Early Education and Care: Overlap Indicates Need to Assess Crosscutting
Programs (Letter Report, 04/28/2000, GAO/HEHS-00-78).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federally funded
programs that provide education or child care, focusing on: (1) what
portion of the budget authority for these programs was used for
education and care for children under age 5 and how many children in
this age group participated in the programs; (2) what types of children
these programs target what services are provided to these children; and
(3) what information is needed to assess whether the current array of
federal programs is duplicative and what issues should be considered to
improve overall efficiency of early childhood education and care
programs.

GAO noted that: (1) 69 federal programs provided or supported education
and care for children under age 5 in fiscal year (FY) 1999; (2) 9
different federal agencies and departments administered these programs,
though the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services (HHS)
operated most of them; (3) among the 69 programs, education and care was
a program purpose, an allowable activity, or was facilitated in some way
by the program; (4) 29 of these programs (about 40 percent) provided
education and care as a program purpose, but the extent to which they
focused on education and care and on children under age 5 varied; (5) of
the 21 programs that provided data, about half spent a significant
proportion of their budget authority, 40 percent or more, on education
and care for children under age 5; (6) the other programs that provided
data spent 13 percent or less of their budgets for this purpose; (7) the
remaining 8 programs could not provide an estimate; (8) the 29 programs
spent at least $9 billion to provide education and care to children
under age 5 in FY 1999; (9) three HHS programs--Head Start, Child Care
Development Fund, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families--together
accounted for approximately $8 billion of the $9 billion total; (10) the
29 programs targeted 3 major groups of children--the economically
disadvantaged, those with special needs, and members of certain native
populations; (11) the three largest programs, in terms of spending on
children under age 5, targeted the economically disadvantaged; (12) some
of the smaller programs focused on narrower groups, such as children
with disabilities; (13) the programs were generally allowed to provide a
broad range of services such as health, dental, mental health, social,
parental, nutritional services, speech and hearing assessments, and
disability screening; (14) only 4 programs actually provided most of
these services to a high proportion of the participants under age 5;
(15) for the most part, the remaining programs provided services to a
smaller proportion of participants under age 5; (16) to address
inefficiencies that may arise, policymakers could choose to coordinate,
integrate, or consolidate programs; and (17) in order to identify the
best method for addressing inefficiencies among fragmented and
overlapping programs, policymakers need to know whether programs are:
(a) fulfilling a unique role; (b) unnecessarily redundant; or (c) being
administered in the most effective way to meet program as well as
federal strategic goals.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  HEHS-00-78
     TITLE:  Early Education and Care: Overlap Indicates Need to Assess
	     Crosscutting Programs
      DATE:  04/28/2000
   SUBJECT:  Preschool education
	     Child care programs
	     Disadvantaged persons
	     Preschoolers
	     Budget authority
	     Strategic planning
	     Redundancy
IDENTIFIER:  GSA Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
	     HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
	     HHS Child Care and Development Fund
	     HHS Native American Employment and Training Program
	     National School Lunch Program
	     Head Start Program
	     Social Services Block Grant
	     USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program
	     Dept. of Education Indian Vocational Education Program
	     Department of the Interior Indian Child and Family
	     Education Program
	     Special Education-Preschool Grants and Infants and
	     Families Program

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GAO/HEHS-00-78

Appendix I: Federal Programs That Provided or Supported
Education and Care for Children Under 5 Years of
Age, Fiscal Year 1999

30

Appendix II: Proportion of Children Receiving Services From
Education and Care Programs, by Target Group

34

Appendix III: Comments From the Department of Education

39

Appendix IV: Comments From the Department of Health and
Human Services

40

Table 1: Federal Spending on Education and Care of Children
Under Age 5, Fiscal Year 1999 13

Table 2: Estimated Number of Participants Under Age 5 in Fiscal
Year 1999, by Program 14

Table 3: Federal Programs That Provide Education and Care to
Children Under Age 5, by Target Group 17

Table 4: Programs Targeting Native American Children--Proportion
of Participating Children Under Age 5 Receiving Services 22

Figure 1: Number of Federal Programs That Provide or Support
Education and Care for Children Under Age 5, by
Department or Agency 9

Figure 2: Federal Programs With a Program Purpose of Providing Education and
Care That Serve Children Under Age 5,
by Federal Department and Office 11

BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs

CCDF Child Care Development Fund

Education Department of Education

GPRA Government Performance and Results Act

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

Interior Department of the Interior

SSBG Social Services Block Grant

TANF Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Health, Education, and
Human Services Division

B-283427

April 28, 2000

The Honorable George V. Voinovich
Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, Restructuring and
the District of Columbia
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Over the last two decades, a nationwide emphasis on better preparing
children for school, understanding how children learn, and improving the
educational and social outcomes for all children has focused attention on
early childhood education and care. In response to these issues, a number of
federal programs have been created that focus either directly or indirectly
on early childhood education and care. In 1999, we testified that the large
number of programs creates the potential for inefficient service delivery
and difficulty accessing services.1 Because of your interest in the early
learning experiences of children, you asked us to update our 1994 report on
multiple early childhood programs.2 Specifically, you asked us to enumerate
the federally funded programs that provide education, child care, or
services supporting education or child care for children under age 5, by
agency (excluding Department of Defense programs and tax credits) and, for
programs that provide education and care as a program purpose, to answer the
following questions:

ï¿½ In fiscal year 1999, what portion of the budget authority for these
programs was used for education and care for children under age 5 and how
many children in this age group participated in these programs?

ï¿½ What types of children are these programs targeting and what services are
provided to children participating in the programs?

ï¿½ What information would be needed to assess whether the current array of
federal programs is duplicative and what issues should be considered in
developing options to improve the overall efficiency of federal early
childhood education and care programs?

To address your request, we electronically searched the June 1999 Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance using key words associated with early childhood
education and care.3 We analyzed the Catalog's descriptions of these
programs to determine whether they (1) directly fund or support education
and/or child care, (2) provide these services to children under age 5, and
(3) deliver services in an educational or child care setting. We classified
those programs that met all three criteria as early childhood education and
care programs.

On the basis of the Catalog's descriptions, we also identified a subset of
programs that provided education and care to children under age 5 and whose
purpose included education and care. We included Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families (TANF) in this subset, although education and care is not a
TANF program purpose, because TANF is a significant funding source for child
care activities. We contacted agency officials for clarification in a few
cases where we could not determine from the Catalog's descriptions whether
providing education or child care was a program purpose or whether the
program provided services to children under age 5. Using a short
questionnaire sent to agency officials, we obtained the following additional
information on this subset of programs: fiscal year 1999 budget authority,
target population and number of children receiving services, services
provided, and the proportion of program participants served who were under
age 5.4 We did our work in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards between July 1999 and April 2000.

Sixty-nine federal programs provided or supported education and care for
children under age 5 in fiscal year 1999. Nine different federal agencies
and departments administered these programs, though the Departments of
Education (Education) and Health and Human Services (HHS) operated most of
them. Among the 69 programs, education and care was a program purpose (for
example, the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)), an allowable activity (for
example, the Native American Employment and Training Program), or was
facilitated in some way by the program (for example, the National School
Lunch Program). Twenty-nine of these programs, or about 40 percent, provided
education and care as a program purpose, but the extent to which they
focused on education and care and on children under age 5 varied. For
example, Head Start focused almost exclusively on providing education and
care for children under age 5, while this was a more minor focus for the
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), where child care was one of many
allowable activities. Education administered 22 of the 29 programs, HHS
administered 6, and the Department of the Interior (Interior) administered
1.

