Head Start Information and Publication Center: A Head Start Dictionary

A

Accreditation: A process that validates and acknowledges quality early childhood programs. It involves the early childhood program in a self-study to systematically evaluate their processes, activities and achievements and identify areas in need of improvement, in comparison with professioanl standards.
Administration for Children and Families (ACF): The branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers Head Start and other programs focused on children and their families.
Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF): The ACF unit that directly administers the four Bureaus that serve children and youth, which includes the Head Start Bureau.
Ad Hoc Committee: A committee established for a specific amount of time to accomplish a specific task.
Advisory Committee: Any group which serves an advisory rather than a policy-making or decision-making role.
Age eligibilty: A child must be at least three years old by the date used to determine eligibility for public school in the community for Head Start. Early Head Start serves infants and toddlers up to age three.
American Indian-Alaska Native Program Branch, (Region XI, AI-ANPB): This program branch provides American Indian and Alaska Native children and families nationally with comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, socialization and other developmental services promoting school readiness.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA, Public Law 101-336, was signed on July 26, 1990 to provide comprehensive civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodations, state and local government services, and telecommunications. This landmark civil rights legislation extends the requirements of Section 504 to all programs and provides a national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
Assessment: The ongoing process of observation and recording initiated by teachers that provides information about children's development (social, emotional, cognitive, fine and gross motor abilities, speech and language), identifying children's specific strengths and needs. The results of classroom assessment provide the basis for individualizing the curriculum for children.
Audit: A process that determines whether the agency's financial operations manage itself in compliance with laws and regulations regarding expenditures of funds, accurately produce financial statements representing the agency's financial position, and establish and implement internal procedures for managing and reporting on expenditure of funds.

B

By Laws: The common rules agreed upon by an organization under which it operates. By laws are used for Head Start policy groups.

c

Center-Based Program Option: A Head Start program option that serves the child in a center four/five days per week. Center-based requires class size of 17 to 20 four-year-olds enrolled per class or 15-17 three-year-olds per class; class operations of 3.5 to 6 hours per day (with 4 hours being optimal); a minimum of 128 days of classroom operations for programs serving children 4-days per week; and a minimum of 160 days of operation for children enrolled 5 days per week. All center-based programs must provide a minimum of 32 weeks of class operation over an eight or nine month period.

For Early Head Start center-based options, the group size is a maximum of eight infants and toddlers and staff child ratios stand at 1-4. Since Early Head Start is a full-year program, center-based services are provided 48-52 weeks per year.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): A state administered program funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides financial reimbursement and/or commodities for providing breakfast, lunch, snacks which meet federal nutritional requirements to income eligible children and adults.
Child Care Bureau (CCB): Division of the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the Child Care Development Fund to states, territories, and tribes. The Child Care Bureau supports low-income working families through child care financial assistance and promotes children’s learning by improving the quality of early care and education and after-school programs.
Child Care Development Fund (CCDF): Also known as the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). A federal child care act passed by Congress in 1990 authorizing ACF to fund states to provide child care services and activities to improve the availability and quality of child care. It combines several child care programs: TANF/child care; Transitional Child Care; At-Risk/Title IV-A of the Social Security Act.
Child Care Development Fund Plan (CCDFP): A plan developed by the designated child care agency in each state. The plan serves as a guide for the coordination of the state’s child care services and the administration of child care subsidies and CCDF. States must promote public involvement in the plan development/review process and submit the plan to the federal Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families for review and approval every two years.
Child Development Associate (CDA): An early childhood educator who has demonstrated skills in working with young children and their families by successfully completing a formal credentialing process. CDA is a nationally awarded credential recognized in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The CDA credentialing process is administered by the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition (http://www.cdacouncil.org/).
Child Outcomes Framework: The 1998 reauthorization of Head Start by Congress requires programs to demonstrate that children make progress on specific learning outcomes. To ensure that practices reflect the most current research about child development the Head Start Bureau developed the Child Outcomes Framework. The Framework incorporates the legislatively mandated outcomes as long-term goals referred to as domains. There are eight domains. The Head Start Leaders Guide to Positive Child Outcomes can be downloaded online at http://www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/hsoutcomesguidefinal4c.pdf or you can fax a request on agency letterhead to the publication center at 703-683-5769.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): The CFR is the organizational numbering system used by the United States Government to organize and catalog all federal final rules published in the Federal Register. All federal regulations governing a specific federal program are codified for easy reference. For example, the number assigned to the Head Start Program Performance Standards is 45 CFR, Part 1304.
Combination Program Option: A Head Start program incorporating both center-based and home-based services. The option provides a minimum of 32-96 days per program year (2-3 days per week) of classroom center-based experiences for children and 8-24 home-based like home visits per year (1-2 visits per month).
Community Assessment (CA): A profile of the community or communities in which the Head Start program operates. This profile includes data on the characteristics of the communities population, resources, assets and needs. Programs are required to submit a CA, along with the analysis of the data in relation to the program design and decisions made with their grant application, in the first year of their three-year funding cycle. The CA provides essential data for ongoing program design and planning.
Community Action Agency(CAA) or Community Action Program(CAP): An organization either public or private non-profit which is funded by the Community Services Block Grant to administer and coordinate on a community-wide basis, a variety of anti-poverty programs which often includes Head Start.
Community Representative: Any member of a Policy Council or Policy Committee drawn from the local community and/or parents of formerly enrolled children.
Cost Allocation Plan: A systematic approach used by a grantee or delegate agency to identify and distribute allowable costs for the various funding sources they administer together with the allocation methods used.

