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Citations, References, and Attributions

Review requirements for citing the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), attributing content, and using and including bibliographies, endnotes, and reference lists in Head Start content.

Code of Federal Regulations (the Performance Standards)

Use these basic reference formats for the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), including the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Examples below show how to cite and link the Performance Standards parts, subparts, sections, and subsections.

Note that the Performance Standards cannot be published or duplicated outside of the formal book. 

Part: Title of Part, number CFR §xxx

Subpart: Title of Subpart, number CFR §xxx Subpart X

Section: Name of section, number CFR §xxx — use double §§ without section names when more than one standard is referenced in a row

Subsection: Name of section, number CFR §xxx(x) — use section name, even if referring to a specific subsection

To avoid repetition —

  • Use a simplified citation in parentheses and when key words from the section name already appear in the surrounding sentence; in this case, Enrolled pregnant women, 45 CFR §1302.80.
    • Head Start programs provide all enrolled pregnant women high-quality prenatal and postnatal education and help them access comprehensive prenatal services through referrals to other community programs (45 CFR §1302.80).
  • Link to standard on first use only, when referenced multiple times.

Bibliographies, Endnotes, and Reference Lists

Generally, bibliographies, citations, and reference lists are not included on an HTML webpage but may be included in a PDF version of the resource, if needed. Review guidance and exceptions below.

The Office of Head Start uses the Chicago Manual of Style as its guide to format citations.

HTML Webpages

Books

Bibliographies and citations are allowed in book layouts as endnotes. The Arabic numerals, superscript and without parenthesis, are hyperlinked to a separate chapter at the end of the book where the entries are sorted numerically. With this format, instead of repeating an entry, the citation number can be reused in the content as needed and out of sequential order.

See examples of References chapters in books:

Article Pages

Because formal citations are not allowed, consider hyperlinking a title or keyword so users can refer to the source.

PDF Documents

Consult the Chicago Manual of Style's "notes and bibliography" entry for the correct bibliography and footnote styles. 

Bibliographies

Leave a blank line between the items within a grouping. Alphabetize your list.

Journal articles often list many authors. If there are four or more authors, list up to 10 in the bibliography. For more than 10 authors, list the first seven in the bibliography, followed by et al.

For...Use This Format
Book, one author

Last name, first name. Title of Book in Italics. Location of publisher: Name of publisher, year.

Example:
Smith, Zadie. Swing Time. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.

Book, multiple authors

Last name, first name; first name last name, and first name last name. Title in Italics. Location of publisher: Name of publisher, year.

Example:
Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.

Journal article, one author

Last name, first name. "Title of Article in Quotes." Name of Journal volume #, issue no. (month year): pages.

Example:
Satterfield, Susan. “Livy and the Pax Deum.” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April 2016): 165–76.

Journal article, multiple authors

Last name, first name, first name last name, and first name last name. "Title of Article in Quotes." Name of Journal volume #, issue no. (month year): pages.

Example:
Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 1–34.

Publication issued by an organization, government agency, or corporation and no author is given.
 

Name of organization(s). Title in italics. Location of publisher, date.

Example:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start.  The Head Start Leaders Guide to Positive Child Outcomes. Washington, DC, September 2003.

Publication issued by an organization, government agency, or corporation with authors named.
 

Last name, first name, first name last name, and first name last name. Title of Report. Location of publisher: Name of agency, year.

Example:
Harding, J.F., E. Moiduddin, L. Malone, J. Cannon, L. Tarullo, and N. Aikens. A Spotlight on Professional Development in Head Start: FACES Spring 2017. OPRE Report 2019-75. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019.

Foot- and Endnotes

To cite a source in the text, place a a superscript number after a paraphrase or quote.

  • Citation numbers should appear in sequential order.
  • The first time a source is cited, include all relevant source information. Subsequent use of the source uses a shortened version of the citation, including the author’s last name, a shortened version of the title (if longer than four words), and page numbers.
  • If consecutively citing the same source two or more times, use the word “Ibid.”

Example:

1Oralie McAfee, Deborah J. Leong, and Elena Bodrova, Basics of Assessment: A Primer for Early Childhood Educators (Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2004), 40–41.

2McAfee, Leong, and Bodrova, Basics of Assessment, 40–41.

3Ibid.

Attribution

If the content is developed under a government contract, and HeadStart.gov is the first publisher of the content, then:

  • Include the name of the organization in the content.
  • Do not include author names in the content or in the citation.
  • Do not include the name of the organization in the citation.

For newly developed content, you may include a statement, at the bottom, with the contract number and the name of the organization. This information may be included in PDF resources (not required) but not on HTML pages.

Example: This document was prepared under Grant #90HC0001 for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, by the National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness.

Stevens Amendment Language

Agency Action Required to Ensure Grantees Identify Federal Contribution Amounts

Resource Content

Include the language below on the following content types:

  • HeadStart.gov postings (as a footer on at least one page of a PDF; videos as final screen)
  • For the iPD courses, it would be the final screen for the course
  • For apps, it would be in the “about” section

English

This [resource] is supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $x,xxx with xx% funded by ACF. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACF/HHS or the U.S. Government.

Spanish

Este [recurso] cuenta con el apoyo de la Administración para Niños y Familias (ACF, sigla en inglés) del  Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS, sigla en inglés) Estados Unidos (EE. UU.) como parte de una adjudicación de asistencia financiera por un total de $x,xxx con el xx % financiada por la ACF. El/Los contenido(s) pertenece(n) al/los autor(es) y no representa(n) necesariamente las opiniones oficiales ni implica un respaldo de la ACF/el HHS ni del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos.

Training Content

Include the language below on webinars and trainings — either the last slide or footer, depending on what is most appropriate:

English

This [training] is supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $x,xxx with xxx% funded by ACF. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACF/HHS or the U.S. Government.

Spanish

Esta [capacitación] cuenta con el apoyo de la Administración para Niños y Familias (ACF, sigla en inglés) del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS, sigla en inglés) de Estados Unidos (EE. UU.) como parte de una adjudicación de asistencia financiera por un total de $x,xxx con el xx % financiada por la ACF. El/Los contenido(s) pertenece(n) al/los autor(es) y no representa(n) necesariamente las opiniones oficiales ni implica un respaldo de la ACF/el HHS ni del Gobierno de los EE. UU.

Read more:

,  Web Standards