81 FR 61412, Sept. 6, 2016, unless otherwise noted.
(a) Section 641A(c) of the Act requires the Secretary to monitor whether a grantee meets program governance, program operations, and financial and administrative standards described in this regulation and to identify areas for improvements and areas of strength as part of the grantee's ongoing self-assessment process. This subpart focuses on the monitoring process. It discusses areas of noncompliance, deficiencies, and corrective action through quality improvement plans.
(b) Section 646(a) of the Act requires the Secretary to prescribe procedures for notice and appeal for certain adverse actions. This subpart establishes rules and procedures to suspend financial assistance to a grantee, deny a grantee's application for refunding, terminate, or reduce a grantee's assistance under the Act when the grantee improperly uses federal funds or fails to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, instructions, assurances, terms and conditions or, if the grantee loses its legal status or financial viability. This subpart does not apply to reductions to a grantee's financial assistance based on chronic under-enrollment procedures at section 641A(h) of the Act or to matters described in subpart B. This subpart does not apply to any administrative action based upon any violation, or alleged violation, of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Except as otherwise provided for in this subpart, the appeals and processes in this subpart will be governed by the Departmental Appeals Board regulations at 45 CFR part 16.
(a) Areas of noncompliance. If a responsible HHS official determines through monitoring, pursuant to section 641(A)(c)(1) and (2) of the Act, that a grantee fails to comply with any of the standards described in parts 1301, 1302, and 1303 of this chapter, the official will notify the grantee promptly in writing, identify the area of noncompliance, and specify when the grantee must correct the area of noncompliance.
(b) Deficiencies. If the Secretary determines that a grantee meets one of the criteria for a deficiency, as defined in section 637(2)(C) of the Act, the Secretary shall inform the grantee of the deficiency. The grantee must correct the deficiency pursuant to section 641A(e)(1)(B) of the Act, as the responsible HHS official determines.
(c) Quality improvement plans. If the responsible HHS official does not require the grantee to correct a deficiency immediately as prescribed under section 641A(e)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, the grantee must submit to the official, for approval, a quality improvement plan that adheres to section 641A(e)(2)(A) of the Act.
(a) Grounds to suspend financial assistance with notice. If a grantee breaches or threatens to breach any requirement stated in §§ 1304.3 through 1304.5, the responsible HHS official may suspend the grantee's financial assistance, in whole or in part, after it has given the grantee notice and an opportunity to show cause why assistance should not be suspended.
(b) Notice requirements.
(1) The responsible HHS official must notify the grantee in writing that ACF intends to suspend financial assistance, in whole or in part. The notice must:
(i) Specify grounds for the suspension;
(ii) Include the date suspension will become effective;
(iii) Inform the grantee that it has the opportunity to submit to the responsible HHS official, at least seven days before suspension becomes effective, any written material it would like the official to consider, and to inform the grantee that it may request, in writing, no later than seven days after the suspension notice was mailed, to have an informal meeting with the responsible HHS official;
(iv) Invite the grantee to voluntarily correct the deficiency; and,
(v) Include a copy of this subpart.
(2) The responsible HHS official must promptly transmit the suspension notice to the grantee. The notice becomes effective when the grantee receives the notice, when the grantee refuses delivery, or when the suspension notice is returned to sender unclaimed.
(3) The responsible HHS official must send a copy of the suspension notice to any delegate agency whose actions or whose failures to act substantially caused or contributed to the proposed suspension. The responsible HHS official will inform the delegate agency that it is entitled to submit written material to oppose the suspension and to participate in the informal meeting, if one is held. In addition, the responsible HHS official may give notice to the grantee's other delegate agencies.
(4) After the grantee receives the suspension notice, it has three days to send a copy of the notice to delegate agencies that would be financially affected by a suspension.
(c) Opportunity to show cause. The grantee may submit to the responsible HHS official any written material to show why financial assistance should not be suspended. The grantee may also request, in writing, to have an informal meeting with the responsible HHS official. If the grantee requests an informal meeting, the responsible HHS official must schedule the meeting within seven days after the grantee receives the suspension notice.
(d) Extensions. If the responsible HHS official extends the time or the date by which a grantee has to make requests or to submit material, it must notify the grantee in writing.
(e) Decision.