d

Delegate Agency: An agency to which responsibility is delegated by the Head Start grantee for the operation of a total, or a significant portion, of the Head Start/Early Head Start program.
Development and Administrative Costs: The costs of developing, administering and managing the parts of the Head Start program which are not directed specifically to the services and parent involvement components. Frequently referred to development and adminstrative costs or “admin costs.”
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP): A concept of classroom practices which reflect knowledge of typical development for the ages being served and an understanding of the unique personality, learning style, and family background of each child. These practices are consistent with the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
Diagnostic Evaluation: An evaluation by clinicians as a result of questions about a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, fine and gross motor abilities, speech and language identified in screening.
Double-Session Variation: A variation of the center-based program option that operates with one teacher who works with one group of children in the morning and a different group of children in the afternoon. This option must comply with regulations regarding class size (4 and 5 year olds-15 to 17 children enrolled per class; 3 year olds-13 to 15 children enrolled per class), operate for no more than four-days per week and meet the 3.5 hour daily class operation requirement of the center-based option.

e

Early Head Start (EHS): Established by the Head Start Act as amended May 1994, this program serves families with children prebirth to three years old within the framework of Head Start. The Statement of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers, a report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in September, 1994, provides a blueprint for the design of the Early Head Start program.
Early Literacy Mentor Coaches (ELMC): Staff members in local programs who serve as mentor-coaches for teachers in the areas of language and literacy.

f

Family child care: A program option in which services to children are delivered in the homes of permitted or licensed family child care providers. This option is offered primarily in Early Head Start programs.
Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES): FACES is part of the Head Start Bureau’s strategy for measuring the impact of Head Start across time and a number of variables. The FACES research project has provided Congress with initial information on Head Start quality. The next stage of the research – the Measures Project – is expected to further programs’ s ability to produce positive and measurable child outcomes and to efficiently collect and analyze Head Start data.
Family Partnership Agreement (FPA): The Family Partnership Agreement process offers parents the opportunities to develop and implement individualized family partnership agreements that describe family goals, responsibilities, timetables and strategies for achieving these goals as well as progress in achieving them. This process must be initiated as early after enrollment as possible and take into consideration each family's readiness and willingness to participate in the process.
Federal Program Monitoring Report: The findings reported from the onsite Head Start program monitoring conducted by a federally led monitoring team every three years. The process for federal review is PRISM – Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring. The monitoring report should be received by the program reviewed within a reasonable timeframe after the federal review. If any program deficiencies are identified, programs must respond promptly with a program quality improvement plan (QIP).
Federal Register: The federal publication that informs the public about proposed and final regulations, funding availability, program announcements, and other policies issued by OMB, HHS, ACF, and other federal agencies. It can be searched electronically at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. Final regulations published are included in the annual revisions to the Code of Federal Regulations.
Financial Assistance Award (FAA): see Notice of Financial Assistance Award (NFAA)
Financial Status Report: A standard, Federal government form, SF-269 used to report the financial progress of a grant and show the status of funds. Head Start grantees must submit two semiannual SF-269s. They are due no more than 30 days after the end of the first and last six months of each annual budget period. Grantees also must submit a final SF-269 that is due no more than 90 days after the end of each project period. However, for grantees with indefinite project periods, like Head Start, the final SF-269 is due no more than 90 days after the end of each annual budget period.
Fiscal Assistant: A web based resource that provides narratives that explain Head Start fiscal requirements and provide Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), audit considerations, PRISM findings, and related information. The site can be accessed online at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/hsfa/.
Fiscal Year (FY): The 12-month period for which funds are allocated. The funding year is October 1 to September 30 for federal agencies. State and local FYs will vary.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): All children, regardless of disability, are entitled to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
Full-Day Variation: A variation of the center-based option in which the classroom services children longer than six-hours per day.

