We care about the same things you do – excellent services for very young children and families.
Foundations For Families Insights
Our experienced consulting team brings expertise, academic credentials, up-to-date research and regulatory knowledge to three different blogs.
How to Build Organizational Capacity for Grant Writing
With the ninth round of DRS grant competitions expected this fall, many programs are beginning to think about how they will complete their grant proposal. Some programs have a team or staff member who develops proposals; other programs might contract with a grant...
2019 National CLASS Scores Released and What it Means for DRS
Each year, the release of the National Overview of Grantee CLASS Scores provides national statistics by CLASS domain and dimension of the grantees that received CLASS reviews during the past program year. The National Overview for 2019 was recently made available. As...
Gearing Up for DRS Start-Up
This is the time of year that programs who competed for DRS grants in the fall typically begin to receive notification of an award or are contacted by the Office of Head Start (OHS) to begin negotiations. The eighth round of DRS was one of the largest rounds of DRS to date and soon many of the awardees will enter the start up period.
DRS Quarterly Status Update (#1 of 4)
At the end of each quarter in 2020 we will post quarterly updates about the status of the many moving pieces of DRS. This is the first of four quarterly status updates for the year. We’ll address topics such as upcoming grant competitions, monitoring, program...
Grant Writing Solutions to Support Your DRS Proposal
This month, we made many improvements to the Foundations for Families website. Now, you can more easily learn about the resources and services we offer. If your program plans to compete for funding in the upcoming round of DRS, we encourage you to check out our Grant...
Waiting for a DRS Award? Tips for How to Use the Time!
If your program submitted an application in DRS Round 8, with most applications due in November 2019, then you might be anxiously anticipating your notice of award. Typically, it is a few months until programs enter negotiations with the Office of Head Start (OHS)....
What to Expect for DRS in 2020
As we head into the new year there are Head Start/Early Head Start programs in all stages of DRS. Your program might have just submitted a DRS grant proposal, be working on a proposal for an active DRS competition, or awaiting your program’s opportunity to compete....
New DRS Competitions Open as Others Close
This week, hundreds of DRS grant competitions are coming to a close. Proposals for most of the DRS Round 8 grant competitions were due on November 12 and others are due later this month and in early December. Congratulations to all who successfully submitted an...
Looking Beyond DRS Submission to Support Program Improvement
The application deadline for most programs in this round of DRS is just three weeks away. This is a good time to check in on proposal development and what needs to happen between now and submission. Your program might also be identifying ways it can continue to...
11 HS/EHS Grants Forecasted and Some are DRS
On October 10, 2019, Head Start/Early Head Start grant forecasts were added to grants.gov. Eleven grants are forecasted, and some appear to be DRS. Other forecasts are for CDI replacement grants. In other words, they are grants currently being implemented by Community...
EHS Expansion & EHS-CCP Round 4 Grant Competitions Forecasted
On Monday, May 19, 2020 the upcoming Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grant competitions were forecasted on grants.gov. Links to the forecasts for the three Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and detailed...
Make Start-up a Priority During Proposal Development
Last month, in Top 5 Tips for Success in EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4, we highlighted the importance of planning for start-up during your grant application process. In this blog post, we describe key factors to keep in mind if your program plans to request...
Top 5 Tips for Success in EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4
The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the fourth round of EHS Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants is expected this summer. Check out our top five tips for success in Round 4! 1. Get your data ready. EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4...
EHS-CCP Quarterly Status Update (#1 of 4)
Throughout 2020 we will post quarterly status updates about the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start - Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) initiative. This is the first of four quarterly status updates. We’ll address topics such as pending grant awards, new...
EHS-CCP Round 4 FOA Expected in Summer 2020
The countdown is on for EHS Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) Round 4. The fourth round of EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP grants is expected to open for competition in summer 2020.
Grant Services to Support Competitive EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Proposals
With the fourth round of Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grants competitions coming soon, now is a good time to plan your application strategy. Foundations for Families offers customized grant services, and our team...
Could EHS-CCP Round 4 Be Around the Corner? Get Your Data Ready!
If the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grant cycle holds true, EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4 could come soon. This time last year, EHS-CCP Round 3 was open for competition. We’re in a similar situation where the...
EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Grant Forecasted for Los Angeles County
On June 7, a forecast was added to grants.gov for Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grants in Los Angeles County, California. To view the forecast, go to the Search Page of grants.gov and search opportunity number...
Report Provides Insights and Strategies for Round 3 EHS-CCP Grantees
This spring, Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) and EHS Expansion round 3 grantees are well on their way in the start up period. With the third round of EHS-CCP and EHS Expansion grants, there is a mix of grantees that are awardees from round 1 or...
EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 3 Moves into Start Up
Congratulations to programs that were awarded Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grants in the third round of competition. While we haven’t seen an announcement from the Office of Head Start about who was awarded funds,...
Making Data Work For You: Data as a Driver of Program Success
Data collection and management systems are an everyday aspect of Head Start/Early Head Start programs. The type of data that is collected by programs, and when and how it is used, varies from one program to the next. There are a few key strategies that can be followed...
Review Your ERSEA Systems to Ensure Success!
By Patti Greenstein, Consultant and Trainer This year, the Office of Head Start (OHS) revised the FY2020 Focus Area 2 (FA2) Monitoring Protocol to include an increased focus on the area of ERSEA (eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance). As OHS...
How to Support Meaningful Practice-Based Coaching in Family Child Care Programs
In this blog post, we look at some of the strengths and challenges of implementing practice-based coaching with family child care programs, and we share examples of how the uniqueness of the family child care setting supports quality improvement.
Five Ways to Refocus Energy During Program Closures
Our thoughts are with early care and education programs during this challenging time that our country faces. We deeply appreciate the vital role that early care and education programs serve in communities and have heard from many of you about the stress and anxiety...
Funding Highlights from NHSA Winter Leadership Institute
The National Head Start Association (NHSA) Winter Leadership Institute was held last month in Washington, DC. Foundations for Families team members attended this conference. It was wonderful to see so many of you there! We heard important funding updates from federal...
This Year in Talking Points
Happy New Year! 2019 was a busy year for early care and education programs. From state to local levels, departments and agencies competed for new funding and worked hard to improve program quality and provide services to meet the needs of young children and families....
Disaster Recovery Funds Available to Head Start/Early Head Start Programs
Earlier this week, the Office of Head Start (OHS) released a Program Instruction (PI) - Disaster Recovery Funding for 2018 and 2019 Disasters ACF-PI-HS-19-01- that describes funding available to Head Start/Early Head Start programs that have been impacted by...
Improve Program Quality With a Thoughtful Approach to Practice-Based Coaching
By Julie Weatherington, Consultant and Trainer Practice-based coaching is a professional development strategy for guiding early learning providers’ use of evidence-based best practice to improve teaching methods and promote positive child outcomes. It is a powerful...
Data-Driven Decision Making Supports Quality Improvement
By Julie Shuell, Senior Consultant, Foundations for Families Data-driven decision making relies on having access to information and using it to think about current programming, funding strategies, partnerships, and staffing. The upcoming 2020 Census will provide new...
The Keys to Inclusion: How to Unlock the Door for Young Children with Special Needs
By Amanda Schwartz, Consultant, Foundations for Families The children in your program come with a wide variety of strengths, challenges, and needs which you and your staff work hard to support. Sometimes those needs qualify them for special education or health...