(1) The responsible HHS official will consider any written material presented before or during the informal meeting, as well as any proof the grantee has adequately corrected what led to suspension, and will render a decision within five days after the informal meeting. If no informal meeting is held, the responsible HHS official will render a decision within five days after it receives written material from all concerned parties.
(2) If the responsible HHS official finds the grantee failed to show cause why ACF should not suspend financial assistance, the official may suspend financial assistance, in whole or in part, and under terms and conditions as he or she deems appropriate.
(3) A suspension must not exceed 30 days, unless the conditions under section 646(a)(5)(B) are applicable or the grantee requests the suspension continue for an additional period of time and the responsible HHS official agrees.
(4) The responsible HHS official may appoint an agency to serve as an interim grantee to operate the program until the grantee's suspension is lifted, or as otherwise provided under section 646(a)(5)(B) of the Act.
(f) Obligations incurred during suspension. New obligations the grantee incurs while under suspension are not allowed unless the responsible HHS official expressly authorizes them in the suspension notice or in an amendment to the suspension notice. Necessary and otherwise allowable costs which the grantee could not reasonably avoid during the suspension period will be allowed if they result from obligations the grantee properly incurred before suspension and not in anticipation of suspension or termination. The responsible HHS official may allow third-party in-kind contributions applicable to the suspension period to satisfy cost sharing or matching requirements.
(g) Modify or rescind suspension. The responsible HHS official may modify or rescind suspension at any time, if the grantee can satisfactorily show that it has adequately corrected what led to suspension and that it will not repeat such actions or inactions. Nothing in this section precludes the HHS official from imposing suspension again for additional 30 day periods if the cause of the suspension has not been corrected.
(a) Grounds to suspend financial assistance without advance notice. The responsible HHS official may suspend financial assistance, in whole or in part, without prior notice and an opportunity to show cause if there is an emergency situation, such as a serious risk for substantial injury to property or loss of project funds, a federal, state, or local criminal statute violation, or harm to staff or participants' health and safety.
(b) Emergency suspension notification requirements.
(1) The emergency suspension notification must:
(i) Specify the grounds for the suspension;
(ii) Include terms and conditions of any full or partial suspension;
(iii) Inform that grantee it cannot make or incur any new expenditures or obligations under suspended portion of the program; and,
(iv) Advise that within five days after the emergency suspension becomes effective, the grantee may request, in writing, an informal meeting with the responsible HHS official to show why the basis for the suspension was not valid and should be rescinded and that the grantee has corrected any deficiencies.
(2) The responsible HHS official must promptly transmit the emergency suspension notification to the grantee that shows the date of receipt. The emergency suspension becomes effective upon delivery of the notification or upon the date the grantee refuses delivery, or upon return of the notification unclaimed.
(3) Within two workdays after the grantee receives the emergency suspension notification, the grantee must send a copy of the notice to delegate agencies affected by the suspension.
(4) The responsible HHS official must inform affected delegate agencies that they have the right to participate in the informal meeting.
(c) Opportunity to show cause. If the grantee requests an informal meeting, the responsible HHS official must schedule a meeting within five workdays after it receives the grantee's request. The suspension will continue until the grantee has been afforded such opportunity and until the responsible HHS official renders a decision. Notwithstanding provisions in this section, the responsible HHS official may proceed to deny refunding or to initiate termination proceedings at any time even though the grantee's financial assistance has been suspended in whole or in part.
(d) Decision.
(1) The responsible HHS official will consider any written material presented before or during the informal meeting, as well as any proof the grantee has adequately corrected what led to suspension, and render a decision within five work days after the informal meeting.
(2) If the responsible HHS official finds the grantee failed to show cause why suspension should be rescinded, the responsible HHS official may continue the suspension, in whole or in part, and under the terms and conditions specified in the emergency suspension notification.
(3) A suspension must not exceed 30 days, unless the conditions under section 646(a)(5)(B) are applicable or the grantee requests the suspension to continue for an additional period of time and the responsible HHS official agrees.
(4) The responsible HHS official may appoint an agency to serve as an interim grantee to operate the program until either the grantee's emergency suspension is lifted or a new grantee is selected.
