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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		President's Announcement on HeadStart, White House, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		January 26, 1999

As all of us know - or eventually find out - there is an arc to life. When the history of the second half of this century is written, 1965 will stand out as the year sacred promises were made to loved ones at both ends of that arc.

For seniors, we promised freedom from the fear of growing old without medical care. We called that promise: Medicare. And for the youngest among us, pre-schoolers living in or near poverty, we made an equally important promise: Head Start.

A head start on education. A head start on opportunity. A head start along the arc of life.

The fact is, for over thirty years Head Start has taken children in danger of being left out of the race and walked them right up to the starting line where they belong. And we want to be able to do that for another 30 years and more. That's why President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and members of both parties made the expansion and improvement of Head Start a top priority.

Since 1992, we have more than doubled the size of the Head Start budget. But this Administration didn't just wanted Head Start to be bigger. We wanted it to be better. Much better. So in 1993, we formed a special bi-partisan advisory board to make recommendations for updating Head Start. Less than a year later, President Clinton signed legislation reauthorizing and strengthening Head Start.

That legislation led to more user-friendly performance standards, promoted better collaboration with community organizations, and created Early Head Start for children up to age three. Last year we were back working on a bipartisan basis - reauthorizing Head Start again, and making sure it's ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

But this Administration's commitment to Head Start isn't just about money - it's about quality. Because when you focus on quality Head Start works. Let me repeat that. When you focus on quality Head Start works. And we have the research to prove it.

Early on, we formed an Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion. That led to our investing over half a billion dollars in quality improvements for Head Start programs across the country, while at the same time sending out the message to all Head Start grantees: Most of you are doing great, but if you fail we'll have to close you down.

A major survey by our Department adds to the growing body of evidence that these investments are paying off. We now know that Head Start children do better than non-Head Start children on a wide range of developmental outcomes - including health, vocabulary, cognition and pre-writing skills. The survey also indicates that overall quality is good. No classrooms in the survey rated poor.

But this job isn't finished. We're going to continue to monitor quality. We going to continue to demand high standards for both facilities and teachers - curriculum and programs. And when the programs don't meet our standards, we will close them. This is the first administration with the guts to close or replace Head Start centers that don't meet our high standards - approximately 100 in six years.

One last comment: We're making Head Start a critical link in helping families move from welfare to work. Head Start funds are now being used to build partnerships with child care providers to deliver full- day and full-year Head Start services. That way we can make sure that no family ever has to choose between going to work and sending their child to a safe, clean and well supervised Head Start program.

This is Head Start by the numbers.

But there's another way of telling the Head Start story, and that's through the stories of families who have benefited from this three-decade commitment to our children's future. People - heroes really - like Lisa Paugh and her four-year-old son Brandon who is in his first year of Head Start.

Lisa, who also has a two-year daughter Stephanie, has moved from welfare to work. She's a busy receptionist for a Montgomery County technology company. She is also a very hard working Mom who has teamed up with Head Start to make sure young Brandon has the bright future he deserves.

This is what Head Start is really about. Better lives for Lisa Paugh and her family.

Lisa. . .