[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1399-1401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-576]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Part 1311
RIN 0970-AB56
Head Start Program
AGENCY: Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF),
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Health and Human
Services (HHS).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Administration on Children, Youth and Families is issuing
this final rule to implement a new statutory provision authorizing the
Secretary to create a Head Start Fellows Program for staff in local
Head Start programs or other individuals working in the field of child
development, child care, early childhood education, health, and family
services.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 10, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Gray, Head Start Bureau,
Administration on Children, Youth and Families, P.O. Box 1182,
Washington, D.C. 20013; (202) 205-8404.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Program Purpose
Public Law 103-252, the Human Services Amendments of 1994, amended
the Head Start Act to authorize the creation of a Head Start Fellows
Program (HSFP), which will support professional development of
individuals working in Head Start or related programs.
The Head Start Bureau is pleased with the opportunity to develop
the HSFP. The Bureau anticipates that the HSFP will provide Head Start
Fellows with a unique opportunity to be exposed to activities, issues,
resources, and new approaches through placements that will include
national and regional Head Start offices, academia, and other public or
private nonprofit entities and organizations concerned with services to
children and families. The Head Start Bureau will benefit from the
valuable perspectives brought by the Fellows currently working in Head
Start and other programs across America to the national policy making
process.
II. Summary of the Final Rule
The authority for this final rule is section 1150 of Public Law
103-252, the Human Services Amendments of 1994 (the Act) which added
section 648A(d) to the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843). Section 648A(d)
authorizes the Secretary to establish a program of Head Start
Fellowships. Section 648A(d)(6) authorizes the Secretary to make
expenditures not to exceed $1,000,000 for any fiscal year for stipends
and other reasonable expenses for the Fellows Program. Additional
authority is found in section 648A(d)(8), which mandates that the
Secretary promulgate regulations to carry out section 648A(d).
The Act specifies:
To whom Fellowships may be competitively awarded;
[[Page 1400]]
Placement locations for Head Start Fellows;
The duration of Head Start Fellowships; and
The status of Head Start Fellows.
III. Rulemaking History
On May 15, 1996, the Department published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (61 FR 24467) proposing to
establish a rule to implement the statutory provision establishing the
Head Start Fellows Program, including selection, placement, duration
and status of the Head Start Fellows. Interested persons were given 60
days in which to comment on the proposed rule. During the 60 day
comment period the Department received comments from seven individuals
in Head Start, child care, and early intervention programs.
IV. Section by Section Discussion of the Comments Received
No comments were received on sections 1311.1 (Head Start Fellows
Purpose), 1311.2 (Definitions), and 1311.3 (Application Process).
Section 1311.4 Qualifications, Selection, and Placement
Comment: We received one comment that a specified number of Fellows
slots should be reserved for people employed in Head Start at the local
level. The individual also commented that non-Head Start program staff,
especially early childhood specialists and consultants, should receive
a lower priority rating in the selection process.
Response: It is anticipated that some local Head Start program
staff will emerge as Fellows from each year's selection process.
However, the purpose of the program is broader than Head Start and is
aimed at a wider audience than the current Head Start community. The
program's purpose is to build leadership and enhance the ability of the
Fellows to make significant contributions throughout the early
childhood and family services field. Establishing a quota for Head
Start employees or otherwise placing eligible individuals from non-Head
Start programs at a disadvantage would distort the nature of the
competitive process and, we believe, is not in accordance with the
intent of the legislation.
Comment: One comment suggested that the final rule should identify
all organizations involved in the selection process and describe the
role of each.
Response: This comment is in reference to the Council for Early
Childhood Professional Recognition (``the Council''), a Washington,
D.C.-based non-profit organization which is assisting with the
implementation of the HSFP through a Cooperative Agreement between it
and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families. The Council
competed successfully for this Cooperative Agreement and is providing
support for the development and operation of this program in myriad
ways. Also involved is the Commission on National Head Start
Fellowship, which is an entity which the Council and the Head Start
Bureau jointly established and consists of nationally prominent
individuals in early childhood and family services. The Commission is
also providing substantial support in the ongoing development of the
program, including the formulation and application of selection
criteria and the actual recommendation of Fellows for selection.
Although we anticipate that these entities will remain involved
throughout the currently legislated duration of the program, the HSFP
is still in its developmental stage. It may become necessary at some
point to change these relationships or establish entirely new
relationships. For this reason it is our judgment that this should not
be written into the regulation.
Comment: One comment to this section maintained that the selection
criteria for choosing the Fellows should be published and weighted.
