Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§9846 Reports

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 105— - COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - HEAD START PROGRAMS › § 9846

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must send a report at least once every two years to the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about children in Head Start. The report must say how many children are in Head Start (including children with disabilities, limited English, homeless children, children in foster care, and children in Indian, Alaska Native, migrant, or seasonal Head Start), what services they get, and cover 14 topics including money received by long-time and newly designated Head Start agencies, how services are spread out compared to where eligible children live, how federal, State, regional, and local funds were used, cost per child by region, parent volunteer involvement, staff information (pay, training, experience, turnover), child family information (income, race/ethnicity, homelessness, foster care, disability, and receipt of part A of title IV benefits), funds for full-day or year-round care, monitoring results about compliance and facility condition, types of organizations getting funds, number of children per program option, information from the Program Information Report and Head Start Cost Analyses System, a list of services offered (health, mental health, dental, vision, parenting, fitness, literacy, and referrals), summaries of research and evaluations, and a study of services to Indian, Alaska Native, and migrant/seasonal children. Every five years the Secretary must report to the same two committees about the condition, location, and ownership of facilities used by Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Head Start agencies. The Secretary must also do an annual review to check if triennial reviews include fiscal compliance checks and send those findings to the two committees within 30 days after finishing the review. By not later than 1 year after December 12, 2007, the Secretary must report on tracking disability-related services (including timely IDEA referrals, barriers to evaluations, and how long Head Start provides services before IDEA eligibility is determined) and must also report on progress to prevent and reduce obesity in Head Start children.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §9846

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)At least once during every 2-year period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report concerning the status of children (including children with disabilities, limited English proficient children, homeless children, children in foster care, and children participating in Indian Head Start programs and migrant or seasonal Head Start programs) in Head Start programs, including the number of children and the services being provided to such children. Such report shall include—
(1)a statement for the then most recently concluded fiscal year specifying—
(A)the amount of funds received by Head Start agencies designated under section 9836 of this title to provide Head Start services in a period before such fiscal year; and
(B)the amount of funds received by Head Start agencies newly designated under section 9836 of this title to provide such services in such fiscal year;
(2)a description of the distribution of Head Start services relative to the distribution of children who are eligible to participate in Head Start programs, including geographic distribution within States, and information on the number of children served under this subsection, disaggregated by type of eligibility criterion;
(3)a statement identifying how funds made available under section 9835(a) of this title were distributed and used at national, regional, and local levels;
(4)a statement specifying the amount of funds provided by the State, and by local sources, to carry out Head Start programs;
(5)cost per child and how such cost varies by region;
(6)a description of the level and nature of participation of parents in Head Start programs as volunteers and in other capacities;
(7)information concerning Head Start staff, including salaries, education, training, experience, and staff turnover;
(8)information concerning children participating in programs that receive Head Start funding, including information on family income, racial and ethnic background, homelessness, whether the child is in foster care or was referred by a child welfare agency, disability, and receipt of benefits under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.];
(9)the use and source of funds to extend Head Start services to operate full-day and year round;
(10)using data from the monitoring conducted under section 9836a(c) of this title—
(A)a description of the extent to which programs funded under this subchapter comply with performance standards and regulations in effect under this subchapter;
(B)a description of the types and condition of facilities in which such programs are located;
(C)the types of organizations that receive Head Start funds under such programs; and
(D)the number of children served under each program option;
(11)the information contained in the documents entitled “Program Information Report” and “Head Start Cost Analyses System” (or any document similar to either), prepared with respect to Head Start programs;
(12)a description of the types of services provided to children and their families, both on-site and through referrals, including health, mental health, dental care, vision care, parenting education, physical fitness, and literacy training;
(13)a summary of information concerning the research, demonstration, and evaluation activities conducted under section 9844 of this title, including—
(A)a status report on ongoing activities; and
(B)results, conclusions, and recommendations, not included in any previous report, based on completed activities; and
(14)a study of the delivery of Head Start programs to Indian children living on and near Indian reservations, to children of Alaska Natives, and to children of migrant and seasonal farmworker families.
(b)At least once during every 5-year period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report concerning the condition, location, and ownership of facilities used, or available to be used, by Indian Head Start agencies (including Alaska Native Head Start agencies) and Native Hawaiian Head Start agencies.
(c)(1)The Secretary shall conduct an annual review to assess whether the design and implementation of the triennial reviews described in section 9836a(c) of this title include compliance procedures that provide reasonable assurances that Head Start agencies are complying with applicable fiscal laws and regulations.
(2)Not later than 30 days after the date the Secretary completes the annual review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall report the findings and conclusions of the annual review to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
(d)(1)The Secretary shall track the provision of disability-related services for children, in order to—
(A)determine whether Head Start agencies are making timely referrals to the State or local agency responsible for providing services under section 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
(B)identify barriers to timely evaluations and eligibility determinations by the State or local agency responsible for providing services under section 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
(C)determine under what circumstances and for what length of time Head Start agencies are providing disability-related services for children who have not been determined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) to be children with disabilities.
(2)Not later than 1 year after December 12, 2007, the Secretary shall provide a report to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate on the activities described in paragraph (1).
(e)Not later than 1 year after December 12, 2007, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the Secretary’s progress in assisting program efforts to prevent and reduce obesity in children who participate in Head Start programs, including progress on implementing initiatives within the Head Start program to prevent and reduce obesity in such children.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(8), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Part A of title IV of the Act is classified generally to part A (§ 601 et seq.) of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of this title and Tables. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), is title VI of Pub. L. 91–230, Apr. 13, 1970, 84 Stat. 175, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (§ 1400 et seq.) of Title 20, Education. Part C of the Act is classified generally to subchapter III (§ 1431 et seq.) of chapter 33 of Title 20. section 619 of the Act is classified to section 1419 of Title 20. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1400 of Title 20 and Tables.

