Our Work
Meeting Your Needs
Foundations for Families has been serving clients at the local, regional, state, and national levels for more than 20 years. Take a closer look at how we’ve helped our clients with the challenges they are facing. Do any of these situations feel familiar? Our custom approach to meeting your challenges will help you to provide high-quality, fiscally responsible, coordinated services to children and families.
Foundations for Families has a 100% success rate in writing DRS applications in every round of competition. We have a similar track record in EHS-CCP, initial HS/EHS funding, and expansion proposals. Our grant writing services include each aspect of the proposal process: strategic approach, writing and revisions, and uploading to grants.gov.
Our consulting, training and technical assistance services for Head Start, Early Head Start and Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships programs are high-quality and cost effective. Organizational development services includes Practice Based Coaching for early childhood educators that meet new HSPPS requirements and result in benefits to the children that the agency serves.
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT WITH AN EQUITY LENS
Client Profile: Head Start and Early Head Start Delegate agency, serving children and families in high need areas of Southern Florida for more than 30 years. Current program serves nearly 500 dual language learners, with over 90% below the federal poverty level.
Challenge: Present a Community Assessment that demonstrates the strengths, needs, and resources of the community and also details how access to child care can address equity within the community.
Foundations for Families Community Assessment Approach:
- Develop a week by week timeline to support a collaborative writing process.
- Focus Community Assessment on the targeted population served by the delegate.
- Create and implement surveys to collect parent, staff, and community insights.
- Collect and synthesize data that: (1) demonstrates the needs of the community, (2) shares the resources currently available, and (3) aligns the process and final report with the community assessment requirements in the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
- Collaborate with the client throughout the data collection and assessment writing process to ensure their community is accurately represented.
Result:
- Completed Community Assessment that will inform the Demonstration of Need on any new proposals.
- Leveraged assessment recommendations into ongoing operations.
- Accurate, up-to-date representation of the community served and the resources available.
- Input from parents and staff to inform potential areas of service expansion.
BUILDING CAPACITY THROUGH GRANT WRITING COACHING
Client Profile: Head Start grantee agency helping underserved children in Northeast and Central Florida. Agency provides Early Head Start services to more than 800 pregnant women, infants, and children in home-based and center-based settings. Head Start services reach nearly 1,300 3- and 4-year olds in center-based settings.
Challenge: The agency wanted to submit a proposal but didn’t have reliable internal grant writing tools and processes. They sought out an external quality assurance mechanism to strengthen the application.
Foundations for Families Comprehensive Grant Coaching Approach:
Over the previous three years, FFF had helped build the client’s internal capacity related to DRS re-competition. Prior comprehensive grant writing and strategic consulting services laid a stable foundation for a successful coaching relationship.
- A day-by-day work schedule to support the eight-week grant writing process.
- Tools and templates, including questionnaires and criteria checklists per FOA area.
- A call with key leadership and staff to confirm program design and approach.
- Weekly responses to questions via phone or email.
- Detailed review of the initial draft of each proposal section, with comments provided in three days.
- Three-day turnaround for detailed review of narrative draft and budget – first draft and final draft.
- Final phone call to address any outstanding issues of the proposal.
Result:
- Building on the existing relationship, FFF supported the client’s capabilities with technical assistance to develop a winning proposal.
- Agency successfully completed a competitive, responsive applicatoin in excess of $16M and uploaded it prior to the due date. The award is pending.
- Client positioned its grant writing team to perform at a higher level when subsequent opportunities arise.
We have contracted out this work in the past to other agencies and it ended up feeling like more work on our end to gather the information they needed and to review/edit their work. That was not the case here!
They helped us develop a much more comprehensive, accurate, and meaningful community assessment then we’ve ever had in the past. The data was able to help inform our grant writing process to more accurately reflect the needs of our community and gave us a compelling argument for receiving more slots.
They were extremely organized and were able to outline a detailed timeline from the beginning and were able to keep us on track. They did a great job gathering community data on their own when we were not sure where to find it. They did a great job facilitating the group calls to gather information from us and to make sure they truly understand our current program. They were a pleasure to work with!
COMPETING FOR FUNDING THROUGH DRS – AND WINNING
Client Profile: A Midwestern grantee agency providing Head Start and Early Head Start services to more than 750 pregnant women, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families. The agency learned that it would be required to reapply and compete for its current federal funds through Head Start DRS.
Challenge: Using the current approach and program design, apply for funding in order to continue to serve Head Start and Early Head Start children and families.
Foundations for Families Comprehensive Grant Writing Approach:
- A day-by-day work schedule to support the grant writing process.