(e) Obligations incurred during suspension. Any new obligations the grantee incurs during the suspension period will not be allowed unless the responsible HHS official expressly authorizes them in the suspension notice or in an amendment to the suspension notice. Necessary and otherwise allowable costs which the grantee could not reasonably avoid during the suspension period will be allowed if those costs result from obligations properly incurred before suspension and not in anticipation of suspension, denial of refunding or termination. The responsible HHS official may allow third-party in-kind contributions applicable to the suspension period to satisfy cost sharing or matching requirements.
(f) Modify or rescind suspension. The responsible HHS official may modify or rescind suspension at any time, if the grantee can satisfactorily show that is has adequately corrected what led to the suspension and that it will not repeat such actions or inactions. Nothing in this section precludes the HHS official from imposing suspension again for additional 30 day periods if the cause of the suspension has not been corrected.
(a) Grounds to terminate financial assistance or deny a grantee's application for refunding.
(1) A responsible HHS official may terminate financial assistance in whole or in part to a grantee or deny a grantee's application for refunding.
(2) The responsible HHS official may terminate financial assistance in whole or in part, or deny refunding to a grantee for any one or for all of the following reasons:
(i) The grantee is no longer financially viable;
(ii) The grantee has lost the requisite legal status or permits;
(iii) The grantee has failed to timely correct one or more deficiencies as defined in the Act;
(iv) The grantee has failed to comply with eligibility requirements;
(v) The grantee has failed to comply with the Head Start grants administration or fiscal requirements set forth in 45 CFR part 1303;
(vi) The grantee has failed to comply with requirements in the Act;
(vii) The grantee is debarred from receiving federal grants or contracts; or
(viii) The grantee has failed to abide by any other terms and conditions of its award of financial assistance, or any other applicable laws, regulations, or other applicable federal or state requirements or policies.
(b) Notice requirements.
(1) The responsible HHS official will notify the grantee and such notice will:
(i) Include the legal basis for termination or adverse action as described in paragraph (a) of this section;
(ii) Include factual findings on which the action is based or reference specific findings in another document that form the basis for termination or denial of refunding;
(iii) Cite to any statutory provisions, regulations, or policy issuances on which ACF relies for its determination;
(iv) Inform the grantee that it may appeal the denial or termination within 30 days to the Departmental Appeals Board, that the appeal will be governed by 45 CFR part 16, except as otherwise provided in the Head Start appeals regulations, that a copy of the appeal must sent to the responsible HHS official, and that it has the right to request and receive a hearing, as mandated under section 646 of the Act;
(v) Inform the grantee that only its board of directors, or an official acting on the board's behalf can appeal the decision;
(vi) Name the delegate agency, if the actions of that delegate are the basis, in whole or in part, for the proposed action; and,
(vii) Inform the grantee that the appeal must meet requirements in paragraph (c) of this section; and, that if the responsible HHS official fails to meet requirements in this paragraph, the pending action may be dismissed without prejudice or remanded to reissue it with corrections.
(2) The responsible HHS official must provide the grantee as much notice as possible, but must notify the grantee no later than 30 days after ACF receives the annual application for refunding, that it has the opportunity for a full and fair hearing on whether refunding should be denied.
(c) Grantee's appeal.
(1) The grantee must adhere to procedures and requirements for appeals in 45 CFR part 16, file the appeal with the Departmental Appeals Board, and serve a copy of the appeal on the responsible HHS official who issued the termination or denial of refunding notice. The grantees must also serve a copy of its appeal on any affected delegate.
(2) Unless funding has been suspended, funding will continue while a grantee appeals a termination decision, unless the responsible HHS official renders an adverse decision, or unless the current budget period is expired. If the responsible HHS official has not rendered a decision by the end of the current budget period, the official will award the grantee interim funding until a decision is made or the project period ends.
(d) Funding during suspension. If a grantee's funding is suspended, the grantee will not receive funding during the termination proceedings, or at any other time, unless the action is rescinded or the grantee's appeal is successful.
(e) Interim and replacement grantees. The responsible HHS official may appoint an interim or replacement grantee as soon as a termination action is affirmed by the Departmental Appeals Board.
(f) Opportunity to show cause.
(1) If the Departmental Appeals Board sets a hearing for a proposed termination or denial of refunding action, the grantee has five workdays to send a copy of the notice it receives from the Departmental Appeals Board, to all delegate agencies that would be financially affected by termination and to each delegate agency identified in the notice.
