DRS Updates

About DRS Updates

Foundations for Families started this blog in 2011 to provide support for those agencies on the Designation Renewal Systems (DRS) list, and to give you up to date information and analysis about DRS.

DRS Updates provides timely information and context for those agencies in DRS, at risk of being in DRS, or those wishing to compete for the service areas.

5 Tips for Successful Submission of DRS Round 10 Applications

The deadline for submission of DRS grant applications, February 2, 2022, is less than three weeks away. At this stage in the process, you are likely putting finishing touches on narrative, gathering appendix items, and planning for submission of your application. It’s the home stretch and carefully navigating the final steps of the application process will help to ensure timely and successful submission of your program’s application.

DRS Round 10 NOFOs Posted and Applications due February 2, 2022

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the tenth round of Designation Renewal System (DRS) grant competitions were announced on Grants.gov on Friday, November 19. Applications are due no later than February 2, 2021. NOFOs are available on Grants.gov by searching for Head Start grant opportunities. If you’re used to seeing “Funding Opportunity Announcement” or “FOA” in grant documents, note that the Office of Head Start has begun using NOFO instead.

DRS Round 10 Forecasted to Open for Competition November 22

The tenth round of Designation Renewal System (DRS) grant opportunities were forecasted on grants.gov in July and were expected to open for competition in September. Grants.gov has been updated to reflect a new timeline. The estimated posting date for Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) is November 22, 2021. Applications are estimated to be due on January 21, 2022.

DRS Grant Competitions Delayed and New Grants Forecasted

The upcoming round of DRS was scheduled to open for competition on September 8, 2021. The forecasts for these grants were released in July and have not been updated since then. If you’re waiting for a DRS Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) to post, new activity on grants.gov may provide some insight.

Create Efficiencies with Internal Grant Writing Expertise

The next round of DRS is right around the corner, with grants competitions forecasted for September 2021. If your program plans to compete for funding through DRS, you may be determining roles and responsibilities for grant writing and submission of your agency’s proposal.

For agencies that don’t have a clear grant writing process, you might need an external grant writer to facilitate the grant writing process from drafting to application submission. Foundations for Families offers this service, comprehensive grant writing.

DRS Updates Archive

Grant writing exceeded our expectations.

We also developed internal capacity through the modeling and coaching provided by Foundations for Families. We have an excellent DRS application. Foundations for Families removed the anxiety from the process, using a strengths-based approach. This helped us focus on the positive components of our program.

Roger Pavey

Executive Director, Community Action of Eastern Iowa

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Two EHS Expansion & EHS-CCP Grants Included in DRS Round 10

Last week, the Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for grants in the upcoming round of DRS were announced. This is the tenth round of DRS, and ten NOFOs were released for grants open for competition. Two of those NOFOs are for Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grants.

5 Strategies for Success in EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 5

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the fifth round of EHS Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants (EHS-Expansion and EHS-CCP) may be released this fall. Since each round of EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP has become increasingly...

EHS-CCP Quarterly Status Update (#4 of 4)

This is the fourth of four 2020 quarterly status updates about the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) initiative. Learn about what to expect for EHS-CCP and EHS Expansion in 2021. Round 4 grant award negotiations...

Is Consolidating EHS-CCP and HS/EHS Grants Right for Your Program?

This time last year, the Office of Head Start (OHS) issued a Program Instruction (PI) announcing an opportunity for grantees to consolidate their Head Start and Early Head Start grants. Now, consolidations may include Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership...

EHS-CCP Quarterly Status Update (#3 of 4)

This is the third of four 2020 quarterly status updates about the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start - Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) initiative. Learn about next steps for EHS-CCP Round 4 applicants and what all grantees should know about changes to...

Application Deadline Extended in Six States

The EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) has been updated to provide extensions to the application deadline in six states: Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oregon. For applicants in these states, the deadline is...

Grants.gov Maintenance Scheduled for This Weekend

Grants.gov is scheduled for maintenance this weekend, leading up to Monday’s deadline for submission of EHS-CCP proposals. The maintenance schedule states that systems will go offline Saturday, September 19 at 12:01am ET and will go back online Monday, September 21 at...

