PRINTER'S NO. 712
No. 610 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY KIRKLAND, BISHOP, WATERS, LEDERER, CRUZ, FLEAGLE,
GANNON, GODSHALL, HARHAI, BELARDI, BEBKO-JONES, BUXTON,
DeWEESE, FLICK, GEORGE, GRUITZA, HENNESSEY, JAMES, PALLONE,
SAINATO, STURLA, YOUNGBLOOD, EGOLF, GRUCELA, BARRAR,
BELFANTI, COSTA, EACHUS, HORSEY, McNAUGHTON, READSHAW,
SOLOBAY AND WALKO, MARCH 3, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 3, 2003
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program;
2 imposing additional powers and duties on the Department of
3 Education and Head Start providers; and making an
4 appropriation.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Head Start
9 Supplemental Assistance Act.
10 Section 2. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Department." The Department of Education of the
15 Commonwealth.
16 "Extended day services." Full-day Head Start and child-care
17 services provided for a full year to children eligible for Head
1 Start by a Head Start provider or through a collaborative
2 agreement between a Head Start provider and a licensed child-
3 care center or a registered family or group day-care home.
4 "Head Start." A program funded under the Head Start Act
5 (Public Law 97-35, 42 U.S.C. § 9801 et seq.), established by the
6 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-35, 95
7 Stat. 357) and carried out by a Head Start agency or delegate
8 agency that provides ongoing comprehensive child development
9 services.
10 "Program." The Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program
11 established in section 3.
12 Section 3. Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
13 (a) Establishment.--The Head Start Supplemental Assistance
14 Program is established.
15 (b) Administration.--The department shall administer the
16 program consistent with Federal Head Start guidelines and shall
17 provide supplemental financial assistance to existing providers
18 of Federal Head Start services.
19 (c) Coordination.--The department, to every extent possible,
20 shall coordinate the administration of the program with the
21 Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Health. The
22 purposes of this coordination shall be to:
23 (1) Identify educational, child-care or other services
24 under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Welfare
25 and the Department of Health that can augment or improve the
26 services available through Head Start or Head Start Extended
27 Day Services.
28 (2) Provide technical assistance to Head Start providers
29 establishing child-care services in order to offer extended
30 day services.
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1 (3) Provide technical assistance to Head Start
2 providers, licensed child-care centers or registered family
3 or group day-care homes entering into collaborative
4 agreements in order to offer extended day services.
5 (4) Provide assistance to Head Start providers in
6 initiating or expanding mass media outreach to families with
7 children who qualify for extended day services.
8 (d) Criteria for funding.--To implement the program, the
9 department shall request proposals from existing Head Start
10 providers and may award grants or enter into service contracts
11 with existing Head Start providers that meet all of the
12 following criteria:
13 (1) Demonstrate the need for additional Head Start
14 services in the provider's service area, whether the need is
15 determined by the percentage of eligible children who are not
16 served in the provider's service area or by the demand for
17 extended day services.
18 (2) Demonstrate the ability to expand staff, space and
19 services within the Head Start program or in cooperation with
20 licensed child-care centers or registered family or group
21 day-care homes to serve additional children or to provide
22 extended day services.
23 (3) Demonstrate the ability to comply with Federal and
24 State requirements for child-care service providers if the
25 Head Start provider intends to provide extended care
26 services.
27 (4) Demonstrate the ability to enter into a
28 collaborative agreement with a child-care service provider if
29 the Head Start provider intends to enter into a collaborative
30 agreement with a licensed child-care center or a registered
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1 family or group day-care home to offer extended care
2 services.
3 (5) Demonstrate the ability to establish an outreach
4 program within the community that would increase enrollment
5 for children who qualify for extended day services.
6 Section 4. Priority in funding.
7 The department shall give priority in funding to Head Start
8 providers applying for grants to provide extended day services.
9 The Secretary of Education shall distribute any remaining money
10 to successful applicants that have submitted a qualifying
11 application based upon the population of children in the county
12 or home rule charter entity as determined by the census or an
13 acceptable alternative method.
14 Section 5. Annual report.
15 The department shall compile an annual report on the program
16 for submission to the Governor, the chairman of the
17 Appropriations Committee and the chairman of the Education
18 Committee of the Senate, the chairman of the Appropriations
19 Committee and the chairman of the Education Committee of the
20 House of Representatives. The report shall include:
21 (1) The number of eligible children served by Head Start
22 as of the effective date of this act.
23 (2) The number of eligible children served by the
24 program during the school year that begins one year after the
25 effective date of this act and each year thereafter.
26 (3) The number of extended day programs and the number
27 of eligible children enrolled in extended day programs as of
28 the effective date of this act.
29 (4) The number of extended day programs and the number
30 of eligible children enrolled in extended day programs during
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1 the school year that begins one year after the effective date
2 of this act and each year thereafter.
3 (5) A summary of the types of activities funded under
4 the program.
5 (6) The media outreach methods developed and used by
6 various Head Start providers in each county and a summary of
7 their effectiveness in recruiting new enrollees to
8 participate in extended day services.
9 Section 6. Appropriation.
10 The sum of $15,000,000, or as much thereof as may be
11 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education
12 for the fiscal year July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004, to carry out
13 the provisions of this act.
14 Section 10. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
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