g

Good Start, Grow Smart: In the State of the Union Address delivered January 2002, President Bush outlined the next step in education reform. The Bush Administration proposed a new early childhood initiative – Good Start, Grow Smart - to help state and local communities strengthen early learning for young children. Three major areas are addressed: 1) Strengthening Head Start; 2) Partnering with States to improve early childhood education; and 3) Providing information to teachers, caregivers, and parents.
Governing Body: The governing body is the policy group responsible for the legal and fiscal accountability for overseeing the Head Start and/or Early Head Start program. The governing body has the general responsibilty for guiding and directing planning, general procedures and human resources management.
Grantee: A public or private for-profit, not-for-profit, or faith based agency that receives funds directly from ACF to operate a Head Start program.
Grant Specialist: Federal staff of the ACF Regional Office who provide grant assistance to local Head Start grantees. Grantees should direct budget and funding policy questions about Head Start/Early Head Start to the Regional Specialist.
Grant Application Budget Instrument (GABI): The software package that enables Head Start grantees to submit their annual refunding application. It is available online at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/grant/hsware/gabi/index.htm
GrantsNet: A web based resource that specifies administrative policies, procedures, and general guidance to recipients of grants and cooperative agreements awarded by the agencies of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is available electronically at http://www.hhs.gov/grantsnet/adminis/gam/gamanual.htm.. The Grants Administration Manual (GAM) is provided electronically.

h

Head Start Act: A public law passed by Congress and signed by the President that authorizes the appropriation of funds at specific levels and addresses the intent of the program, priorities, and types of services to be provided. The Act is reauthorized every five years.
Head Start Bureau: The division of the Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the Head Start program. The Bureau develops and enforces regulations based on the Head Start Act, Program Performance Standards, and other legislation.
Head Start Family Information System (HSFIS) see also PROMIS: The Head Start Family Information System (HSFIS) is a fully automated case management record keeping system used to collect, organize, maintain, and report detailed demographic, education, health and social services information at the child and individual family level.
Head Start Fellows: A national program that offers 8 to 10 professionals in the early childhood and family services field the opportunity to come to Washington, DC to develop their leadership abilities and participate in an intensive work experience at the Head Start Bureau. Applications are due in early December of each year. This program is administered through a cooperative agreement with the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition -- http://www.cdacouncil.org/.
Head Start Information Publications Center (HSIPC): http://www.headstartinfo.org
Grantee and delegate agencies can order Head Start materials such as the Head Start Program Performance Standards, training guides, and other related publications by faxing a request on their letterhead or using the order form to (703) 683-5769. HSIPC serves as the clearinghouse for the Head Start Bureau and issues alerts to the Head Start community to relevant Federal Register notices; newly issued Information Memorandums and Program Instructions; new items of interest (What’s New); Health Notes; new items of particular relevance for Region XI; sends e-blasts; compiles a variety of information resources on topics pertinent to Head Start; and answers questions for grantees, delegates, and the general public through the ACF Questions and Answers service http://faq.acf.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/acfrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_cat_lvl1=7 and through HSIPC’s toll-free number 1-866-763-6481.
Head Start Monitoring and Tracking System (HSMTS): The computerized system used by ACF to track Head Start programs through Federal monitoring.
Head Start National Resource Center (HS NRC): HS NRC supports national program priorities of the Head Start Bureau and the accomplishment of national program improvement initiatives by developing resources and identifying training activities.
Health and Human Services: SEE United States. Department of Health and Human Services.
Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC): The Head Start program committee is required by the Head Start Program Performance Standards to advise in planning, operation, and evaluation of health services. The committee is comprised of parents and community health providers and other specialists in the various health disciplines. Given the role the HSAC plays in Head Start, the Head Start Bureau initiated an effort to have materials developed to help Head Start programs improve the function of local HSAC's. Weaving Connections is a multimedia set of training materials for Head Start programs. It focuses on the Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC), a required component of every Head Start program. The Weaving Connections kit provides information and resources to help Head Start staff, parents, and HSAC members run an effective HSAC, and improve outcomes for children and families. Materials can be ordered online at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/connections/index.htm http://www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/WeavingConnections.pdf
Home-Based Program Option: A program option that focuses on parents as educators. It includes a minimum of 32 weekly home visits per year lasting for a minimum of 1.5 hours per visit by an assigned home visitor and a minimum of two monthly socialization experiences (16 per year) for both children and parents. In Early Head Start programs, home-based services are provided throughout the year with the number of home visits and socialization activities adjusted accordingly.
Home Visits: Visits made to a child’s home by the classroom teacher in a center-based program option, or home visitors in a home-based program option, for the purpose of assisting parents in fostering the growth and development of their child.

