1305.6 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as
follows:
Sec. 1305.6 Selection process.
* * * * *
(b) In selecting the children and families to be served, the Head
Start program must consider the income of eligible families, the age of
the child, the availability of kindergarten or first grade to the
child, and the extent to which a child or family meets the criteria
that each program is required to establish in Sec. 1305.3(c)(6).
Migrant programs must give priority to children from families whose
work required them to relocate most frequently within the previous two-
year period.
* * * * *
6. Section 1305.7 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read as
follows:
Sec. 1305.7 Enrollment and re-enrollment.
* * * * *
(c) If a child has been found income eligible and is participating
in a Head Start program, he or she remains income eligible through that
enrollment year and the immediately succeeding enrollment year. An
exception to this are children who are enrolled in a program receiving
funds under the authority of section 645A of the Head Start Act,
programs for families with infants and toddlers. Such children remain
eligible for Head Start services until such time as their family
applies for enrollment in a Head Start program serving children between
the ages of three to compulsory school attendance. When a child moves
from a program serving infants and toddlers to a Head Start program
serving children age three and older, the family's income eligibility
must be reverified if it is two or more years since this has been done.
[FR Doc. 95-26365 Filed 10-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
