Head Start

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the public and private organizations operating local Head Start programs and the kinds of facilities the programs used, focusing on the number of programs that were operated by or used facilities controlled by religious organizations.

GAO found that: (1) in the 1987-1988 school year, there were 1,835 grantees and delegated agencies that operated an estimated 10,842 local Head Start centers; (2) religious organizations operated about 454 centers; (3) 187 of the religious organizations used facilities in churches, synagogues, or other religious organizations, while the remainder used government agency space, private space, public schools, or such other facilities as community centers; (4) 29 percent of all Head Start centers used public schools, 24 percent used government buildings, and 21 percent used religious facilities; and (5) community action agencies, and private, nonprofit organizations sponsored 82 percent of the centers using churches, synagogues, or other religious organizations, while religiously affiliated organizations sponsored only 8 percent.