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ERIC Number: ED590934
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 77
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Report to Congress on Head Start Program Emergency Preparedness
Office of Head Start, US Department of Health and Human Services
In December 2007, the Head Start program was reauthorized and modified through the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110-134. One of the provisions of this law added subsection 649(m) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) (Act), entitled "Program Emergency Preparedness," to address the preparedness of Head Start to respond in the event of a large-scale emergency. The Report to Congress on Head Start Program Emergency Preparedness is responsive to the requirements of section 649(m)(2) of the Act, which required that: "The Secretary shall evaluate the Federal, State, and local preparedness of Head Start programs, including Early Head Start programs, to respond appropriately in the event of a large-scale emergency, such as the hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, or other incidents where assistance may be warranted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)." To comply with this evaluation requirement, the Office of Head Start (OHS), with assistance from the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), developed and conducted a survey of the 1,622 current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees to learn what procedures grantees had in place for dealing with large-scale emergencies. In particular, the survey sought to collect information to respond to the three evaluation requirements described at section 649(m)(3)(B)-(D) of the Act: (1) an evaluation of the procedures for informing families of children in Head Start programs about the program protocols for response to a large-scale emergency, including procedures for communicating with such families in the event of a large-scale emergency; (2) an evaluation of such procedures for staff training on State and local evacuation and emergency protocols; and (3) an evaluation of procedures for Head Start agencies and the Secretary to coordinate with appropriate Federal, State, and local emergency management agencies in the event of a large-scale emergency and recommendations to improve such procedures. In addition to providing the results of the survey, this report also describes the Head Start Program Performance Standards related to emergencies and specific activities OHS has taken in recent years to help grantees prepare for and respond to emergencies, such as issuing Information Memoranda and Program Instructions and providing technical assistance resources.
Office of Head Start, US Department of Health and Human Services. Tel: 866-763-6481; e-mail: headstart@eclkc.info; Web site: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (DHHS), Office of Head Start
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A