5 Tips and 10 Days Before Proposals are Due

Applications for EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4 funding are due in 10 days, on September 21, 2020. This is anticipated to be the most competitive round of funding yet, and high quality applications will stand out. Here are five tips to keep in mind as you finalize...

Prioritizing Qualified Opportunity Zones in EHS-CCP Round 4

When the EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP Round 4 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was released last month, one of the highlights we noticed is that funding may be prioritized for services in Qualified Opportunity Zones. Here, we provide information about Qualified...

EHS-CCP Round 4 Posted and Applications Due September 21

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the fourth round of Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants was released on Grants.gov. The applications are due no later than September 21st. The FOA can be found here. With a sixty...

How to Plan for a Successful Change in Scope Request

Underenrollment action planning is well on its way for some Head Start/Early Head Start programs, and will be soon for many more. Whether responding to an underenrollment letter that has been received, or one expected soon, submitting a Change in Scope Request to the Office of Head Start (OHS) is one strategy programs might consider to mitigate underenrollent challenges and deal with an ongoing child care workforce staffing crisis.

Underenrollment Action Planning Begins for Many HS/EHS Programs

Underenrollment is a longstanding issue faced by many Head Start/Early Head Start programs. It continues to present a major challenge for programs and is now coupled with an unprecedented child care staffing crisis. 2023 is the first year the Full Enrollment Initiative is being implemented since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an estimated 225 grant recipients just received letters designating their program as chronically underenrolled. 

Funding Highlights from 2023 NHSA Winter Leadership Institute

The 2023 National Head Start Association (NHSA) Winter Leadership Institute took place January 22-25 in Crystal City, Virginia. The conference facilitated many opportunities for collaboration and learning. Updates from the Office of Head Start (OHS) and other federal...

Exploring Inflation and Its Impact on Low-Income Households

In the United States, inflation is at an all-time high. This information probably doesn’t come as a surprise! During the summer of 2022, inflation reached 9.1%, the highest rate in four-decades. In this blog post, we explore inflation, how it affects families, and how programs serving children and families might use this data.

Top 5 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2022

Foundations for Families’ monthly email Round Up provides a recap of the blog posts we published each month, lists opportunities to connect, and provides links to resources and information that are of interest to the early care and education community. It’s a one-stop shop for communication from our Talking Points, DRS Updates, and EHS-CCP blogs.

If you’re curious to know what our readers are most interested in, check out the list below. These are our top five blog posts based on views by Round Up readers.

Making the Case for HS/EHS Enrollment Reduction or Conversion

On November 7, 2022, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued an Information Memorandum, Enrollment Reductions and Conversion of Head Start Slots to Early Head Start Slots (ACF-IM-HS-22-09), that provides guidance to Head Start/Early Head Start programs about how to submit a change in scope and the factors that programs should take into consideration for such a request.

Insights on Process and Content to Help Prepare for FY2023 Focus Area Reviews

As programs settle into the new program year, many are looking ahead to Head Start/Early Head Start monitoring reviews. Reviews are around the corner, as Focus Area Two will begin in October, followed by Focus Area One in November. This is the time of year when the Office of Head Start (OHS) releases updated monitoring protocols and guidance for programs to consider.

Funding Highlights from 2022 NHSA Fall Leadership Institute

The 2022 National Head Start Association (NHSA) Fall Leadership Institute took place September 19-22 in Washington, DC. It was a welcome opportunity to see colleagues in person, as the last couple years it has taken place virtually. One aspect of the conference that was particularly interesting from the funding perspective was Updates from the Office of Head Start. We learned about big picture and program-specific funding opportunities.

Wage and Benefits Studies Support Competitive Compensation Systems

Staff wages and benefits are important factors in a program’s ability to attract and retain a qualified workforce. Research shows that higher staff turnover is associated with lower wages in child care programs, so learning how your program’s compensation compares to others is an important strategy for fostering a stable workforce. And with widespread staffing shortages in the child care industry, compensation is more important than ever.

CLASS and Coaching: Valuable Tools to Support Continuous Program Improvement

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Head Start/Early Head Start programs have taken unprecedented steps to provide compliant, high quality programs for children and families. There have been health and safety mandates, guidelines, and protocols to implement, all while programs navigate the day-to-day with a shrinking workforce.

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