Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Head Start Act Title II: Amendments to the Community Services Block Grant Act Title III: Amendments to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998 - Title I: Amendments to the Head Start Act - Head Start Amendments Act of 1998 - Amends the Head Start Act to reauthorize and revise its programs. (Sec. 102) Revises the statement of purpose to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of low- income children. (Sec. 103) Revises definitions of family literacy services and of full-working-day. Adds definitions of child with a disability and of reliable and replicable research. (Sec. 104) Provides for financial assistance to Head Start programs that enable children to attain school readiness (as well as to attain their full potential). (Sec. 105) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for Head Start program activities. Directs the Secretary of Education to make available certain amounts for such program activities, transition activities, impact studies, other research and evaluation activities, and family literacy services. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for allotment of funds. Allows set-aside funds to be used for: (1) activities related to correcting deficiencies and conducting proceedings to terminate the designation of Head Start agencies; and (2) research and evaluation. Revises funding for Indian and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) continue the administrative arrangement for meeting the needs of migrant and Indian children; and (2) assure that appropriate funds are provided to meet the needs of such children. Revises requirements relating to use of quality improvement funds for: (1) children with disabilities; (2) encouraging staff training; and (3) staff training related to promoting language skills and literacy growth of children and the acquisition of English by children from non-English-speaking backgrounds, fostering school readiness skills, and addressing children's problems, including dysfunction, violence, and substance abuse in their families and communities. Requires that each State initially receive an amount of Head Start funds equal to the amount received in FY 1998. Revises various requirements for collaboration grants. Directs the Secretary to provide supplemental funding to States that engage in other innovative collaborations, including plans for collaborative training and professional development initiatives for child care, early childhood education, and Head Start service managers, providers, and staff. Requires the Secretary to: (1) review barriers to collaboration; and (2) develop initiatives to eliminate such barriers. Increases the amount of funds set-aside for Early Head Start. Authorizes the Secretary to reduce these amounts, if necessary to avoid a reduction in Head Start services or quality, subject to certain conditions. Revises requirements relating to enrollment of children with disabilities. Directs the Secretary to consider specified factors concerning applicants in awarding expansion funds. (Sec. 107) Revises requirements relating to designation of Head Start agencies. Allows designation of for-profit organizations. Revises priority designation requirements and considerations. Directs the Secretary to designate an interim Head Start grantee until a qualified applicant from the community is designated. (Sec. 108) Requires education performance standards to ensure children's school readiness and development of a minimum level of literacy and numeracy awareness and understanding. Requires performance measures to assess the impact of the services provided to children and their families. Revises monitoring provisions to require: (1) review teams to include individuals knowledgeable about the needs of children with disabilities; (2) reviews to include a review and assessment of program effectiveness in accordance with results-based performance measures and performance standards; and (3) seeking out information from the community and the State on the program's performance and its collaboration with other entities in carrying out early childhood education and child care programs in the community. Requires Head Start agencies to: (1) correct any identified deficiencies that threaten health or safety or the integrity of Federal funds within 90 days, if the Secretary determines that 90 days is reasonable; and (2) develop and obtain approval for a quality improvement plan, if required by the Secretary. (Sec. 109) Revises powers and functions of Head Start agencies. (Sec. 110) Requires each Head Start agency to coordinate with the local education agency and schools in which participating Head Start children will enroll. (Sec. 111) Allows State Governors 60 days in which to disapprove any plan to carry out a Head Start program within the State through contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance. Prohibits the Secretary from overruling a Governor's disapproval in cases in which the disapproval is because of failure to comply with State health, safety and child care laws and regulations applicable to comparable programs within the State. (Sec. 112) Eliminates a Head Start Act requirement that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in construction or renovation of Head Start program facilities be paid at least prevailing local wages for such work in accordance with Davis- Bacon Act requirements. (Sec. 113) Revises requirements for participation in Head Start regarding continuing eligibility of children who have participated in the Head Start program and whose families have met the low-income criteria. (Sec. 114) Revises requirements for Early Head Start programs for families with infants and toddlers. Provides for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Limits eligibility to pregnant women and families with children under age three. Directs the Secretary to use a portion of Early Head Start funds for monitoring, training, technical assistance, and evaluation. (Sec. 115) Provides for certain technical assistance and training with respect to collaborative efforts toward full-day, full-year Head Start services, early childhood education, child care, and family literary services. (Sec. 116) Establishes a program of grants and other assistance for family literacy services under the Head Start Act. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants for up to 100 Head Start agencies to initiate provision of family literacy services through collaborative partnerships with entities that provide: (1) adult education services; (2) Even Start programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; or (3) other services deemed necessary for providing family literacy services. Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) training and technical assistance to Head Start agencies that already provide family literacy services; (2) financial assistance to designated mentor Head Start agencies that demonstrate effective implementation of family literacy services, in order to provide training and technical assistance to other agencies; and (3) grants or other assistance to facilitate training and technical assistance to programs for development of collaboration agreements with other service providers. (Sec. 117) Requires each Head Start classroom to have a teacher with demonstrated competency to perform certain functions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure, by the end of FY 2003, that the majority of all Head Start classrooms in a center-based program are assigned one teacher who has an associate, baccalaureate, or an advanced degree in early childhood education or development; and (2) require Head Start agencies to demonstrate continuing progress each year to reach that result. Requires, in the remaining balance of such classrooms, that there be assigned one teacher who has: (1) a child development associate (CDA) credential that is appropriate to the age of the children being served in center-based