Response: There is merit to this argument in that the applicants
would know with greater specificity the criteria on which they are
being judged and the weight accorded each criterion and would therefore
be able to respond more appropriately. Nevertheless, it is our judgment
that specifying and precisely formulating the criteria and their
relative weights would unduly restrict current Commissioners and future
Commissioners in the selection process. However, we will be discussing
this issue and the possibility of inclusion of criteria and their
weights in the application package for future classes of Fellows at the
next meeting of the Commission on National Head Start Fellowships.
Section 1311.5 Duration of Fellowships and Status of Head Start
Fellows
Comment: We received one comment that, although the NPRM is clear,
other information regarding the Fellowship is unclear as to whether the
Fellowship placement is for one or for two years.
Response: We appreciate this comment and will assure that all
documents to be used in the future regarding the Fellows Program
specifically state that the Fellowship are for one year but may be
renewed for a term of one additional year.
V. Impact Analysis
Executive Order 12866
This final rule implements the statutory authority to create a
HSFP. Congress authorized expenditures allotted under section
640(a)(2)(D) of the Head Start Act, not to exceed $1 million in any
fiscal year. This section allows for expenditures at the Secretary's
discretion.
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980
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 rule or, if necessary, a final rule.
This final rule contains an information collection requirement in
section 1311.3 with regard to the application process for individuals
applying for the HSFP. No comments were received on section 1311.3. The
information collection remains the same as set forth in the NPRM.
We submitted section 1311.3 to OMB for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB control number is
0970-0140 and has been inserted at the end of section 1311.3. The
expiration date is 7/31/99.
List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1311
Education of disadvantaged, Grant programs--social programs,
Scholarships and fellowships.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 93.600,
Project Head Start)
Approved: December 17, 1996.
Olivia A. Golden,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
For the reasons set forth in the Preamble, 45 CFR Chapter XIII is
amended by adding a new Part 1311 as follows:
PART 1311--HEAD START FELLOWS PROGRAM
Sec.
1311.1 Head Start Fellows Program purpose.
1311.2 Definitions.
1311.3 Application process.
[[Page 1401]]
1311.4 Qualifications, selection, and placement.
1311.5 Duration of Fellowships and status of Head Start Fellows.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.
Sec. 1311.1 Head Start Fellows Program Purpose.
(a) This part establishes regulations implementing section 648A(d)
of the Head Start Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq., applicable
to the administration of the Head Start Fellows Program, including
selection, placement, duration and status of the Head Start Fellows.
(b) As provided in section 648A(d) of the Act, the Head Start
Fellows Program is designed to enhance the ability of Head Start
Fellows to make significant contributions to Head Start and to other
child development and family services programs.
Sec. 1311.2 Definitions.
As used in this part:
Act means the Head Start Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.
Associate Commissioner means the Associate Commissioner of the Head
Start Bureau in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
Head Start Fellows means individuals who participate in the Head
Start Fellows Program, who may be staff in local Head Start programs or
other individuals working in the field of child development and family
services.
Sec. 1311.3 Application process.
An individual who wishes to obtain a Fellowship must submit an
application to the Associate Commissioner. The Administration for
Children and Families will publish an annual announcement of the
availability and number of Fellowships in the Federal Register. Federal
employees are not eligible to apply. (The information collection
requirement contained in this section is approved under OMB Control
Number 0970-0140.)
Sec. 1311.4 Qualifications, selection, and placement.
(a) The Act specifies that an applicant must be working on the date
of application in a local Head Start program or otherwise working in
the field of child development and family services. The qualifications
of the applicants for Head Start Fellowship positions will be
competitively reviewed. The Associate Commissioner will make the final
selection of the Head Start Fellows.
(b) Head Start Fellows may be placed in:
(1) The Head Start national and regional offices;
(2) Local Head Start agencies and programs;
(3) Institutions of higher education;
(4) Public or private entities and organizations concerned with
services to children and families; and
(5) Other appropriate settings.
(c) A Head Start Fellow who is not an employee of a local Head
Start agency or program may only be placed in the national or regional
offices within the Department of Health and Human Services that
administer Head Start or local Head Start agencies.
(d) Head Start Fellows shall not be placed in any agency whose
primary purpose, or one of whose major purposes is to influence
Federal, State or local legislation.
Sec. 1311.5 Duration of Fellowships and status of Head Start Fellows.
(a) Head Start Fellowships will be for terms of one year, and may
be renewed for a term of one additional year.
(b) For the purposes of compensation for injuries under chapter 81
of title 5, United States Code, Head Start Fellows shall be considered
to be employees, or otherwise in the service or employment, of the
Federal Government.
(c) Head Start Fellows assigned to the national or regional offices
within the Department of Health and Human Services shall be considered
employees in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government for the
purposes of chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, and for the
purposes of any administrative standards of conduct applicable to the
employees of the agency to which they are assigned.
[FR Doc. 97-576 Filed 1-9-97; 8:45 am]
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