(2) The grantee must send to the Departmental Appeals Board and to the responsible HHS official a list of the delegate agencies it notified and the dates when it notified them.
(3) If the responsible HHS official initiated proceedings because of a delegate agency's activities, the official must inform the delegate agency that it may participate in the hearing. If the delegate agency chooses to participate in the hearing, it must notify the responsible HHS official in writing within 30 days of the grantee's appeal. If any other delegate agency, person, agency or organization wishes to participate in the hearing, it may request permission to do so from the Departmental Appeals Board.
(4) If the grantee fails to appear at the hearing, without good cause, the grantee will be deemed to have waived its right to a hearing and consented to have the Departmental Appeals Board make a decision based on the parties' written information and argument.
(5) A grantee may waive the hearing and submit written information and argument for the record, within a reasonable period of time to be fixed by the Departmental Appeals Board.
(6) The responsible HHS official may attempt, either personally or through a representative, to resolve the issues in dispute by informal means prior to the hearing.
(g) Decision. The Departmental Appeals Board's decision and any measure the responsible HHS official takes after the decision is fully binding upon the grantee and its delegate agencies, whether or not they actually participated in the hearing.
(a) Appeal. If a grantee denies, or fails to act on, a prospective delegate agency's funding application, the prospective delegate may appeal the grantee's decision or inaction.
(b) Process for prospective delegates. To appeal, a prospective delegate must:
(1) Submits the appeal, including a copy of the funding application, to the responsible HHS official within 30 days after it receives the grantee's decision; or within 30 days after the grantee has had 120 days to review but has not notified the applicant of a decision; and,
(2) Provide the grantee with a copy of the appeal at the same time the appeal is filed with the responsible HHS official.
(c) Process for grantees. When an appeal is filed with the responsible HHS official, the grantee must respond to the appeal and submit a copy of its response to the responsible HHS official and to the prospective delegate agency within 30 work days.
(d) Decision.
(1) The responsible HHS official will sustain the grantee's decision, if the official determines the grantee did not act arbitrarily, capriciously, or otherwise contrary to law, regulation, or other applicable requirements.
(2) The responsible HHS official will render a written decision to each party within a reasonable timeframe. The official's decision is final and not subject to further appeal.
(3) If the responsible HHS official finds the grantee did act arbitrarily, capriciously, or otherwise contrary to law, regulation, or other applicable requirements, the grantee will be directed to reevaluate their applications.
(a) An agency is not authorized to charge to its grant legal fees or other costs incurred to appeal terminations, reductions of funding, or denials of applications of refunding decisions.
(b) If a program prevails in a termination, reduction, or denial of refunding decision, the responsible HHS official may reimburse the agency for reasonable and customary legal fees, incurred during the appeal, if:
(1) The Departmental Appeals Board overturns the responsible HHS official's decision;
(2) The agency can prove it incurred fees during the appeal; and,
(3) The agency can prove the fees incurred are reasonable and customary.
The purpose of this subpart is to set forth policies and procedures for the designation renewal of Head Start and Early Head Start programs. It is intended that these programs be administered effectively and responsibly; that applicants to administer programs receive fair and equitable consideration; and that the legal rights of current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees be fully protected. The Designation Renewal System is established in this part to determine whether Head Start and Early Head Start agencies deliver high-quality services to meet the educational, health, nutritional, and social needs of the children and families they serve; meet the program and financial requirements and standards described in section 641A(a)(1) of the Head Start Act; and qualify to be designated for funding for five years without competing for such funding as required under section 641(c) of the Head Start Act with respect to Head Start agencies and pursuant to section 645A(b)(12) and (d) with respect to Early Head Start agencies. A competition to select a new Head Start or Early Head Start agency to replace a Head Start or Early Head Start agency that has been terminated voluntarily or involuntarily is not part of the Designation Renewal System established in this Part, and is subject instead to the requirements of § 1304.20.
A Head Start or Early Head Start agency will be required to compete for its next five years of funding whenever the responsible HHS official determines that one or more of the following seven conditions existed during the relevant time period under § 1304.15:
(a) An agency has two or more deficiencies across reviews conducted under section 641A(c)(1)(A), (C), or (D) of the Act during the relevant time period under § 1304.15.
