HHS News Release

Today, President Clinton signed into law bipartisan legislation that strengthens and expands Head Start services for America's families, promotes promising Individual Development Accounts to help more low-income families achieve self-sufficiency, and renews the Low- Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Passed by Congress at the President's urging, the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998 provides critical support for America's families.

STRENGTHENS HEAD START.

This legislation builds on the President's commitment to improve and expand Head Start. Under the President's leadership, Head Start has become America's premier early childhood development program, ensuring that low-income children start school ready to learn.

INCREASES INVESTMENTS IN HEAD START.

The new legislation builds on the President's commitment to getting Head Start services to more children while also improving quality. Under the Clinton Administration, funding for Head Start increased by 68 percent, and enrollment has increased by over 200,000 children, reaching 830,000 children this past fiscal year. Because the President fought for and won a funding increase of $313 million for FY 1999, Head Start will continue to expand, moving toward the goal of serving one million children.

DOUBLES THE EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM.

This legislation adopts the President's proposal to double the percentage of Head Start funds directed to Early Head Start by 2002. In 1994, President Clinton created Early Head Start, expanding the program to reach low-income families with children aged three and under and to pregnant women. In FY 1999, funding for Early Head Start will total nearly $340 million.
ENSURES QUALITY IN HEAD START. The new legislation builds on the President's commitment to enhance the quality of Head Start; it promotes school readiness and family literacy, improves staff training and credentialing, and increases the funds set aside for quality improvements. The Clinton Administration has invested in improving Head Start services, attracting and retaining high quality teachers, and ensuring the safety of Head Start centers. In 1996, the Department of Health and Human Services set new Head Start performance standards, and has since monitored Head Start programs against these standards, provided staff training and technical assistance, and closed 100 programs unable to meet them.

ESTABLISHES INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS TO PROMOTE SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

Since 1992, President Clinton has supported the creation of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) to empower individuals to save for a first home, post-secondary education, or to start a new business. The passage of this legislation effectively completes the President's 1992 community empowerment agenda. The legislation creates a five-year, $125 million demonstration program to establish IDAs for more than 50,000 people. Each dollar saved by a low-income family in an IDA would be matched, providing an incentive to build assets. The final budget agreement included $10 million to get this program off the ground.

LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) KEEPS THE HEAT ON AND CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITIES.

After threats from some in Congress to eliminate this critical support for the elderly and low-income families, President Clinton successfully fought to fund the program that provides heating and cooling assistance to over five million households across the nation. The bill signed today also extends the Community Service Block Grant programs, providing states and organizations support on economic development, social services and other needs for low-income communities.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Contact: ACF Office of Public Affairs (202) 401-9215