i

In-kind: A donation of property, supplies, or services which benefit Head Start and which are contributed by non-federal third parties without charge to the program. In-kind contributions can be included in the non-federal match requirement.
Income Guidelines: The Federal Poverty guidelines, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, are used to determine whether a person or family is income eligible for Head Start services, as well as other Federal programs. The guidelines are updated annually by the Census Bureau account for the last (calendar) year’s increase in prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Indian Tribe: 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 (45 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.
Indirect Costs: Costs of an organization which are not readily identifiable with a particular project or program, but nevertheless are necessary to the general operation of the organization and its activities.
Individual Education Program (IEP): A written statement for a child with disabilities, developed by the public agency responsible for providing free appropriate public education to a child, which contains the special education and related services to be provided to an individual child.
Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP): A written plan for providing early intervention services to a child eligible under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA).
Individual Health Plan (IHP): An individual plan developed for child with special health care needs that outlines specific health services that will be provided by appropriate program staff.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, P.L. 102-119/P.L. 105-17 (IDEA): This act amends, extends, and redefines the rights, definitions, and requirements of P.L. 94-142 and its subsequent amendments. States and jurisdictions have put in place policies to ensure that all eligible children with disabilities will receive services under IDEA. (See Part C)
Information Memorandum (IM): A document by which the federal government provides grantees with general information other than a proposed regulation or policy.
Interagency Agreement: Agreements signed between agencies at the national or state level to promote additional services to Head Start. On the federal level. Interagency Agreements exist between Head Start and the Department of Labor/JTPA, the USDA/Cooperative Extension Services, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Education, the Public Health Services/Division of Maternal and Child Health, and the Food arid Drug Administration. A non-governmental agreement also exists between American Home Economics, Association American Optometric Association, Red Cross, Girl Scouts, and Kiwanis.
Interim Grantee: An agency, which has been appointed to operate a Head Start program for a period not to exceed one year while an appeal of a denial of refunding, termination or suspension action is pending.
Internal Dispute Resolution: A formally adapted agency procedure that outlines a method by which the agency resolves an impasse. An impasse exists when the Policy Council/Committee and the Delegates/Grantee Board cannot reach agreement or consensus.

j

k

l

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): This is the basis for the inclusive classroom where children with and without disabilities play and learn together.
Local Education Agency (LEA): The public education (school) entity or its designee for the city, town, or county, etc.

m

Mentor-Coach Specialists (MCS): Professional staff who provide mentor-coaching and technical assistance to the Early Literacy Mentor Coaches.
Migrant & Seasonal Program Branch (MSPB): The Head Start program that administers services for migrant and seasonal farmworker families who are engaged in agricultural labor and who have changed their residence from one geographic location to another in the preceding 2-year period (Head Start Act Section 637(12)(A)).
Migrant family: 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.
Moving Ahead: A competency-based training program designed to assist local and Federal Head Start staff build or enhance their professional skills, which include: communication; conflict resolution; collaboration; financial management; and planning. The program can be used for individual self-study or in workshop settings. It also contains a general introduction to Head Start – Head Start 101. The learning modules can be found online at http://www.headstartinfo.org/publications/mov_ahead/mov_intro.htm and as hardcopy by faxing a request on agency letterhead to (703)683-5769.
Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs: This illustrated booklet describes ten principles related to individualized services for children and families. Grantee and delegate agencies incorporate these principles in carrying out the Head Start Program to ensure that every child, family and staff member feels respected and valued and is able to grow by accepting and appreciating differences. To download copies - http://www.bmcc.edu/virtual_docs/Vlibrary/index.html; to request hard copies send a fax on agency letter to 703-683-5769.

