Children in migrant agricultural worker families often face significant developmental and educational obstacles, including poverty, limited English proficiency, rural and social isolation, and health risks associated with intermittent medical care and pesticide exposure. For migrant children, these obstacles are compounded by mobility as families move from site to site in search of work. In recognition of the needs of these children, the United States Congress created the U.S. Department of Education’s Migrant Education Program (MEP) in 1965 and the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Migrant Head Start (MHS) program in 1969. For more than 30 years, these programs have served millions of migrant children. In 1998, about 660,000 children received services from MEP and MHS. Yet very little is known about program outcomes. In this context, we examine (1) the goals of the MEP and MHS programs, how they operate, who they serve, and what services they provide; (2) the extent to which Education and HHS facilitate the coordination of MEP and MHS services within each of their programs and between the two programs; and (3) how well Education and HHS determine whether MEP and MHS achieve their goals and objectives. To answer these questions, we reviewed the statutes, regulations, and other relevant documents, including the departments’ strategic and performance plans as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (the Results Act). We also interviewed program officials at the federal level and in eight states – California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. We selected these states because (1) large numbers of migrant families live in them or travel to them for work, (2) they have both MEP and MHS programs, (3) they offer a wide range of agricultural jobs, and (4) they are located in different U.S. agricultural regions. During our site visits, we observed local programs in each of the eight states. We conducted our work from October 1998 through September 1999 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. CONTENTS Letter Appendix I: Migrant Education Services Provided Frequently at Eight Sites Appendix II: Migrant Education Data on Students in Eight States Appendix III: Migrant Head Start Data on Nine Sites in Eight States Appendix IV: Four Types of Education Information Exchange Appendix V: Migrant Education Information Sources and Studies Appendix VI: Head Start Information Sources and Studies Appendix VII: Comments From the Department of Education Appendix VIII: Comments From the Department of Health and Human Services