Spending on early childhood education and care varied widely among the 29
programs. Of the 21 programs that provided data, about half spent a
significant proportion of their budget authority, 40 percent or more, on
education and care for children under age 5. The other programs that
provided data spent 13 percent or less of their budgets for this purpose.
The remaining eight programs could not provide an estimate. Programs
spending lesser proportions of their budgets on education and care for
children under age 5 spent program funds on other activities or other age
groups. The 29 programs spent at least $9 billion to provide education and
care to children under age 5 in fiscal year 1999. Three HHS programs--Head
Start, CCDF, and TANF--together accounted for approximately $8 billion of
the $9 billion total.

The 29 programs targeted three major groups of children--the economically
disadvantaged, those with special needs, and members of certain native
populations. The three largest programs, in terms of spending on children
under age 5, targeted the economically disadvantaged. Some of the smaller
programs focused on narrower groups, such as children with disabilities. The
programs were generally allowed to provide a broad range of services:
health, dental, mental health, social, parental, and nutritional services;
speech and hearing assessments; and disability screening. Only four programs
actually provided most of these services to a high proportion of the
participants under age 5. For the most part, the remaining programs provided
services to a smaller proportion of participants under age 5.

When multiple agencies manage multiple early childhood education and care
programs, mission fragmentation and program overlap occur. This in turn
creates the potential for duplication and service gaps. Though sometimes
necessary to meet federal priorities, mission fragmentation and program
overlap can create an environment in which programs do not serve
participants as efficiently and effectively as possible. To address
inefficiencies that may arise under these circumstances, policymakers could
choose to coordinate, integrate, or consolidate programs. In order to
identify the best method for addressing inefficiencies among fragmented and
overlapping programs, policymakers need to know, among other things, whether
programs are (1) fulfilling a unique role, (2) unnecessarily redundant, or
(3) being administered in the most effective way to meet program as well as
federal strategic goals. Information required by the Government Performance
and Results Act (GPRA) should provide answers to some of these questions and
ultimately help to guide consideration of different options for addressing
potential problems among the current configuration of early childhood
education and care programs for young children.

In 1994, GAO reported that the federal government administered more than 90
early childhood programs, of which 34 had education or child care as a
primary mission.5 These 34 programs delivered a variety of social, health,
and educational services and targeted many of them to economically
disadvantaged young children. Historically, child care programs and early
childhood education programs have existed separately with separate goals.
Child care programs, generally administered by HHS, subsidized the cost of
child care for low-income parents who were working or engaged in
work-related activities. In contrast, early childhood education programs,
generally administered by Education, focused on preparing young children for
school.6 More recently, the distinction between these two types of programs
has blurred as policymakers seek to make educationally enriching care
available to young children.

Our past work has documented both mission fragmentation and program overlap
among federal early childhood education and care programs.7 Both occur when
more than one federal agency (or more than one bureau within an agency) is
involved in the same broad area of need. Fragmentation can create
inefficient service delivery and administrative complexity because various
agencies are administering similar programs serving similar groups of
children. In addition, mission fragmentation makes coordination among
agencies administering these programs necessary.8 Program overlap creates
the potential for duplication--which occurs when programs have the same
goals, the same activities or strategies to achieve them, or the same
targeted recipients. However, a certain amount of redundancy among programs
may be necessary to improve service delivery, or it may indicate that a
certain program is related to a number of areas.

Half Have This as a Program Purpose

In fiscal year 1999, nine federal agencies or departments administered 69
programs that provided or to some degree supported education and care for
children under age 5. Of these, 29, or about 40 percent, provided education
and care as a program purpose. However, the extent to which these programs
focused on education and care and on children under age 5 varied.

for Children Under Age 5

Nationally, 69 federal programs provided or supported education and care for
children under age 5 in fiscal year 1999 (see fig. 1 and app. I). Among
these programs, education and care was a program purpose, or an allowable
activity, or the program in some way facilitated the education and care of
young children. For example, the purpose of CCDF is to provide child care
for children age 0 to 13, and the purpose of the Even Start programs is to
provide education and family literacy services to children age 0 to 8 and
their parents in low-income families. For some of the programs, providing
education and care was an allowable activity. The Native American Employment
and Training Program and TANF--a program designed to help welfare recipients
move into the workforce--are allowed to provide child care for working
parents. Two Department of Agriculture programs, the National School Lunch
Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, facilitate education and
child care by subsidizing the cost of serving meals to children in child
care centers and schools. Education administered 34 and HHS administered 13
of the 69 programs.

Within the group of 69 programs, 29 (about 40 percent) provided education
and care as a program purpose and could provide services to children under
age 5 (see fig. 2). TANF also fell into this group because it was a
significant source of funding for child care. However, the extent to which
these 29 programs focused on education and care varied. For example, Head
Start and Special Education−Grants for Infants and Families with
Disabilities focused exclusively on providing education and care for young
children. In contrast, SSBG and the bilingual education programs focused in
a more minor way on these activities or this age group. In the SSBG program,
child care was one of many social services provided; and for the bilingual
education programs, preschool was one of several grade levels that could be
served.

Figure 1: Number of Federal Programs That Provide or Support Education and
Care for Children Under Age 5, by Department or Agency
Programs also differed in how services were delivered and how funds flowed
to the programs. For example, under Education's Indian
Education−Grants to Local Educational Agencies program, grantees
provided educational services directly, whereas CCDF provided vouchers to
parents to purchase child care services. HHS provided funds directly to
local Head Start grantees, whereas Education's Title I program provided
grants through state education departments to eligible school districts.9
The districts then decided which preschool programs would be funded from
their Title I allocation.

Three federal departments administered the 29 programs. In fiscal year 1999,
five offices in Education administered 22 programs that, for example,
provided educational services to young children and their parents, disabled
children, economically disadvantaged children, and children with limited
English proficiency. Two HHS offices administered six programs: Head Start,
CCDF, TANF, SSBG, and two programs that provided grants for residential
treatment for substance-abusing women and their infants. The Department of
Interior administered one program that provided education and care and
served children under age 5--the Indian Child and Family Education program.

Figure 2: Federal Programs With a Program Purpose of Providing Education and
Care That Serve Children Under Age 5, by Federal Department and Office
Widely

About half of the programs that provided data on the proportion of budget
authority they spent on education and care for children under age 5 spent a
significant amount, more than 40 percent, for this purpose. The other
programs that provided data spent 13 percent or less on education and care
for children under age 5. Agencies estimated that their programs spent at
least a total of $9 billion to provide education and care to children under
age 5 in fiscal year 1999 (see table 1).10 HHS administered the three
programs that accounted for most of this amount: Head Start ($4.4 billion),
CCDF ($2.2 billion), and TANF ($1.3 billion) together spent approximately $8
billion of the total $9 billion.

Agencies were able to provide the budget authority data we requested for 21
of the 29 programs. About half of the programs that provided data estimated
that their programs spent 40 percent or more of their fiscal year 1999
budget authority on education and care for children under age 5 (see table
1). Agency estimates showed, of the 21 programs

ï¿½ 5 spent at least 90 percent,

ï¿½ 6 spent between 40 and 70 percent, and

ï¿½ 10 spent 13 percent or less.

Eight programs could not provide us with the proportion of funding used for
children under age 5, although several of these programs are recognized as
important funding sources for education and care for young children. These
programs include Title I, Even Start−State Educational Agencies, and
Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers.

Programs spending lesser proportions of their budgets on education and care
for children under age 5 devoted resources to other program activities or
focused resources on another age group. For example, the SSBG program funded
child care and other program activities, such as care for disabled adults.
The bilingual education programs estimated spending between 1 and 10 percent
of their 1999 budget authority on education and care for children under age
5. Because these programs funded children in preschool through grade 12,
children under age 5 represented only a small portion of their budgets.

