Title page

Contents

Highlights 2

Letter 6

Background 10

National Interim Head Start Program Manager 11

Programs under Interim Management 12

Funding for Interim Management 13

OHS Oversight of the Interim Manager 14

OHS Monitoring Has Not Been Adequate to Assess the Quality of Head Start Services during Interim Management 16

OHS Has Not Conducted Required Monitoring of all Head Start Programs under Interim Management to Ensure Service Quality 16

OHS Has Not Assessed Classroom Quality in Programs Under Interim Management 22

OHS Has Not Adequately Assessed Compliance with Child Safety Incident Reporting and Facility Safety Standards at Programs under Interim Management 24

OHS Has Not Taken Adequate Steps to Verify the Completeness of Child Safety Incident Reporting in Programs under Interim Management 24

OHS Has Not Taken Adequate Steps to Assess Whether Facility Hazards are Identified and Addressed during Interim Management 27

OHS Has Not Monitored Fiscal Management of Head Start Programs under Interim Management, Leaving the Programs Vulnerable to Waste 30

OHS Did Not Monitor Staff Support Practices in Programs under Interim Management, Leaving it Unaware of Concerns about Poor Work Environments 32

OHS Has Not Enforced Head Start Enrollment Standards for Programs under Interim Management 35

Conclusions 41

Recommendations for Executive Action 41

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 42

Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services 45

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 53

Figure 1. Head Start Seats in Programs under Interim Management, 2017-2018 through 2022-2023 School Years 13

Figure 2. Funding Provided for Interim Management (2017-2022) 14

Figure 3. Photos of Mold in a Head Start Facility after Interim Management 29

Figure 4. Percentage of Funded Head Start Seats Filled in Interim Management and Other Programs, 2017-2018 through 2022-2023 School Years 36

Figure 5. Head Start Grant Fund Expenditures Compared to Enrollment Levels for Programs under Interim Management, 2017-2018 to 2021-2022 School Years 38

Figure 6. Enrollment in 15 Selected Head Start Programs Before and During Interim Management 40