programs; (2) a State-awarded certificate for preschool teachers that meets or exceeds the requirements for a CDA credential; or (3) a degree in a field related to early childhood education with experience in teaching preschool children and a State-awarded certificate to teach in a preschool program. (Sec. 118) Requires research and evaluation studies and reports on the following: (1) models for integrating family literacy services with Head Start programs; (2) comparisons of children participating in Head Start with eligible children who did not participate; (3) national Head Start impact; and (4) use of quality improvement funds. (Sec. 119) Repeals a consultation requirement. (Sec. 120) Repeals the Head Start Transition Project Act. Title II: Amendments to the Community Services Block Grant Act - Community Services Authorization Act of 1998 - Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act (CSBGA) to reauthorize and revise its programs. (Sec. 202) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for community services block grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reserve specified portions of annual appropriations for payments to territories, training and technical assistance and other activities, and discretionary activities. Revises or adds provisions relating to: (1) program authorization; (2) apportionment of funds to territories; (3) allotment and payment of funds to States; (4) use of funds by States for grants to eligible entities; (5) State applications and plans; (6) designation and redesignation by States of eligible entities in unserved areas of the State; (7) tripartite boards for eligible entities; (8) direct payment of funds by the Secretary to Indian tribes and tribal organizations; (9) the Secretary's carrying out certain functions of the Act through the Office of Community Services, and through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements; (10) the Secretary's use of set-aside funds for training, technical assistance, planning, evaluation, and data collection activities; (11) State monitoring of eligible entities to determine whether such entities meet performance goals, administrative standards, financial management requirements, and other State requirements, and evaluations by the Secretary; (12) corrective action, termination and reduction of funding, in cases where a State determines that an eligible entity materially fails to comply with the terms of an agreement or the State plan, or to meet appropriate standards, goals, and other State requirements, and the Secretary's direct assistance to eligible entities in such cases; (13) fiscal controls, audits, and withholding of Federal funds; (14) Federal and State accountability and reporting on the performance of eligible entities; (15) limitations on the use of funds; (16) participation of faith-based organizations in programs under the Act; and (17) the Secretary's use of set-aside funds for discretionary activities involving community economic development, rural community development, and neighborhood innovation projects. (Sec. 203) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations, under CSBGA, for the Secretary to make grants for: (1) community food and nutrition programs; and (2) national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth. Allows State drug testing of participants in programs, activities and services under CSBGA. Requires eligible entities to make certain paternity determinations. (Sec. 204) Assets for Independence Act - Amends the CSBGA to add a Part B (Assets for Independence), which may be cited as the Assets for Independence Act. Provides for the establishment of individual development account (IDA) demonstration projects designed to determine: (1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic effects of providing to individuals and families with limited means an incentive to accumulate assets by saving a portion of their earned income in an IDA; (2) the extent to which an asset-based policy that promotes saving for education, home ownership, and microenterprise development may be used to enable individuals and families with limited means to increase their economic self-sufficiency; and (3) the extent to which an asset-based policy stabilizes and improves families and the community in which they live. Limits the use of IDA distributions to specified postsecondary educational, first-home purchase, and business capitalization expenses, as well as transfers to IDAs of family members. Allows not-for-profit organizations, State or local government agencies, and tribal governments to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for grants for such demonstration projects. Directs the Secretary to publicly announce funding for such projects and make applications widely available to qualified entities. Sets forth criteria for application approval, including project sufficiency, administrative ability, ability to assist participants, commitment of non-Federal funds, and adequacy of information for evaluation. Directs the Secretary to make annual grants for five project years for such demonstration projects to entities with approved applications. Limits the amount of such a grant to any qualified entity in a single year to the lesser of $1 million or an amount equal to the amount of non-Federal matching funds. Requires each qualified not-for-profit organization receiving a grant to establish a reserve fund for deposit of private and public funds provided for the demonstration project, as well as proceeds from investments. Makes an individual eligible for assistance under a demonstration project if the individual is a member of a household that: (1) is eligible for assistance under part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act; or (2) meets certain income and net worth tests. Allows IDAs, to which qualified individuals may contribute, to be matched from grant funds by the qualified entity conducting the demonstration project, according to a certain formula, in an amount up to $2,000 per individual ($4,000 per household). Provides for local control over such demonstration projects. Directs the Secretary to terminate a demonstration project upon determination of noncompliance with requirements and failure to implement corrective recommendations. Prohibits considering funds in the IDA of a demonstration project participant as income for purposes of any Federal or federally- assisted program based on need. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Amendments to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 - Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to reauthorize and revise its programs. (Sec. 302) Extends through FY 2001 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) low-income home energy assistance programs (LIHEAP) in general; and (2) the incentive program for leveraging non- Federal resources. (Sec. 304) Provides for release of LIHEAP funds in response to emergencies, including a natural disaster, any other event meeting criteria the Secretary determines appropriate, or a significant increase in: (1) home energy supply shortages or disruptions; (2) the cost of home energy; (3) home energy disconnections; (4) participation in a public benefit program such as the food stamp program; or (5) a significant increase in unemployment or layoffs. (Sec. 305) Removes the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from LIHEAP. Repeals authority for the optional transfer of funds to block grants for community services programs, preventive health services, and other specified services. (Sec. 306) Specifies that residential weatherization or other energy-related home repair for low-income households is particularly for those with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy. (Sec. 307) Prohibits certain transfers out of LIHEAP. (Sec. 308) Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate and report to the Congress on the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge program.