- Tools and templates, including questionnaires and criteria checklists per FOA area.
- Regular calls throughout the grant writing period to inform progress and confirm next steps.
- Extensive Q & A with client to develop a draft narrative.
- Intensive budget review.
- Client review and feedback on initial and final drafts of the proposal.
- Upload all required files 3-5 days prior to application due date.
Result:
- Agency was successful in DRS bid and received $7.5M in funding to continue operations.
COACHING A HEAD START GRANTEE TO SUCCESS
Client Profile: Head Start grantee agency in Region 1 providing Head Start services to more than 600 preschoolers and their families. Children are served in an urban, center-based program option.
Challenge: Grantee requires external support to complete a successful DRS application in under five weeks.
Foundations for Families Grant Coaching Approach:
- A day-by-day work schedule to support the grant writing process.
- Tools and templates, including questionnaires and criteria checklists per FOA area.
- A call with key leadership and staff to confirm program design and approach.
- Weekly responses to client questions via phone or email.
- Three-day turnaround for detailed review of narrative draft and budget – first draft and final draft.
- Final phone call to address any outstanding issues of the proposal.
Result:
- Agency was successful in DRS bid and received $7M in funding to continue operations.
Foundations for Families expertly guided us through a successful first-time application for a Head Start/Early Head Start grant. Amy Augenblick set up a framework/timeline for the tasks that needed to be completed and served as an resource and conduit to resources whenever we struggled. We could not have done this without her.
We were able to submit what we feel is a competitive application that addresses a real need in our community despite being a first time applicant with no prior head start experience.
GETTING READY FOR AMS AND CLASS
Client Profile: Head Start and Early Head Start provider serving approximately 400 children and families in New England. Head Start services reach 3- and 4-year olds in center-based settings and women, infants and toddlers in center- and home-based settings.
Challenge: Need to assess and confirm the agency’s readiness for reviews in Focus Area 2 and CLASS.
Foundations for Families Onsite Assessment Approach:
- Prior to onsite visit, hold a preparatory conference call with key leaders.
- Review requested documents, reports and data prior to visit to ensure onsite efficiency.
- Provide orientation for Focus Area 2 to staff prior to assessments.
- Once onsite, assess client’s readiness for review, using a custom tool based on the AMS 2.0 Focus Area 2
- Conduct CLASS observations and score a sample set of classrooms.
- Conclude visit with initial impressions and next steps, and client feedback.
- Provide post-visit reports for client review, with a follow up call to review and discuss.
Result:
- Summary assessment report on readiness for monitoring on Focus Area 2 and CLASS, based on observation scores, including successes and challenges, priority areas for action before the review, and recommendations.
- Custom assessment tool provides a results dashboard to focus attention on areas that need support, alongside a snapshot of areas that indicate being ready for the review.
- Additional targeted technical assistance, as needed.
- Referral to high-quality and appropriate resources, as needed.
MEETING CLASS REQUIREMENTS WITH PRACTICE-BASED COACHING
Client Profile: Head Start and Early Head Start provider serving more than 400 children and families in the Washington DC metropolitan area through a combination of home-based and center-based services.
Challenge: The agency needs a tiered approach to prepare teachers for CLASS observations that will meet Head Start and Early Head Start regulations.
Foundations for Families Practice-Based Coaching Model:
Our approach to coaching is grounded in the research-based Practice-Based Coaching model developed under the Administration for Children and Families Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance Center. It is also informed by best practices related to adult learning and our belief in the importance of collaboration, communication and transparency.
- Gather and analyze data: CLASS, ITERS/ECERS, NAEYC, or other classroom observations
- Segment teachers into training tiers: based on prior data, goals, and training and professional development plans
- Create custom plans for each tier: Intensive, Moderate, and Refresher
- Set goals and create an action plan for each tier
- Implement focused and individualized activities to meet the Teacher’s needs and support achievement of the goals identified.
Individual Coaching Results:
- Coaching Session Feedback and Reflection Form for each coaching session.
- Individual Teacher Coaching Cycle Summary Report for each Teacher on her caseload.
- Additional coaching as needed.
- The client had an excellent review with no findings.
Group Coaching Options: When multiple staff share similar needs or goals are set, group coaching sessions may be appropriate, including sharing resources; problem-solving and sharing successful practices; joint lesson planning; role play, demonstrations, and modeling.
Peer Coaching Options: When a Teacher has a strength that can be leveraged for the benefit of other teachers, that teacher also has the opportunity to cement her knowledge and understanding by coaching others. Peers model their skills other teachers, providing an opportunity to build capacity within the organization.