Head Start/Early Head Start

FUNDING AMOUNT

$61,650,566

Authority

Head Start was first enacted as a summer project under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Based on its success, Congress authorized it as a primarily part-day, nine-month program in 1966. Authority for Head Start transferred from the Office of Economic Opportunity to Health and Human Services in the Community Services Act of 1974. The program has been reauthorized several times over the years, including 1994, when Congress established Early Head Start. The most recent reauthorization is under the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007.

Establishing the Funding Estimates

Congress authorizes the amount of federal spending for Head Start/Early Head Start each year. Information regarding the allocation of funds to states and to tribal governments is provided online by the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) of the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding data reported in the current report are available in the Head Start Program Facts reported for Fiscal Year 2019.v Nebraska receives a total of $61,650,566 from the federally funded program.

Administration of Funds

The Head Start/Early Head Start finance mechanism is administered by the Office of Head Start within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Administration for Children and Families). Figure 3 illustrates the path Head Start/Early Head Start funding takes from the administrative source to the entities ultimately receiving funds. Federal grants are awarded directly to public agencies, private nonprofit and forprofit organizations, tribal governments, and school systems to operate Head Start programs in local communities. The path that Head Start/Early Head Start funding follows through the Nebraska early childhood education system was established by the authors and then confirmed by the Administrator of the Office of Early Childhood in the Nebraska Department of Education.

Head Start

Schools

Licensed Child Care Centers

Licensed Child Care Homes

LicenseExempt Child Care Homes

Home Visitors