Agencies were able to report estimates of the number of participants under
age 5 who were served by 24 of the 29 programs in fiscal year 1999. The
numbers ranged from 102 to over 2 million children. SSBG, Twenty-First
Century Community Learning Centers, and CCDF each reported serving over 1
million children in this age group. In contrast, six programs reported
serving 500 or fewer children. (See table 2.) However, the number of
children participating in a program is not the same as the number of
children eligible for the program. HHS officials reported that CCDF provided
child care subsidies to only 15 percent of eligible families in 1998. HHS
officials also reported that Head Start served approximately 38 percent of
its eligible children nationwide.11

Because program officials used various methods to estimate the number of
participants under age 5 in their programs and, as we discuss later, the
amount and intensity of services provided vary, tables 1 and 2 cannot be
combined to obtain meaningful per-child costs.

Table 1: Federal Spending on Education and Care of Children Under Age 5,
Fiscal Year 1999

Continued

                                                  Amount for children under
                                                            age 5

            Program              FY 1999 budget                  Percentage
                                   authority        Estimated     of total
                                                     amount        budget
                                                                 authority
 Head Start                     $4,658,151,448    $4,378,662,000 94
 CCDF                           3,166,000,000     2,216,200,000  70
 TANF                           17,052,515,000    1,278,938,625  7.5
 Special Education−Grants
 for Infants and Families With  370,000,000       370,000,000    100
 Disabilities
 Special Education−Grants
 to States                      4,310,700,000     258,642,000    6
 SSBG                           1,900,000,000     209,000,000    11
 Special
 Education−Preschool      373,985,000       205,692,000    55
 Grants (IDEA)
 Ready-To-Learn Television      11,000,000        11,000,000     100
 Indian Child and Family
 Education (FACE)               5,471,000         5,197,450      95
 Child Care Access Means
 Parents in School              5,000,000         4,750,000      95
 Alaska Native Home-Based
 Education for Preschool        10,000,000        4,343,359      43.4
 Children
 Native Hawaiian Family-Based
 Education Centers              7,200,000         4,000,000      55-60
 Demonstration Grants for
 Residential Treatment for      7,880,208         3,152,083      40
 Women and Their Children
 Grants for Residential
 Treatment Programs for         2,810,973         1,124,389      40
 Pregnant and Postpartum Women
 Bilingual
 Education−Program
 Development and Implementation 10,800,000        1,080,000      10
 Grants
 Bilingual
 Education−Program        10,000,000        1,000,000      10
 Enhancement Grants
 Bilingual
 Education−Comprehensive  90,900,000        909,000        1
 School Grants
 Bilingual Education−
 Systemwide Improvement Grants  42,100,000        421,000        1
 Indian Education−Grants
 to Local Educational Agencies  62,000,000        248,000        0.4
 Demonstration Grants for
 Indian Children                1,265,000         75,900         6
 Migrant Education−Basic
 State Grant Program            354,689           46,110         13
 Title I Grants to Local
 Educational Agencies           7,700,000,000     a              a
 Immigrant Education            150,000,000       a              a
 Education for Homeless
 Children and Youth             28,800,000        a              a
 Even Start−State
 Educational Agencies           125,250,000       a              a
 Even Start−Migrant
 Education                      4,050,000         a              a
 Twenty-First Century Community
 Learning Centers               200,000,000       a              a
 Reading Excellence             241,100,000       b              b
 Even-Start−Indian Tribes
 and Tribal Organizations       2,025,000         a              a
 Total                          $40,549,358,318   $8,954,481,916

aAgency officials were unable to estimate the amount spent on children under
age 5 on our data collection instrument.

bThis is a new program. Monies were awarded to the states in August 1999 for
elementary school children in grades K-3. States are now in the process of
awarding the first subgrants to schools.

Table 2: Estimated Number of Participants Under Age 5 in Fiscal Year 1999,
by Program

Continued

                                                       Estimated number of
                  Program                    Agency     participants under
                                                             age 5a
 SSBG                                       HHS        2,320,067b
 Twenty-First Century Community Learning
 Centers                                    Education  1,760,000
 CCDF                                       HHS        1,260,000
 Head Start                                 HHS        780,200
 Special Education−Grants to States   Education  574,713
 TANF                                       HHS        350,000c
 Title I Grants to Local Educational
 Agencies                                   Education  300,000
 Special Education−Preschool Grants
 (IDEA)                                     Education  316,000
 Special Education−Grants for Infants
 and Families With Disabilities             Education  186,819
 Migrant Education−Basic State Grant
 Program                                    Education  69,251
 Even-Start−State Educational
 Agencies                                   Education  25,500
 Native Hawaiian Family-Based Education
 Centers                                    Education  2,100
 Indian Education−Grants to Local
 Educational Agencies                       Education  2,000
 Indian Child and Family Education (FACE)   Interior   1,800
 Bilingual Education−Program
 Development and Implementation Grants      Education  1,000
 Bilingual Education−Program
 Enhancement Grants                         Education  1,000
 Bilingual Education− Systemwide
 Improvement Grants                         Education  1,000
 Even Start−Migrant Education         Education  940
 Bilingual Education−Comprehensive
 School Grants                              Education  500
 Even Start−Indian Tribes and Tribal
 Organizations                              Education  240
 Demonstration Grants for Residential
 Treatment for Women and Their Children     HHS        235
 Demonstration Grants for Indian Children   Education  150
 Alaska Native Home-Based Education for
 Preschool Children                         Education  120
 Grants for Residential Treatment Programs
 for Pregnant and Postpartum Women          HHS        102
 Child Care Access Means Parents in School  Education  d
 Education for Homeless Children and Youth  Education  d
 Immigrant Education                        Education  d
 Reading Excellence                         Education  d
 Ready-To-Learn Television                  Education  e

aWe did not compute a total because children may have participated in more
than one of the programs listed. For example, a 3-year-old with a disability
may have received services under Education's Special
Education−Preschool Grants as well as under its Special
Education−Grants to States program.

bAgency officials do not collect participation data for children under age
5. The reported estimate includes all children receiving day care, a high
proportion of whom are assumed to be under age 5.

cThis number is based on monthly enrollment.

dAgency officials were not able to provide an estimate of the number of
children under age 5 who participated in the program in fiscal year 1999.

eThe agency reported that 4,827,540 children ages 3 to 8 participated in the
program in fiscal year 1999, but was not able to provide an estimate for the
number of children under age 5 who participated in the program.

of Services

The 29 programs that provided education and care to children under age 5
targeted three major groups of children. Most programs were allowed to
provide a broad range of services such as health, mental health, and
nutritional services. Four programs provided most of these services to a
large proportion of the participants under age 5.

The 29 federal programs that provided education and care to children under
age 5 generally targeted children who

ï¿½ were economically disadvantaged,

ï¿½ had special needs, or

ï¿½ were members of certain native populations.12

During fiscal year 1999, 10 programs (including Head Start, CCDF, and
TANF--the three largest programs in terms of spending for children under age
5) targeted economically disadvantaged children. Thirteen programs targeted
children with various special needs, such as disabilities or limited English
proficiency, as well as migrant or immigrant children. Six programs targeted
native populations, including Native American Indians, Alaskans, and
Hawaiians (see table 3).

