PRINTER'S NO. 1522
No. 1196 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY CONTI, LEMMOND, HELFRICK, ERICKSON, ORIE AND
MOWERY, NOVEMBER 13, 2001
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, NOVEMBER 13, 2001
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Head Start Professional Development Assistance
2 Program; providing for the powers and duties of the
3 Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Education;
4 and making an appropriation.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Head Start
9 Professional Development Assistance Program Act.
10 Section 2. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
15 Commonwealth.
16 "Head Start." A program funded under the Federal Head Start
17 Act established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981
18 (Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 357) and carried out by a Head Start
1 agency or delegate agency that provides ongoing comprehensive
2 child development services.
3 "Program." The Head Start Professional Development
4 Assistance Program established by this act.
5 Section 3. Head Start Professional Development Assistance
6 Program.
7 (a) Establishment.--The Head Start Professional Development
8 Assistance Program is hereby established. The program shall be
9 administered by the department.
10 (b) Grants.--The program shall provide grants to center-
11 based Head Start programs that attempt to train or hire
12 professional staff to meet the goals set forth in section 648-A
13 of the Federal Head Start Act established by the Omnibus Budget
14 Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 357) and
15 that file an application with the department for the grants.
16 (c) Amount of grants.--The amount of each grant awarded
17 under the program shall be equal to the amount of moneys
18 appropriated to the department for the program in a fiscal year
19 divided by the number of center-based Head Start programs that
20 the department deems eligible for the grants.
21 (d) Determination of eligibility.--The department shall
22 determine, from applications filed by center-based Head Start
23 programs, which programs demonstrate the best efforts to hire
24 Head Start professional staff who have an associate,
25 baccalaureate or advanced degree in:
26 (1) early childhood education; or
27 (2) a field related to early childhood education with
28 successful experience in teaching preschool children.
29 Section 4. Interdepartmental cooperation.
30 The Department of Education shall cooperate with the
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1 Department of Public Welfare in administering the program.
2 Section 5. Appropriation.
3 The sum of $2,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the
4 Department of Public Welfare for the purpose of awarding grants
5 under the Head Start Professional Development Assistance Program
6 established by this act for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
7 2001.
8 Section 6. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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