(b) An agency has not, based on a review conducted under section 641A(c)(1)(A), (C), or (D) of the Act during the relevant time period under § 1304.15:
(1) Established program goals for improving the school readiness of children participating in its program in accordance with the requirements of section 641A(g)(2) of the Act and demonstrated that such goals:
(i) Appropriately reflect the ages of children, birth to five, participating in the program;
(ii) Align with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five, state early learning guidelines, and the requirements and expectations of the schools, to the extent that they apply to the ages of children, birth to five, participating in the program and at a minimum address the domains of language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development;
(iii) Were established in consultation with the parents of children participating in the program.
(2) Taken steps to achieve the school readiness goals described under paragraph (b)(1) of this section demonstrated by:
(i) Aggregating and analyzing aggregate child-level assessment data at least three times per year (except for programs operating less than 90 days, which will be required to do so at least twice within their operating program period) and using that data in combination with other program data to determine grantees' progress toward meeting its goals, to inform parents and the community of results, and to direct continuous improvement related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design and other program decisions; and
(ii) Analyzing individual ongoing, child-level assessment data for all children birth to age five participating in the program and using that data in combination with input from parents and families to determine each child's status and progress with regard to, at a minimum, language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development, and to individualize the experiences, instructional strategies, and services to best support each child.
(c) An agency has been determined during the relevant time period covered by the responsible HHS official's review under § 1304.15:
(1) To have an average score across all classrooms observed that is below the following competitive thresholds on any of the three CLASS: Pre-K domains from the most recent CLASS: Pre-K observation:
(i) For the Emotional Support domain, the competitive threshold is 5;
(ii) For the Classroom Organization domain, the competitive threshold is 5;
(iii) For the Instructional Support domain, the competitive threshold is 2.3 through July 31, 2025, and 2.5 on and after August 1, 2025.
(2) If an agency is determined to have an average score across all classrooms observed below the quality threshold on any of the three CLASS: Pre-K domains, the Office of Head Start will support the program to strengthen its coordinated approach to training and professional development as required in § 1302.92(b) and (c), to help promote improvement in teaching practices and teacher-child interactions. The quality threshold for each domain is as follows:
(i) For the Emotional Support domain, the quality threshold is 6;
(ii) For the Classroom Organization domain, the quality threshold is 6;
(iii) For the Instructional Support domain, the quality threshold is 3.
(d) An agency has had a revocation of its license to operate a Head Start or Early Head Start center or program by a state or local licensing agency during the relevant time period under § 1304.15, and the revocation has not been overturned or withdrawn before a competition for funding for the next five-year period is announced. A pending challenge to the license revocation or restoration of the license after correction of the violation will not affect application of this requirement after the competition for funding for the next five-year period has been announced.
(e) An agency has been suspended from the Head Start or Early Head Start program by ACF during the relevant time period covered by the responsible HHS official's review under § 1304.15 and the suspension has not been overturned or withdrawn. If the agency did not have an opportunity to show cause as to why the suspension should not have been imposed or why the suspension should have been lifted if it had already been imposed under part 1304, the agency will not be required to compete based on this condition. If an agency has received an opportunity to show cause and the suspension remains in place, the condition will be implemented.
(f) An agency has been debarred from receiving federal or state funds from any federal or state department or agency or has been disqualified from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) any time during the relevant time period covered by the responsible HHS official's review under § 1304.15 but has not yet been terminated or denied refunding by ACF. (A debarred agency will only be eligible to compete for Head Start funding if it receives a waiver described in 2 CFR 180.135.)
(g) An agency meets one of two fiscal criteria, if the agency:
(1) Is at risk of failing to continue functioning as a going concern within the current project period. The final determination is made by the responsible HHS official based on a review of the findings and opinions of an audit conducted in accordance with section 647 of the Act; an audit, review or investigation by a state agency; a review by the National External Audit Review (NEAR) Center; or an audit, investigation or inspection by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; or
(2) Has a total of two or more audit findings of material weakness or questioned costs associated with its Head Start funds in audit reports submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (in accordance with section 647 of the Act) for a financial period within the current project period.
[85 FR 53207, Aug. 28, 2020]
A Head Start agency must report in writing to the responsible HHS official within 10 working days of occurrence of any of the following events:
(a) The agency has had a revocation of a license to operate a center by a state or local licensing entity.
