EFFECTIVE DATE: February 10, 1997.



PART 1311--HEAD START FELLOWS PROGRAM



Sec.

1311.1  Head Start Fellows Program purpose.

1311.2  Definitions.

1311.3  Application process.

1311.4  Qualifications, selection, and placement.

1311.5  Duration of Fellowships and status of Head Start Fellows.



  

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:

    <bullet> To whom Fellowships may be competitively awarded;







   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:





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.