Regional offices

The Head Start Act is amended by striking section 639 (42 U.S.C. 9834) and inserting the following: 639. Regional offices for the Head Start program (a) In general The Secretary shall maintain at least 10 regional offices and 2 program offices of the Office of Head Start and ensure that the officers and employees of those offices effectively and efficiently serve Head Start programs (including, for purposes of this section, Early Head Start programs) by— (1) scaling up effective technical assistance and training activities aligned with section 648; (2) supporting such programs at the local level and enabling the programs to comply with requirements, by establishing meaningful program performance standards under section 641A(a) and carrying out monitoring activities under section 641A(c), including standards and monitoring for child health and safety; and (3) improving the quality of programs and services that best meet the needs of children and families in local communities, including addressing staff recruitment and retention challenges. (b) Regions and programs The Secretary shall— (1) develop proposals for the regions served by regional offices of the Office of Head Start based on factors that include considerations concerning the number of Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) and eligible children and families covered by a region, capacity of a regional office to coordinate services critical to administration of Head Start programs, and capacity of a regional office to meet any cultural and linguistic expertise needs for a region; (2) seek public comment on the proposals prior to any geographic designations of regions for the regional offices; and (3) designate at least 1 program office for Native American Head Start programs and 1 program office for migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. (c) Adequate staffing The head of each such regional or program office shall ensure that all Head Start programs served by the region or program shall have adequate staffing to meet the requirements of subsection (a)..