Amendments

2007—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(A), (G), substituted, in introductory provisions, “Education and Labor” for “Education and the Workforce”, “Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions” for “Labor and Human Resources”, and “(including children with disabilities, limited English proficient children, homeless children, children in foster care, and children participating in Indian Head Start programs and migrant or seasonal Head Start programs)” for “(including disabled and non-English language background children)” and, in concluding provisions, “Education and Labor” for “Education and the Workforce” and “Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions” for “Labor and Human Resources”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(B), inserted “, and information on the number of children served under this subsection, disaggregated by type of eligibility criterion” before semicolon at end. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(C), substituted “funds made available under section 9835(a) of this title” for “funds expended under section 9835(a)(2) of this title, and funds allotted under section 9835(a)(3) of this title,”. Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(D), inserted “homelessness, whether the child is in foster care or was referred by a child welfare agency,” after “background,”. Subsec. (a)(12). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(E), inserted “vision care,” after “dental care,”. Subsec. (a)(14). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(1)(F), substituted “Alaska Natives” for “Alaskan Natives” and “seasonal farmworker families” for “seasonal farmworkers”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(2), substituted “Education and Labor” for “Education and the Workforce”, “Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions” for “Labor and Human Resources”, and “Alaska Native” for “Native Alaskan”. Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 110–134, § 21(3), added subsecs. (c) to (e). 1998—Pub. L. 105–285 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted “Education and the Workforce” for “Education and Labor” in introductory and concluding provisions, and added subsec. (b). 1994—Pub. L. 103–252, § 118(a)(1), substituted “Reports” for “Evaluation” in section catchline. Subsecs. (a) to (f). Pub. L. 103–252, § 118(a)(1), struck out subsecs. (a) to (f) which related to evaluations of programs under this subchapter to determine impact and effectiveness, adherence to Head Start performance standards, persons or entities assisting in evaluations, Secretary obtaining views of program participants, publication and submission of results to congressional committees, and all studies and evaluation material remaining property of the United States. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 103–252, § 118(a)(2)–(4), struck out subsec. (g) designation, substituted “monitoring conducted under section 9836a(c) of this title” for “evaluations conducted under section 9836(c)(2) of this title” in par. (10), and added pars. (13) and (14). 1992—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102–401 struck out “(1)” before “At least” at beginning of subsec. and substituted “physical” for “physicial” in par. (12). 1990—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 101–501, § 118, inserted at end “The Secretary is encouraged to provide funds for community-based cooperative research efforts to enable Head Start directors to conduct evaluations of their programs with the assistance of qualified researchers not directly involved in the administration of the program or project operation.” Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 101–501, § 119, added subsec. (g). 1984—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–558 substituted “not result in the elimination of nor any reduction in the scope or types of health, education, parental involvement, social or other services required to be provided under the standards” for “result in standards which are no less comprehensive than those” in second sentence.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Education and Labor of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.

Effective Date

of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–252 effective May 18, 1994, but not applicable to Head Start agencies and other recipients of financial assistance under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) until Oct. 1, 1994, see section 127 of Pub. L. 103–252, set out as a note under section 9832 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1992 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–401 effective Oct. 7, 1992, but not applicable with respect to fiscal years beginning before Oct. 1, 1992, see section 4 of Pub. L. 102–401, set out as a note under section 9835 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–501 effective Oct. 1, 1990, see section 1001(a) of Pub. L. 101–501, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title. Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions of law requiring submittal to Congress of any annual, semiannual, or other regular periodic report listed in House Document No. 103–7 (in which the 4th item on page 79 identifies a reporting provision which, as subsequently amended, is contained in subsec. (a) of this section), see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 9846

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73