n

National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL): NCFL provides training and technical assistance to Head Start and Early Head Start grantees so that their capacity to implement and refine family literacy services is enhanced.
National Quality Research Centers: Five year grants are awarded periodically to conduct research on key Head Start issues.
National Reporting System (NRS): The National Reporting System is designed to create a portrait of the progress and accomplishments of 4- and 5-year-old Head Start children on specific child outcomes. Programs administer a common NRS assessment to all 4- and 5-year-old children at the beginning and end of the program year. The assessment is intended to determine some of the skills with which the children enter Head Start, their levels of achievement when they leave Head Start, and the progress they make during the Head Start year.
Notice of Financial Assistance Award (NFAA): The legal document announces the awarding a federal grant. The NFAA specifies the amount of the award, the project period, specific conditions and terms of the award, and provides the documentation for the obligation of federal funds on the department's accounting system. (Also known as the “FAA”)
Non-Federal Share: Resources which the grantee is required to generate, cash or in-kind which benefit Head Start and which are contributed by non-federal sources without charge to the program. Twenty percent of the Head Start grant award must be a non-federal match; or $ .20 non federal for every $1 of federal support.
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM): The process by which the federal government announces its intent to publish a federal rule/regulation. Before becoming final, all proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and comments are encouraged from interested parties. Comments are reviewed and evaluated and adjustments are made in the ruling.

O

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): The administrative entity in the executive office of the President which oversees the policies of federal departments.
On-Site Program Monitoring.: The federal on-site monitoring, based on PRISM, is conducted by a team of consultants led by an ACF program specialist. The team determines the Head Start program’s compliance with Head Start federal policies and standards and provides a key perspective on the program's management and organizational systems.

p

Parent Committee: A committee composed of all parents who have children enrolled in a particular Head Start Center.
Part B.: This is the section of IDEA that mandates assistance for education of all children with disabilities. Section 619 addresses issues concerning children age 3-5.
Part C (Formerly Part H): This is the section of IDEA that mandates Early Intervention for infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Payment Management System (PMS): Grant funds are sent to grantees through this disbursement system by the Federal Assistance Financing Branch located in the Office of Finance, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget, HHS.
Policy Committee: The committee at the delgate agency level composed of parents (at least 51%) and community representatives.
Policy Council (PC): A federally mandated policy-making body that is elected at the grantee level. At least 50% of the members must be parents of Head Start children currently enrolled in the grantee Head Start program. It may also include representatives of the community.
Prior Approval: Written permission granted by an authorized grants office official in advance of an act that would result in either (1) the obligation or expenditure of funds, or (2) the performance or modification of an activity under the grant where such an approval is required.
Program Information Report (PIR): The report that provides quantitative information on key characteristics of each Head Start program to ACF. Every Head Start grantee is required to completed and submit a PIR in the spring of each year.
PIRedt (Program Information Report Electronic Data Transfer).: A software package developed for grantees and delegates to submit their annual PIR data electronically.
Program Options: Head Start delivery models that may be selected to respond to the various needs of children and families in the local community.
Program Performance Standards: These Federal Head Start regulations, the Program Performance Standards Operation of Head Start Programs by Grantees and Delegate Agencies, sets forth agency programmatic functions, activities, and facilities required and necessary to meet the objectives and goals of the Head Start program as they relate to children and their families.
Program Review: An on-site review by a regional team of consultants usually led by a regional ACF program specialist that determines the Head Start program’s compliance with Head Start federal policies and standards.
Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring (PRISM): The process and procedure used in onsite monitoring of Head Start programs. Management systems, service delivery, and the relationships between systems and services are examined. Interviews, focus groups, observation, and record reviews are used to gather data about program quality.
Program Specialist: Federal staff of the regional offices of the Administration for Children and Families who provide help and assistance to the local Head Start program. Programs should direct policy questions about Head Start policy to this person.
Program Year: The period during which grant funds must be expended or obligated. The program year beginning sending dates for individual Head Start programs is not the same for every grantee.
Program Year End (PYE): The date that a grantee's current Head Start grant expires.
Program Resources & Outcomes Management Information System (PROMIS): PROMIS is the web-based version of Head Start's HSFIS software application. PROMIS tracks children and their families, their health records, income and assistance information, and educational and occupational status.
Public Law (P.L.) 94-142/P.L. 99-457: These Education of all Handicapped Children Acts provided the foundation for a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities from age 3 through 21 in the least restrictive environment. Included are incentives for serving children birth through three. Head Start is mandated to recruit and enroll children with disabilities, to equal at least 10% of their total enrollment. (See also IDEA).

