Health and Human Services Department
This final rule makes regulatory changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) to support and stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve the quality of services Head Start programs provide to children and families. These changes include requirements for wages and benefits, breaks for staff, and enhanced support for staff health and wellness. The changes also include enhancements to mental health services to better integrate mental health into every aspect of program service delivery. Enhancements are also included in the areas of family service worker family assignments, identifying and meeting community needs, ensuring child safety, services for pregnant women and other pregnant people, and alignment with State early childhood systems. Finally, the changes include minor clarifications to promote better transparency and clarity of understanding for grant recipients.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Health and Human Services 45 CFR Parts 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, and 1305 RIN 0970-AD01 AGENCY: Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule makes regulatory changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) to support and stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve the quality of services Head Start programs provide to children and families. These changes include requirements for wages and benefits, breaks for staff, and enhanced support for staff health and wellness. The changes also include enhancements to mental health services to better integrate mental health into every aspect of program service delivery. Enhancements are also included in the areas of family service worker family assignments, identifying and meeting community needs, ensuring child safety, services for pregnant women and other pregnant people, and alignment with State early childhood systems. Finally, the changes include minor clarifications to promote better transparency and clarity of understanding for grant recipients. DATES: Effective date: August 21, 2024. Compliance date: The compliance date for many of the requirements in this final rule is October 21, 2024, or 60 days after this final rule is published in the Federal Register . However, there is a subset of requirements where we expect programs may need more time to implement the regulatory change…
Citation: 89 FR 67720