(b) The agency has filed for bankruptcy or agreed to a reorganization plan as part of a bankruptcy settlement.
(c) The agency has been debarred from receiving federal or state funds from any federal or state department or agency or has been disqualified from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
(d) The agency has received an audit, audit review, investigation or inspection report from the agency's auditor, a state agency, or the cognizant federal audit agency containing a determination that the agency is at risk of ceasing to be a going concern.
[85 FR 53208, Aug. 28, 2020]
In order to compete for the opportunity to be awarded a five-year grant, an agency must submit an application to the responsible HHS official that demonstrates that it is the most qualified entity to deliver a high-quality and comprehensive Head Start or Early Head Start program. The application must address the criteria for selection listed at section 641(d)(2) of the Act for Head Start. Any agency that has had its Head Start or Early Head Start grant terminated for cause in the preceding five years is excluded from competing in such competition for the next five years. A Head Start or Early Head Start agency that has had a denial of refunding, as defined in 45 CFR part 1305, in the preceding five years is also excluded from competing.
(a) In the case of an Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency determined not to be delivering a high-quality and comprehensive Head Start or Early Head Start program, the responsible HHS official will engage in government-to-government consultation with the appropriate tribal government or governments for the purpose of establishing a plan to improve the quality of the Head Start program or Early Head Start program operated by the Indian Head Start or Indian Early Head Start agency.
(1) The plan will be established and implemented within six months after the responsible HHS official's determination.
(2) Not more than six months after the implementation of that plan, the responsible HHS official will reevaluate the performance of the Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency.
(3) If the Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency is still not delivering a high-quality and comprehensive Head Start or Early Head Start program, the responsible HHS official will conduct an open competition to select a grantee to provide services for the community currently being served by the Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency.
(b) A non-Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency will not be eligible to receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program, unless there is no Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency available for designation to carry out an Indian Head Start or Indian Early Head Start program.
(c) A non-Indian Head Start or Early Head Start agency may receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program only until such time as an Indian Head Start or Indian Early Head Start agency in such community becomes available and is designated pursuant to this part.
(a) A grantee must apply to be considered for Designation Renewal. A Head Start or Early Head Start agency wishing to be considered to have its designation as a Head Start or Early Head Start agency renewed for another five year period without competition must request that status from ACF at least 12 months before the end of their five year grant period or by such time as required by the Secretary.
(b) ACF will review the relevant data to determine if one or more of the conditions under § 1304.11 were met by the Head Start and Early Head Start agency during the current project period.
(c) ACF will give notice to grantees on Designation Renewal System status, except as provided in § 1304.14, at least 12 months before the expiration date of a Head Start or Early Head Start agency's current grant, stating:
(1) The Head Start or Early Head Start agency will be required to compete for funding for an additional five-year period because ACF finds that one or more conditions under § 1304.11 were met by the agency's program during the relevant time period described in paragraph (b) of this section, identifying the conditions ACF found, and summarizing the basis for the finding; or
(2) That such agency has been determined on a preliminary basis to be eligible for renewed funding for five years without competition because ACF finds that none of the conditions under § 1304.11 have been met during the relevant time period described in paragraph (b) of this section. If prior to the award of that grant, ACF determines that the grantee has met one of the conditions under § 1304.11 during the relevant time period described in paragraph (b) of this section, this determination will change and the grantee will receive notice under paragraph (c)(1) of this section that it will be required to compete for funding for an additional five-year period.
[85 FR 53208, Aug. 28, 2020]
Except when all children are served in a single classroom, ACF will conduct observations of multiple classes operated by the grantee based on a random sample of all classes and rate the conduct of the classes observed using the CLASS: Pre-K instrument. When the grantee serves children in its program in a single class, that class will be observed and rated using the CLASS: Pre-K instrument. The domain scores for that class will be the domain scores for the grantee for that observation. After the observations are completed, ACF will report to the grantee the scores of the classes observed during the CLASS: Pre-K observations in each of the domains covered by the CLASS: Pre-K instrument. ACF will average CLASS: Pre-K instrument scores in each domain for the classes operated by the agency that ACF observed to determine the agency's score in each domain.
