Figure 1 illustrates the federal agencies responsible for federal early childhood funding. The Results Act Helps the Congress and Agencies Oversee Programs and Address Crosscutting Issues

The Results Act is intended to improve the management of federal programs by shifting the focus of decision-making and accountability from the number of grants and inspection made to the results of federal programs. It must include the following six key elements: a comprehensive mission statement covering the major functions and operations of the agency, a description of general goals and objectives for the major functions and operations of the agency, a discussion of how these goals and objectives will be achieved and the resources that will be needed, a description of the relationship between performance goals in the annual performance plan and general goals and objectives in the strategic plan, a discussion of key factors external to the agency that could affect significantly the achievement of the general goals and objectives, and a description of program evaluations used to develop the plan and a schedule for future evaluations. The act’s emphasis on results implies that federal programs contributing to the same or similar outcomes are expected to be closely coordinated, consolidated, or streamlined, as appropriate, to ensure that goals are consistent and that program efforts are mutually reinforcing. Two Agencies’ Plans Address Early Childhood Programs but Lack Important Detail on Coordination

Education and HHS’s ACF—the two agencies that are responsible for the majority of early childhood program funds—addressed early childhood programs in their strategic and 1999 performance plans. Although agencies state that some coordination occurs, they have not yet fully described how they will coordinate their efforts. At the same time, the department still needs to better define its objectives and performance measures for crosscutting issues. Progress in coordinating crosscutting programs is still in its infancy, although agencies are recognizing its importance. The Results Act: Observations on the Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 1999 Annual Performance Plan (GAO/HEHS-98-172R, June 8, 1998). Managing for Results: Using the Results Act to Address Mission Fragmentation and Program Overlap (GAO/AIMD-97-146, Aug. 29, 1997).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed how Congress can use the Government Performance and Results Act to facilitate agency performance plans to oversee early childhood programs, focusing on: (1) how the Results Act can assist in management and congressional oversight, especially in areas where there are multiple programs; (2) how the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services (HHS)--which together administer more than half of the federal early childhood program funds--addressed early childhood programs in their strategic and fiscal year 1999 and 2000 performance plans and the extent to which recent plans show progress in coordinating early childhood programs.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) Congress can use the Results Act to improve its oversight of crosscutting issues because the act requires agencies to develop strategic and annual performance plans that clearly specify goals, objectives, and measures for their programs; (2) the Office of Management and Budget has issued guidance saying that for crosscutting issues, agencies should describe efforts to coordinate federal programs contributing to the same or similar outcomes so that goals are consistent and program efforts are mutually reinforcing; (3) when GAO looked at the Education and HHS plans, it found that the plans are not living up to their potential as expected from the Results Act; (4) more specifically, while the fiscal year 1999 and 2000 plans to some extent addressed coordination, the departments have not yet described in detail how they will coordinate or consolidate their efforts; and (5) therefore, the potential for addressing fragmentation and duplication has not been realized, and GAO cannot assess whether the agencies are effectively working together on crosscutting issues.