The specific eligibility criteria for the 29 programs included a child's
age, family income, and other factors. Age criteria varied and often
overlapped among programs serving similar target groups. For example,
eligibility for three Native American programs included children age 0 to 7,
0 to 8, and 4 through 18. Among programs serving disabled children, one
targeted applicants age 0 to 21 while another covered preschoolers age 3 to
5. A third program provided early intervention services to disabled infants
and toddlers under age 3 and their families or, at state option, infants and
toddlers at risk of needing special education and related services.
Likewise, family income eligibility criteria varied, with the federal
government, states, and school districts defining "low income" differently
for different programs, resulting in overlap of income criteria. For
example, income eligibility criteria for TANF are set by each state, within
certain federal guidelines. However, Title I funds are allocated among
states and schools based on formulas that take into account the number of
children whose family income is below the federal poverty line.

While programs may serve the same target group, specific eligibility
requirements limit the number of children eligible to receive services. For
example, an economically disadvantaged child may not be eligible for both
CCDF and Head Start--two programs that target this type of child--because of
differences in income eligibility requirements. CCDF provides child care
subsidies for families with children under age 13 whose family income does
not exceed 85 percent of the state median income.13 Head Start primarily
targets preschool children from families whose income is under the federal
poverty line.14 A child could only be eligible for both programs if that
child was of kindergarten age or younger, as required by Head Start, and if
family income was at or below the lower of federal poverty line or the CCDF
income level set by the state.

In some cases, participation in more than one program may be beneficial. For
example, because Head Start is usually a part-day program, working parents
might need both the preschool education of Head Start and the child care of
CCDF to ensure that their children are taken care of for a full day while
the parents are at work.

Table 3: Federal Programs That Provide Education and Care to Children Under
Age 5, by Target Group

Continued

                                                             Beneficiary
            Program               Program description        eligibility
                                                              criteria
 Economically disadvantaged
                                                          Children up to
                                                          age 13 who reside
                                                          with a family
                                                          whose income does
                                Grants to states for      not exceed 85% of
                                subsidizing the child     the state median
                                care costs of eligible    income. Parent(s)
                                families and to improve   must be working
 CCDF                           the overall quality and   or in education
                                availability of child     or training, or
                                care services. Some CCDF  the child must be
                                funds are subject to      in need of
                                matching requirements.    protective
                                                          services. States
                                                          set eligibility
                                                          within federal
                                                          rules.a
                                Formula grants through    Children aged
                                states to local           pre-kindergarten
                                educational agencies for  to 21 who are
 Title I Grants to Local        supplementary educational failing or at
 Educational Agencies           and related services to   risk of failing
                                educationally             state academic
                                disadvantaged children    standards who
                                living in relatively      live in
                                low-income areas          low-income areas

                                Formula grants to the     Homeless children
                                states to ensure that     and youth in
                                homeless children have    preschool,
 Education for Homeless         equal access to the       elementary, and
 Children and Youth             education programs        secondary schools
                                available to other        or who should be
                                children, including       enrolled in
                                preschool-aged children   school but are
                                                          not
                                Formula grants to states
                                for discretionary
                                subgrants to partnerships
                                between local educational Children aged
                                agencies and nonprofit    birth to 8 years,
                                entities to improve the   who come from
 Even Start−State         educational opportunities low-income
 Educational Agencies           of low-income families    families, and
                                through family literacy   whose parents
                                programs that integrate   have basic
                                early childhood           literacy needs
                                education, adult basic
                                education, and parenting
                                education
                                Grants to institutions of Low-income
                                higher learning to        students in
                                support the participation postsecondary
 Child Care Access Means        of low-income parents in  programs who
 Parents in Schools             postsecondary education   themselves have
                                through the provision of  children and
                                campus-based child care   require child
                                services                  care services
                                                          Children in
                                Grants to states to       grades
                                provide children with the pre-kindergarten
                                readiness skills and      through third
 Reading Excellence             support they need to      grade, who are
                                learn to read once they   enrolled in
                                enter school or by the    schools with a
                                end of third grade        high
                                                          concentration of
                                                          povertyb
                                                          Families who have
                                                          a child living
                                Block grants to states    with a parent or
                                for temporary income      other adult
                                assistance to needy       relative and are
 TANF                           families with children.   needy, or who
                                States may spend block    meet CCDF
                                grants for child care and eligibility
                                other purposes consistent standards for
                                with the law              states that
                                                          transfer TANF
                                                          funds to CCDF
                                Grants to agencies to     Children from
                                provide comprehensive     birth through
                                early childhood           kindergarten age;
                                developmental,            90% must be from
 Head Start                     educational, health,      families whose
                                nutritional, social, and  income is below
                                other services to         the poverty line
                                primarily low-income      or families who
                                children and their        are eligible for
                                families                  public assistance

                                Block grants to states to States decide
                                                          which services
 SSBG                           provide social services,  benefit children
                                including child day care,
                                at the states' discretion and the criteria
                                                          for eligibility
                                Discretionary/competitive
                                grants to individual
                                rural or inner-city
                                schools, or consortia of  Residents of all
                                                          ages in selected
 Twenty-First Century Community such schools, for         rural and inner
 Learning Centers               activities that benefit   city communities,
                                the educational, health,
                                social services,          in particular,
                                cultural, and             young children
                                recreational needs of
                                their community
 Special needs
 Disabled children
                                                          Children, aged 0
                                Grants to states to       through 21, with
 Special Education−Grants assist them in providing  a disability who
 to States                      a free appropriate public need special
                                education to all children education and
                                with disabilities         related services
                                                          in public schools

                                Grants to assist states   Children aged 3
                                in providing special      to 5 who have a
                                education and related     disability, and
                                services to               at a state's
                                preschool-aged children   discretion,
 Special                        with disabilities who are 2-year-old
 Education−Preschool      in need of special        children with
 Grants (IDEA)                  education. At state       disabilities who
                                option, children          will turn 3 years
                                experiencing              old during the
                                developmental delays may  school year and
                                also be considered        need special
                                disabled.                 education and
                                                          related services
                                Formula grants to help    Infants or
                                states develop and        toddlers under 3
                                implement a statewide     years of age with
                                comprehensive,            a disability who
 Special Education−Grants coordinated,              need early
 for Infants and Families with  multidisciplinary,        intervention
 Disabilities                   interagency system to     services because
                                provide early             of developmental
                                intervention services for delays or at
                                infants and toddlers with states' option,
                                disabilities and their    at-risk infants
                                families                  and toddlers
 Children with limited English
 proficiency
                                                          Limited English
 Bilingual                      Grants to local education proficient
 Education−Program        agencies to implement new children who are
 Development and Implementation comprehensive bilingual   enrolled in
 Grants                         programs                  preschool through
                                                          grade 12
                                                          Limited English
 Bilingual                      Grants to local education proficient
 Education−Program        agencies to expand or     children who are
 Enhancement Grants             enhance existing          enrolled in
                                bilingual programs        preschool through
                                                          grade 12
                                Grants to local education
                                agencies (in which        Limited English
 Bilingual                      schools have at least 25% proficient
 Education−Comprehensive  limited English           children who are
 School Grants                  proficiency enrollment)   enrolled in
                                for reforming all         preschool through
                                relevant bilingual        grade 12
                                programs
                                Grants to local education
                                agencies or local
                                education agencies'       Limited English
 Bilingual                      consortia (with more than proficient
 Education−Systemwide     1,000 or 25% limited      children who are
 Improvement Grants             English proficiency       enrolled in
                                enrollment) for reforming preschool through
                                districtwide bilingual    grade 12
                                programs
                                Grants to develop
                                educational programming   All children
                                for preschool and early   generally and
                                elementary school         children in
                                children and their        limited English
 Ready-To-Learn Television      families to increase      proficient
                                school readiness, with an households, their
                                emphasis on the needs of  parents, child
                                children in limited       care providers,
                                English proficient        and Head Start
                                households and to         programs
                                increase family literacy
 Migrants
                                                          Children and
                                Grants to the states for  youth aged 0 to
                                providing supplemental    21 who are, or
 Migrant Education−Basic  education and related     whose parent,
 State Grant Program            services for migratory    spouse, or
                                children of migrant       guardians are,
                                agricultural workers and  migratory workers
                                migrant fishers           or migratory
                                                          fishers