(a) In reviewing the relevant data as described in § 1304.15(b), if ACF determines that one or more data elements described in the conditions in section § 1304.11 is not available due to an emergency described in paragraph (b) of this section, ACF may make a designation renewal determination based on the data elements that are available.
(b) The emergencies are:
(1) A major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170).
(2) An emergency declared by the President under section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191).
(3) A public health emergency declared by the Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).
[85 FR 78792, Dec. 7, 2020]
(a) In selecting an agency to be designated to provide Head Start, Early Head Start, Migrant or Seasonal Head Start or tribal Head Start or Early Head Start services, the responsible HHS official will consider the applicable criteria at Section 641(d) of the Head Start Act and any other criteria outlined in the funding opportunity announcement.
(b) In competitions to replace or potentially replace a grantee the responsible HHS official will also consider the extent to which the applicant supports continuity for participating children, the community and the continued employment of effective, well qualified personnel.
(c) In competitions to replace or potentially replace a current grantee, the responsible HHS official will give priority to applicants that have demonstrated capacity in providing effective, comprehensive, and well-coordinated early childhood education and development services and programs to children and their families.
(a) An Indian tribe whose Head Start grant has been terminated, relinquished, designated for competition or which has been denied refunding as a Head Start agency, may identify an alternate agency and request the responsible HHS official to designate such agency as an alternative agency to provide Head Start services to the tribe if:
(1) The tribe was the only agency that was receiving federal financial assistance to provide Head Start services to members of the tribe; and,
(2) The tribe would be otherwise precluded from providing such services to its members because of the termination or denial of refunding.
(b)
(1) The responsible HHS official, when notifying a tribal grantee of the intent to terminate financial assistance or deny its application for refunding, or its designation for competition must notify the grantee that it may identify an agency and request that the agency serve as the alternative agency in the event that the grant is terminated or refunding denied, or the grant is not renewed without competition.
(2) The tribe must identify the alternate agency to the responsible HHS official in writing.
(3) The responsible HHS official will notify the tribe, in writing, whether the alternative agency proposed by the tribe is found to be eligible for Head Start funding and capable of operating a Head Start program. If the alternative agency identified by the tribe is not an eligible agency capable of operating a Head Start program, the tribe will have 15 days from the date of the sending of the notification to that effect from the responsible HHS official to identify another agency and request that the agency be designated. The responsible HHS official will notify the tribe in writing whether the second proposed alternate agency is found to be an eligible agency capable of operating the Head Start program.
(4) If the tribe does not identify an eligible, suitable alternative agency, a grantee will be designated under these regulations.
(c) If the tribe appeals a termination of financial assistance or a denial of refunding, it will, consistent with the terms of § 1304.5, continue to be funded pending resolution of the appeal. However, the responsible HHS official and the grantee will proceed with the steps outlined in this regulation during the appeal process.
(d) If the tribe does not identify an agency and request that the agency be appointed as the alternative agency, the responsible HHS official will seek a permanent replacement grantee under these regulations.
The agency identified by the Indian tribe must establish that it meets all requirements established by the Head Start Act and these requirements for designation as a Head Start grantee and that it is capable of conducting a Head Start program. The responsible HHS official, in deciding whether to designate the proposed agency, will analyze the capacity and experience of the agency according to the criteria found in section 641(d) of the Head Start Act and § 1304.20.
(a) No agency will be designated as the alternative agency pursuant to this subpart if the agency includes an employee who:
(1) Served on the administrative or program staff of the Indian tribal grantee described under section 646(e)(1)(A) of the Act; and
(2) Was responsible for a deficiency that:
(i) Relates to the performance standards or financial management standards described in section 641A(a)(1) of the Act; and,
(ii) Was the basis for the termination of assistance under section 646(e)(1)(A) of the Act or denial of refunding described in § 1304.4.
(b) The responsible HHS official shall determine whether an employee was responsible for a deficiency within the meaning and context of this section.
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.
(a) Selection. 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.
(b) Placement. Head Start Fellows may be placed in the Head Start national and regional offices; local Head Start agencies and programs; institutions of higher education; public or private entities and organizations concerned with services to children and families; and other appropriate settings.
(c) Restrictions. 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. 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.
(d) Duration. Head Start Fellowships will be for terms of one year, and may be renewed for a term of one additional year.
(e) Status. 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. 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.