q

Quality Improvement Plan (QIP): The document developed by the grantee to respond to the non-compliance issues identified by the federal program on-site review.

r

Recruitment Area: The geographic locality within which a Head Start program seeks to enroll Head Start children and families. The recruitment area can be the same as the service area or it can be a smaller area or areas within the service area (45 CFR 1305.2(o).
Regional Administrator (RA): The federal official that leads each federal ACF regional office.
Regional Office Early Learning Liason (RO-ELL): Individuals who work with the Early Literacy Coordinators.
Regional Offices (RO): There are ten regional offices and two branches, Region XI American Indian – Alaska Native Program and the Migrant and Seasonal Program, all of which administer all ACF programs including the Head Start/Early Head Start program. Responsibilities include providing stewardship, monitoring, and funding grants.
Request for Proposals (RFP ): The formal system whereby the federal government or other funders solicit bids from agencies and institutions.

s

Screening: An initial review at a child's level of functioning in fine and gross motor, cognitive, speech and language, social and emotional development, and hearing and vision, as well as health information. The screening process should include obtaining a developmental and health history, observations from the parents, and input from teachers based on their observations. The screening process must use a valid, reliable, culturally relevant and appropriately normed standardized tool. The screening process identifies children who need referral for diagnostic evaluation.
Self-Assessment: A required process whereby the staff, parents, and community of a local Head Start program annually assess their total program in relation to the Head Start Program Performance Standards and other federal requirements. The results of the assessment guide program decision-making.
Service Area: The geographic area identified in an approved grant application within which a grantee may provide Head Start services (45 CFR 1305.2(r)).
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG): A block grant to states that have responsibility for determining services, the distribution method, and eligibility requirements for the purpose of helping families achieve self-sufficiency; to prevent or remedy neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children or adults, to avoid or reduce institutionalization; and to provide appropriate referral for institutional care.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) created Title XXI of the Social Security Act, also referred to as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). SCHIP offers opportunities for low-income families to obtain health insurance for their children. Its primary focus is to initiate and expand health insurance coverage for low-income uninsured children.
State Collaboration Grants: ACF grants awarded to each state in the country for the purpose of collaborating and forging collaborative state relationships to benefit children and their families.
STEP-NET: A web portal to help members of the Head Start STEP/Early Literacy Specialist community.
Strategic Teachers Education Program (STEP): The program is a comprehensive, multi-faceted, sequential professional development endeavor to ensure teachers use research-based strategies to implement early and emergent literacy. Use of such strategies lead to positive child outcomes and school readiness.

t

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): TANF replaces the former AFDC and JOBS programs, which was enacted in the welfare reform act, Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PL 104-193). This block grant to states covers benefits, administration, expenses, and services. States determine eligibility and benefit levels and services provided to needy families. There is no longer a federal entitlement.
Training Guides: Sets of skill-based training guides address such topics as, management, education, social services, health, transition, disability services, and parent involvement. Programs are encouraged to use to train staff, parents, and the community. The guides are available free through the Head Start Publications Management Center (HSPMC).
Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA): An event or activity designed to improve or enhance the skills and development of program staff constitutes training. Technical assistance is a problem-solving event that utilizes the services of an experienced consultant.

u

United States Department of Education (ED): The federal agency responsible for programs dealing with public education.
United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): The department includes the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF).
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): The federal agency that funds housing programs for income-eligible families.
Unobligated balance: The portion of the funds authorized by the Federal-awarding agency that has not been obligated by the recipient and is determined by deducting the cumulative obligations from the cumulative funds authorized. OMB Circular A-110 (2)(mm).

v

Vacancy: 45 CFR 1305.2(s) - An unfilled enrollment opportunity for a child and family in the Head Start program.

w

x

y

z

Adapted by the Head Start Bureau for the
Head Start and Early Head Start Directors Institute, 2004.


	Home \| Publications \| Partnership/Collaboration Information Center \| What's New?

A Head Start Dictionary

— Alphabetical Display —

A

p

r