                                Discretionary grants to   Children of
                                state educational         migratory
                                agencies, local education agriculture
                                agencies, and nonprofit   workers or
                                organizations to improve  migratory fishers
                                                          and their
 Even Start−Migrant       the educational           parents. Children
 Education                      opportunities of migrant  must be 0 to 8
                                families through family
                                literacy programs that    years old and
                                integrate early childhood come from
                                education, adult literacy low-income
                                or adult basic education, families; parents
                                and parenting education   must have basic
                                                          literacy needs
 Immigrants
                                Formula grants to states
                                for educational services  Immigrant
                                and costs for immigrant   children in
                                children enrolled in      grades
                                elementary and secondary  pre-kindergarten
 Immigrant Education            public and nonpublic      through 12 who
                                schools. States provide   have been
                                funding to local          enrolled in U.S.
                                education agencies with   schools for less
                                at least 500 or 3 percent than 3 years
                                immigrant enrollment
 Substance-abusing women with children
                                Grants to states for
                                alcohol and other drug
                                abuse treatment services
                                delivered in a
                                residential setting       Children aged 1
                                coupled with primary      to 10 whose
 Demonstration Grants for       health, mental health,    mothers have
 Residential Treatment for      and social services       substance abuse
 Women and Their Childrenc      (including child care and problems and are
                                educational development   enrolled in a
                                services for children     residential
                                with exposure to alcohol  treatment program
                                and other drugs) for
                                parenting women and their
                                children
                                Grants to states for
                                alcohol and other drug
                                abuse treatment services
                                delivered in a
                                residential setting       Children aged 0
                                coupled with primary      to 1 whose
                                health, mental health,    mothers have
 Grants for Residential         and social services       substance abuse
 Treatment Programs for         (including child care and problems or
 Pregnant and Postpartum Womenc developmental services    suffer from
                                for infants and other     substance abuse
                                children with             problems
                                intrauterine and          themselves
                                environmental exposure to
                                alcohol and other drugs)
                                for women, their infants,
                                and other children
 Native populations
 Native American Indian
                                Grants to Indian tribal   Native American
                                governments and tribal    parents and their
                                organizations to begin    children, aged 0
                                educating Native American to 8 years, who
 Indian Child and Family        children at an early age  live on a
 Education (FACE)               through parental          reservation
                                involvement, increase     within boundaries
                                high school graduation    of a Bureau of
                                rates among Indian        Indian Affairs
                                parents, and encourage    (BIA)-funded
                                life-long learning        school
                                Grants to local education
                                agencies that enroll at
                                least 10 Indian children
                                or in which Indians       Native American
                                constitute at least 25%   Indian children
 Indian Education−Grants  of the total enrollment   enrolled in BIA-
 to Local Educational Agencies  to reform elementary and  funded or
                                secondary school programs -operated local
                                that serve Indian         educational
                                students in order to      agencies
                                ensure that programs are
                                based on standards that
                                are used for all students
                                Grants to provide
                                financial assistance to
                                projects to develop,
                                test, and demonstrate the Native American
 Demonstration Grants for       effectiveness of services Indian preschool,
 Indian Children                and programs to improve   elementary, and
                                the educational           secondary
                                opportunities and         children
                                achievement of preschool,
                                elementary, and secondary
                                school Indian children
                                Discretionary grants to   Native American
                                federally recognized      Indian children
                                Indian tribes and tribal  aged 0 to 8 years
 Even Start−Indian Tribes organizations for family  who come from
 and Tribal Organizations       literacy programs that    low-income
                                integrate early childhood families, and
                                education, adult basic    whose parents
                                education, and parenting  have basic
                                education                 literacy needs
 Native Hawaiian
                                Grants to Native Hawaiian
                                organizations in Hawaii
                                for the operation of
                                centers whose activities  Hawaiian infants
 Native Hawaiian Family-Based   include parent-infant     up to age 3 and
 Education Centers              programs for the prenatal Hawaiian
                                period through age 3,     preschoolers aged
                                preschool programs to     4 to 5
                                serve 4- to 5-year-olds,
                                research and development,
                                and project assessments
 Alaskan Natives
                                Grants to Alaskan Native
                                organizations or
 Alaska Native Home-Based       educational entities to   Alaskan Native
 Education for Preschool        implement home            children aged 0
 Children                       instruction programs for  through 5
                                Alaskan Native preschool
                                youngsters

aAlthough CCDF primarily serves low-income families, states may serve
families who earn up to 85 percent of the state median income.

bAccording to agency officials, while this program can provide services to
pre-kindergartners, the priority for fiscal year 2000 is kindergarten
through grade 3.

cAccording to agency officials, no new grants were to be awarded in fiscal
year 2000.

In addition to providing early childhood education and care, most of the 29
programs were allowed to provide a broad range of supplemental services,
including health, dental, mental health, social, parental, and nutritional
services; speech and hearing assessments; and disability screening. Four
programs--Head Start, Even Start−Migrant Education, and the two
residential treatment programs for substance-abusing mothers and their
children--provided the widest range of services, with each providing 9 of
the 10 services we asked about to all or most children participating in the
program. All four reported providing the same seven services to all or most
children under age 5 participating in the program: early childhood
education, health services, speech and hearing assessments, disability
screening, social services, parental services, and nutritional services.

Most programs reported providing supplemental services to a small proportion
of program participants under age 5 or were unable to provide estimates. For
example, the Migrant Education-Basic State Grant Program estimated that it
provided early childhood education, health services, and services to parents
to "some" children; dental and nutritional services to a "few" children; and
social services to "about half" of the program participants under age 5. The
Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers program estimated that it
provided early childhood education to some children and child care, health,
dental, social, and mental health services; speech or hearing assessments;
and disability screening to a few of the program participants under age 5.
Two of the four programs targeting Native American children--Indian Child
and Family Education, administered by Interior, and Even Start-Indian Tribes
and Tribal Organizations, administered by Education--reported providing
early childhood education, parental, and nutritional services to all or most
of the Native American children and their parents participating in their
programs (see table 4). Several programs, including the Special
Education-Preschool Grants, Child Care Access Means Parents in School, and
SSBG programs, were not able to report the number of children under age 5
served for many of the services about which we asked. (See app. II for the
proportion of each programs' participants who received each service.)

Table 4: Programs Targeting Native American Children--Proportion of
Participating Children Under Age 5 Receiving Services

                                                                      Service

        Program            Early   Child  Health    Dental    Mental   Speech and  Disability  Social   Parental Nutritional
                         childhood                            health     hearing
                        education  care  services  services services  assessments  screening  services services   services

 Indian Child and FamilyAll or                                        All or       All or              All or    All or
 Education (FACE)       nearly all a     a         a        a         nearly all   nearly all a        nearly    nearly all
                                                                                                       all
 Even-Start−Indian                                                                      All or   All or
 Tribes and Tribal      All or     Most  Most      Some     Some      Some         Some       nearly   nearly    All or
 Organizations          nearly all                                                            all      all       nearly all
 Indian
 Education−Grants
 to Local Educational   Few        None  Few       Few      Few       Few          Few        Few      Few       Few
 Agencies
 Demonstration Grants
 for Indian Children    Some       Some  Some      Some     Few       Few          Few        Few      Some      Some

aProgram was not allowed to provide this service.

