The Office of Head  Start collected some data on the language spoken by Head Start  participants, which showed that about 13 percent of parents of the  approximately 900,000 children enrolled in Head Start in 2003 reported  speaking English “not well” or “not at all.”

		Children of Parents with Limited English Proficiency Were Less Likely to Receive Financial Assistance for Child Care or to Participate in Head Start

National survey data from ECLS-K showed that in 1998, kindergarten  children of parents with limited English proficiency who were in  nonparental child care in the previous year were less likely than other  children in child care to receive financial assistance from a social service  or welfare agency for that care, after controlling for selected individual  and family characteristics. They also  encountered difficulties communicating with English-speaking child care  providers. Some of the challenges to program access that these parents  faced were the same challenges that many low-income families face,  including difficulty finding care at nontraditional hours, lack of  transportation, and the limited availability of subsidized child care slots. Selected Agencies Took Some Steps to Assist Parents with Limited English Proficiency but Reported Challenges in Serving Them

The majority of state and local agencies and providers that we visited took  some steps to assist parents with limited English proficiency in accessing  child care and early education programs for their children. Some state and local  officials indicated that additional information on cost-effective strategies  used by others to serve this population would facilitate their efforts to  provide access. The majority of agencies that we visited provided written language  assistance, such as translated subsidy application forms. Officials  told us they faced challenges providing oral language assistance because  of the difficulties that agencies had hiring qualified bilingual staff. HHS Provided Assistance to Grantees on Serving Children of Parents with Limited English Proficiency, but Gaps Remain in Its Program Review Efforts

HHS issued general guidance, translated materials, and provided technical  assistance to grantees on serving children of parents with limited English  proficiency, but gaps remain in its program review efforts. The Office of Head Start monitors grantees’ efforts to provide access for  individuals with limited English proficiency by reviewing their biennial  community assessments and conducting formal on-site monitoring  reviews. While it has made efforts to assist states with serving the needs of children  whose parents have limited English proficiency, CCB has no mechanism  for reviewing how agencies provide access to CCDF subsidies for eligible  children of parents with limited English proficiency or ensuring that these  children are not inadvertently excluded as a result of state CCDF eligibility  criteria that are inconsistent with agency guidance. Analysis of National Program Participation Data and State Data Inquiries

To obtain information on the participation of children whose parents have  limited English proficiency in child care and early education programs  funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head  Start, we obtained and reviewed the most recent program participation  data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),  surveyed states about their data on CCDF subsidy recipients, and analyzed  national survey data available through the Early Childhood Longitudinal  Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Eight of the 12 focus groups were conducted in Spanish and 4 in  Vietnamese.
Why GAO Did This Study

Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials.

What GAO Found

HHS's Child Care Bureau (CCB) did not have information on the total enrollment in CCDF programs of children whose parents had limited English proficiency, but data collected by its Office of Head Start in 2003 showed that about 13 percent of parents whose children were in Head Start reported having limited English proficiency. The most recent (1998) national survey data showed that children of parents with limited English proficiency were less likely than other children to receive financial assistance for child care from a social service or welfare agency or to be in Head Start, after controlling for selected characteristics. Eighty-eight percent of these children were Hispanic, and their results differed from Asian children. Analysis of data from focus groups and site visit interviews held by GAO revealed that mothers with limited English proficiency faced multiple challenges, including lack of awareness of available assistance, language barriers during the application process, and difficulty communicating with English-speaking providers. Some of the challenges that low-income parents with limited English proficiency experienced, such as lack of transportation and shortage of subsidized child care slots, were common to other low-income families. The majority of state and local agencies that we visited offered some oral and written language assistance, such as bilingual staff or translated applications. Agencies in the majority of locations visited also made efforts to increase the supply of providers who could communicate with parents. Officials reported challenges in serving parents with limited English proficiency, such as difficulty hiring qualified bilingual staff. Some officials indicated that additional information on cost-effective strategies to serve this population would facilitate their efforts. HHS issued guidance, translated materials, and provided technical assistance to grantees to help them serve children of parents with limited English proficiency. The Office of Head Start reviewed programs' assessments of their communities' needs and conducted formal monitoring reviews, but could not ensure that review teams consistently assessed grantees' performance on the standards related to language access. CCB reviewed states' plans on the use of CCDF funds generally and investigated specific complaints, but had no mechanism for reviewing how and whether states provide access to CCDF subsidies for eligible children of parents with limited English proficiency.