Similarly, programs targeting children with limited English proficiency
delivered some of the same types of services to children under age 5
participating in these programs. Four bilingual education programs--Program
Development and Implementation Grants, Program Enhancement Grants,
Comprehensive School Grants, and Systemwide Improvement Grants--reported
providing early childhood education and parental services to all or most of
their participants under age 5. In addition, all four programs reported
providing social services to some participants under age 5. Two of the
programs also reported providing child care to some of the participants in
this age group.

Ten programs that targeted economically disadvantaged children provided some
of the same types of services. For example, 7 of the 10 programs provided
parental services and 5 programs provided nutritional services to all or
most children participating in their programs (see app. II). Five of the 10
programs reported providing early childhood education to a high proportion
of participants under age 5. The remaining programs provided early childhood
education and care to a small proportion of participants in this age group
or could not provide an estimate.

Overlap

When multiple agencies manage multiple early childhood education and care
programs, mission fragmentation and program overlap occur. Though sometimes
necessary to meet federal priorities, mission fragmentation and overlapping
programs can create an environment in which participants are not served as
efficiently and effectively as possible.15 Policymakers could choose to
coordinate, integrate, or consolidate programs to address inefficiencies
that may arise; however, information beyond the scope of this report would
be needed to identify the degree of program inefficiencies and the best
method for addressing any inefficiencies. Policymakers need to ask, among
other things, whether programs are fulfilling a unique role or effectively
meeting program as well as federal strategic goals. Information required by
GPRA should provide answers to some of these questions and ultimately help
to guide this effort.

Mission fragmentation was evident among the 29 early childhood education and
care programs we examined. These programs were administered by eight offices
in three federal departments. In addition, many of the 29 programs provided
similar services to the same target groups. Overlap was evident among
programs serving young Native American and limited English proficient
children. For example, all four programs serving Native American children,
administered by Education and Interior, provided educational, parental, and
nutritional services; speech and hearing assessments; and disability
screening to participants, and although each could serve children of various
ages, some participants were under age 5. Education's four bilingual
education programs all provided early childhood education, parental
services, and social services to young children with limited English
proficiency.

Past GAO work has shown that program overlap increases the likelihood that
inefficiencies such as duplicative programs--those providing identical
services to identical target groups--will result. Duplicative programs can
waste administrative resources and confuse those seeking services. Program
overlap can also increase the chance of gaps in services. One way service
gaps can occur is when all members of a target population are not being
served by existing programs because differing program eligibility
requirements unintentionally exclude them. Gaps in services may also result
when programs do not provide adequate coverage to fully meet participant
needs. For example, children in low-income families may not be eligible for
both Head Start and CCDF, which could make it difficult for parents to work
or attend school full-time. Collaborative arrangements between Head Start,
generally a part-day program, and programs such as CCDF may be needed to
provide full day care in order to prevent service gaps so parents can work
full-time.

To address inefficiencies such as program duplication and service gaps that
can arise from mission fragmentation and program overlap, one of several
approaches could be taken: coordination, integration, or consolidation.
Policymakers could direct responsible agencies to better coordinate programs
with other agencies that share the same program mission. Responsible
agencies could also integrate program services from one program into others
to more effectively serve certain target groups. Service integration
activities range from providing services from several agencies at one
location to creating state and local interagency service planning and
budgeting functions. Policymakers and responsible agencies could also decide
that the only way to eliminate duplicative programs is to consolidate
several into one. However, to determine the most appropriate method of
addressing problems created by mission fragmentation and program overlap,
policymakers would need to consider, among other things, whether

ï¿½ overlapping programs fulfill unique roles or are unnecessarily
duplicative,

ï¿½ some programs are more effective at meeting program and federal strategic
goals than others, and

ï¿½ whether some other configuration of programs might better serve
participants.

To learn whether specific programs play unique roles or are unnecessarily
duplicative, policymakers would need to know the means used to accomplish
program goals and the specific services the programs provide. Further study
of these program features may highlight important differences among programs
that appear to be duplicative. Data on the type and quality of services
delivered and the number of children receiving similar services from more
than one program would also help to identify programs that meet unique needs
and serve unique populations and would be useful in determining the extent
of duplication among programs. For example, four programs reported providing
dental services to economically disadvantaged young children in fiscal year
1999; however, one may have provided screenings whereas another may have
provided more comprehensive dental services including preventive care and
treatment.

Assessing whether programs are effective at achieving their program goals
requires information on program performance and program evaluations. GPRA
requires agencies to collect this type of information and report on it in
annual performance plans. Program performance data can be used to assess
progress toward established goals. Evaluation results, where available, can
provide information about how effective programs are at achieving desired
outcomes. With this information, the Congress and the administration may be
able to identify some programs that are more effective than others at
achieving overall federal goals in the early childhood education and care
area. Finally, decisions made about coordinating, integrating, or
consolidating programs could affect participants differently and have
administrative and budgetary effects on state and local governments,
especially if service delivery mechanisms change.

The Congress and agencies have begun to address problems that result from
overlapping early childhood education and care programs through improved
coordination and integration and program consolidation.16 For example, in
1996, Congress consolidated funding for four child care programs into
one--CCDF. The Congress also created the Federal Interagency Coordinating
Council to focus on issues related to young children (birth through age 5)
who have or are at risk of disabilities. Agencies have also begun to address
problems that result from overlapping programs. For example, as we reported
in March 1999, HHS and Education are coordinating Head Start and Even Start
programs with one another to improve the quality of family literacy for
disadvantaged families with young children through joint training
activities. Moreover, Even Start programs are required to build on existing
services to minimize potential duplication and sometimes rely on the Head
Start program to provide the early childhood education component for Even
Start participants ages 3 and 4. In addition, HHS' Head Start Bureau has
instituted a number of initiatives among relevant agencies to facilitate
collaboration and thus avoid inefficiencies that can be caused by mission
fragmentation and program overlap of early childhood education and care
programs. For example, HHS has begun to promote collaboration by requiring
some Head Start grantees to use collaborative planning processes in order to
compete for funds. To compete for Head Start Collaboration Grants, these
grantees must provide full-day, full-year services for Head Start, ensure a
collaborative planning process with community programs and providers, and
combine Head Start funds with available state, local, and private sector
funding for child care, pre-kindergarten, and special education services.

We provided Education, HHS, and Interior an opportunity to review this
report; responses from Education and HHS are reprinted in app. III and IV.
Interior officials stated that they had no comments.

In its comments, Education said that the report provides a comprehensive
overview of federal programs providing education and care for children under
age 5 and that some programs have overlapping purposes and target
populations. HHS said that the report provides a useful conceptual framework
for thinking about the services that are available to young children and
their families. However, while Education agreed that some of the programs we
report on have overlapping purposes, it was concerned that we be explicit
that overlap does not necessarily result in redundancy. HHS also expressed
concerns that the report draws unsupported conclusions about mission
fragmentation and program overlap.

From their comments, it appears that Education and HHS attribute different
meanings to the terms "overlap," "fragmentation," and "duplication." We
defined mission fragmentation as the involvement of multiple agencies in the
same programmatic area; early education and care programs clearly fall under
this definition. We pointed out that fragmentation can lead to overlapping
programs and can create the potential for inefficiencies such as
duplication. We also pointed out that various programs overlapped because
they served the same populations and offered similar services. However, we
did not conclude that overlap had resulted in duplication and inefficiency,
but only that the potential for duplication and inefficiency exists. We also
concluded that the agencies' GPRA reports might be useful for evaluating the
effectiveness of programs in meeting their goals.

Education and HHS expressed concern that we had not adequately discussed
their coordination efforts, so we added some information about ongoing
agency efforts to address issues raised by overlapping programs through
improved coordination and service integration. Education and HHS also
provided technical comments, which we incorporated where appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the Honorable Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; the Honorable
Richard W. Riley, Secretary of the Department of Education; the Honorable
Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior; and appropriate congressional
committees. We will also make copies available to others upon request.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me
or Karen Whiten on (202) 512-7215. Martha Elbaum and Karen Brown made key
contributions to this report.

Sincerely yours,

Marnie S. Shaul
Associate Director, Education, Workforce, and
Income Security Issues

Federal Programs That Provided or Supported Education and Care for Children
Under 5 Years of Age, Fiscal Year 1999

Continued

 CFDA numbera                         Program name
 Agriculture
 10.550       Food Distribution Program
 10.553       School Breakfast Program
 10.555       National School Lunch Program
 10.556       Special Milk Program for Children
 10.558       Child and Adult Care Food Program
 10.559       Summer Food Service Program for Children
 10.564       Nutrition, Education and Training Program
 10.565       Commodity Supplemental Food Program
 Housing and Urban Development
 14.218       Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants
 14.219       Community Development Block Grants/Small Cities Program
 14.231       Emergency Shelter Grants Program
 14.235       Supportive Housing Program (transitional housing)
 14.870       Resident Opportunity and Supportive Services
 Interior
 15.043       Indian Child and Family Education (FACE)
 Justice
 16.201       Cuban and Haitian Entrant Resettlement Program

 16.730       Reduction and Prevention of Children's Exposure to Violence
              (Safe Start)
 Labor
 17.211       Job Corps
 17.247       Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
 17.251       Native American Employment and Training Program
 17.255       Workforce Investment Act
 Appalachian Regional Commission

 23.002       Appalachia−Supplements to Federal Grant-in-Aid (area
              development)
 General Services Administration
 39.003       Donation of Federal Surplus Personal Property
 Education

 84.010       Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (basic,
              concentration, and targeted grants)
 84.011       Migrant Education−Basic State Grant Program
 84.027       Special Education−Grants to States
 84.041       Impact Aid
 84.060       Indian Education−Grants to Local Educational Agencies
 84.162       Immigrant Education
 84.173       Special Education−Preschool Grants (IDEA)

 84.181       Special Education−Grants for Infants and Families with
              Disabilities
 84.186       Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities--State Grants
 84.196       Education for Homeless Children and Youth
 84.209       Native Hawaiian Family Based Education Centers
 84.213       Even Start−State Educational Agencies
 84.214       Even Start−Migrant Education
 84.258       Even Start−Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations

 84.276       Goals 2000−State and Local Education Systemic
              Improvement
 84.282       Charter Schools
 84.287       Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers

 84.288       Bilingual Education−Program Development and
              Implementation Grants
 84.289       Bilingual Education−Program Enhancement Grants
 84.290       Bilingual Education−Comprehensive School Grants
 84.291       Bilingual Education−Systemwide Improvement Grants
 84.295       Ready-To-Learn Television
 84.296       Native Hawaiian Community-Based Education Learning Centers
 84.298       Innovative Education Program Strategies
 84.299       Demonstration Grants for Indian Children
 84.303       Technology Innovation Challenge Grants
 84.310       Goals 2000: Parental Assistance Program
 84.318       Technology Literacy Challenge Fund Grants
 84.321       Alaska Native Home-Based Education for Preschool Children

 84.323       Special Education−State Program Improvement Grants for
              Children With Disabilities

 84.327       Special Education−Technology and Media Services for
              Individuals With Disabilities
 84.332       Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration
 84.335       Child Care Access Means Parents in School
 84.338       Reading Excellence
 HHS

 93.101       Grants for Residential Treatment Programs for Pregnant and
              Postpartum Women

 93.102       Demonstration Grants for Residential Treatment for Women and
              Their Children
 93.125       Mental Health Planning and Demonstration Projects
 93.558       Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

 93.566       Refugee and Entrant Assistance−State-Administered
              Programs

 93.571       Community Services Block Grant Discretionary
              Awards−Community Food and Nutrition

 93.575       Child Care Development Fund (discretionary fund of the child
              care development fund, mandatory, and matching funds)
 93.576       Refugee and Entrant Assistance−Discretionary Grants
 93.583       Refugee and Entrant Assistance−Wilson/Fish Programs
 93.584       Refugee and Entrant Assistance−Targeted Assistance
 93.600       Head Start
 93.645       Child Welfare Services−State Grants
 93.667       Social Services Block Grant

aCatalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

Proportion of Children Receiving Services From Education and Care Programs,
by Target Group

                                                   Proportion of children
                                                   under age 5 receiving
                                   Estimated
 Agency   Program name             number of       Early
                                   children under  childhood  Child  Health
                                   age 5           education  care   services
                                   participatinga
 Economically disadvantaged
                                                              All or
 HHS      CCDF                     1,260,000       Some       nearly Some
                                                              all

 EducationTitle I Grants to Local  300,000         All or     Few    Some
          Educational Agencies                     nearly all

 EducationEducation for Homeless   Don't know      All or     Don't  Some
          Children and Youth                       nearly all know

 EducationEven-Start-State         25,500          All or     Some   Some
          Educational Agencies                     nearly all
                                                              All or
 EducationChild Care Access Means  Don't know      All or     nearly Don't
          Parents in School                        nearly all        know
                                                              all

 EducationReading Excellence       Don't know      Don't know Don't  Don't
                                                              know   know
 HHS      TANF                     350,000c        Don't know Most   b
                                                                     All or
 HHS      Head Start               780,200         All or     Some   nearly
                                                   nearly all
                                                                     all

 HHS      SSBG                     2,320,067d      Don't know Don't  Don't
                                                              know   know
          Twenty-First Century
 EducationCommunity Learning       1,760,000       Some       Few    Few
          Centers
 Special
 needs
 Disabled
 Children

 EducationSpecial Education-Grants 574,713         All or     b      Don't
          to States                                nearly all        know
          Special
 EducationEducation-Preschool      316,000         All or     b      Don't
          Grants (IDEA)                            nearly all        know
          Special Education-Grants
 Educationfor Infants and Families 186,819         Most       None   Some
          With Disabilities
 Children with limited English
 proficiency
          Bilingual
 EducationEducation-Program        1,000           All or     Some   b
          Development and                          nearly all
          Implementation Grants
          Bilingual
 EducationEducation-Program        1,000           All or     Some   b
          Enhancement Grants                       nearly all
          Bilingual
 EducationEducation-Comprehensive  500             All or     b      b
          School Grants                            nearly all
          Bilingual
 EducationEducation-Systemwide     1,000           All or     b      b
          Improvement Grants                       nearly all

 EducationReady-To-Learn           Don't knowe     Most       b      b
          Television

 Proportion of children under age 5 receiving

 Dental    Mental    Speech or    Disability Social    Services Nutritional
 services  health    hearing      screening  services  to       services
           services  assessments                       parents

 Few       Few       Some         Some       Some      Most     All or
                                                                nearly all
 Few                                                   All or
           Few       Some         Some       Some      nearly   Some
                                                       all
 Some
           Some      Some         Some       Some      Some     Some

                                                       All or
 Few       Few       Few          Some       Most      nearly   All or
                                                       all      nearly all
           Don't
 Don't     know                              Don't     All or
 know                Don't know   Don't know know      nearly   Most
                                                       all
 Don't     Don't                             Don't     Don't
 know      know      Don't know   Don't know know      know     Don't know
 Don't
 know      Some      Some         Some       Some      Most     Don't know
 All or    All or                            All or    All or
 nearly    nearly    All or       All or     nearly    nearly   All or
 all       all       nearly all   nearly all all       all      nearly all
 Don't     Don't                             Don't     Don't
 know      know      Don't know   Don't know know      know     Don't know
           Few
 Few                 Few          Few        Few       Most     Most

 b         Don't     All or       All or     Don't     Don't    Don't know
           know      nearly all   nearly all know      know
 b
           Don't     All or       All or     Don't     Don't
                                                                Don't know
           know      nearly all   nearly all know      know
 None      Few
                     Most         All or     Some      Most     Few
                                  nearly all

           b                                           All or
 b                   b            b          Some      nearly   b
                                                       all
           b                                           All or
 b                   b            b          Some      nearly   b
                                                       all
           b
 b                   b            b          Some      Most     b

           b
 b                   b            b          Some      Most     b

                                                       All or
 b         b         b            b          b         nearly   b
                                                       all

                                                    Proportion of children
                                                    under age 5 receiving

 Agency           Program name      Estimated
                                    number of       Early
                                    children under  childhood  Child  Health
                                    age 5           education  care   services
                                    participatinga
 Migrants
                  Migrant
 Education        Education-Basic   69,251          Some       Few    Some
                  State Grant
                  Program
                  Even                                         All or
 Education        Start-Migrant     940             All or     nearly Most
                  Education                         nearly all all
 Immigrants

 Education        Immigrant         Don't know      Don't know Don't  b
                  Education                                    know
 Substance-abusing
 women with
 children
                  Demonstration
                  Grants for
                                                               All or All or
 HHS              Residential       235             All or     nearly nearly
                  Treatment for                     nearly all
                  Women and Their                              all    all
                  Children
                  Grants for
                  Residential
                                                               All or All or
 HHS              Treatment         102             All or     nearly nearly
                  Programs for                      nearly all
                  Pregnant and                                 all    all
                  Postpartum Women
 Native
 populations
 Native American
 Indians
                  Indian Child and
 Interior         Family Education  1,800           All or     b      b
                  (FACE)                            nearly all
                  Indian
                  Education-Grants
 Education        to Local          2,000           Few        None   Few
                  Educational
                  Agencies
                  Demonstration
 Education        Grants for Indian 150             Some       Some   Some
                  Children
                  Even Start-Indian
 Education        Tribes and Tribal 240             All or     Most   Most
                  Children                          nearly all
 Native Hawaiians
                  Native Hawaiian
 Education        Family-Based      2,100           Most       Don't  None
                  Education Centers                            know
 Alaska Natives
                  Alaska Native
                  Home-Based
 Education        Education for     120             All or     Don't  None
                  Preschool                         nearly all know
                  Children

 Proportion of children under age 5 receiving

           Mental    Speech or

           health    hearing                 Social    Services Nutritional
           services  assessments                       to
                                  Disability services           services
 Dental                           screening            parents
 services

 Few       Few
                     Few          Few        About     Some     Few
                                             half
 All or                                      All or    All or
 nearly    Few       All or       All or     nearly    nearly   All or
 all                 nearly all   nearly all all       all      nearly all

 b         b         Don't know   Don't know b         Don't    b
                                                       know

 Some
           Most                              All or    All or
                     Most         All or     nearly    nearly   All or
                                  nearly all all       all      nearly all

 Some

           Most                              All or    All or
                     Most         All or     nearly    nearly   All or
                                  nearly all all       all      nearly all

           b                                           All or
 b                   All or       All or     b         nearly   All or
                     nearly all   nearly all           all      nearly all
           Few
 Few                 Few          Few        Few       Few      Few

           Few                                                  Some
 Some                Few          Few        Few       Some

           Some                              All or    All or
 Some                Some         Some       nearly    nearly   All or
                                             all       all      nearly all

           Don't
                                                       All or
 None      know      Don't know   Don't know Don't     nearly   Don't know
                                             know
                                                       all

 None
           Don't
                                                       All or
           know      Some         Some       Don't     nearly   Don't know
                                             know
                                                       all

aWe did not compute a total because children may have participated in more
than one of the programs listed. For example, a 3-year-old with a disability
may have received services under Education's Special Education-Preschool
Grants as well as under its Special Education-Grants to States program.

bProgram was not allowed to provide this service.

cThis number is based on monthly enrollment.

dAgency officials do not collect participation data for children under age
5. The reported estimate includes all children receiving day care, a high
proportion of whom are assumed to be under age 5.

eThe agency reported that 4,827,540 children ages 3 to 8 participated in the
program in fiscal year 1999, but was not able to provide an estimate for the
number of children under 5 that participated in the program.

Comments From the Department of Education

Comments From the Department of Health and Human Services

(104981)

Table 1: Federal Spending on Education and Care of Children
Under Age 5, Fiscal Year 1999 13

Table 2: Estimated Number of Participants Under Age 5 in Fiscal
Year 1999, by Program 14

Table 3: Federal Programs That Provide Education and Care to
Children Under Age 5, by Target Group 17

Table 4: Programs Targeting Native American Children--Proportion
of Participating Children Under Age 5 Receiving Services 22

Figure 1: Number of Federal Programs That Provide or Support
Education and Care for Children Under Age 5, by
Department or Agency 9

Figure 2: Federal Programs With a Program Purpose of Providing Education and
Care That Serve Children Under Age 5,
by Federal Department and Office 11
  

1. Results Act: Using Agency Performance Plans to Oversee Early Childhood
Programs (GAO/T-HEHS-99-93 , Mar. 25, 1999).

2. Early Childhood Programs: Multiple Programs and Overlapping Target Groups
(GAO/HEHS-95-4FS , Oct. 31, 1994).

3. We used the Catalog's federal program number as our unit of analysis when
enumerating programs. In some cases the Catalog assigns a single number to a
set of related programs. For example, Head Start has a single program number
that includes related programs such as Migrant, Native American, and Early
Head Start. In other cases, related programs have separate program numbers.
For example, Migrant and Indian Even Start programs each have program
numbers distinct from the basic Even Start program.

4. To provide information about the proportion of children under age 5
served, program officials used various data sources, such as discussions
with grantees and state officials, monitoring visit reports, performance
reports, and anecdotal information.

5. GAO-HEHS-95-4FS.

6. Education and Care: Early Childhood Programs and Services for Low-Income
Families ( GAO/HEHS-00-11, Nov. 15, 1999).

7. See, for example, Managing for Results: Using the Results Act to Address
Mission Fragmentation and Program Overlap ( GAO/AIMD-97-146, Aug. 29, 1997)
and GAO/HEHS-95-4FS.

8. Observations on the Department of Education's Fiscal Year 2000
Performance Plan ( GAO/HEHS-99-136R, July 31, 1999) and GAO/T-HEHS-99-93.

9. Early Childhood Programs: Characteristics Affect the Availability of
School Readiness Information ( GAO/HEHS-00-38, Feb. 28, 2000).

10. Eight programs were unable to provide an estimate for the amount spent
on program participants under age 5.

11. See GAO/HEHS-00-11.

12. Target groups are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

13. States set eligibility rules within this federal guideline. In practice,
many states set eligibility at lower levels.

14. Ninety percent of Head Start participants must have family income below
the federal poverty line.

15. Managing for Results: Barriers to Interagency Coordination (
GAO/GGD-00-106, Mar. 29, 2000) and GAO/T-HEHS-99-93.

16. See GAO/T-HEHS-99-93 and GAO/HEHS-99-136R.
*** End of document. ***