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.
DRS Quarterly Status Update (#4 of 4)
In this fourth of four 2020 quarterly status updates, we reflect on the current status of DRS and look ahead to what may be on the horizon for DRS in 2021. DRS Round 9 applications due January 5. The ninth round of DRS competitions opened in late October, and applications are due January 5. This is the first time we’ve seen DRS competitions extend through the holiday season. And, some grantees that expected to compete were impacted by changes to DRS competition criteria and did not have to...
Strategies for Managing DRS through the Holidays
During a year that has been anything but typical, this is the first time the DRS application process has spanned the holiday season. The time between the release of Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and the application due date is longer than usual – nearly 10 weeks as opposed to 8 weeks – but with the holidays, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s more time for application preparation. Here are four strategies to help you navigate DRS through the holidays and to support successful...
DRS Round 9 FOAs Posted and Applications due January 5, 2021
The Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) for the ninth round of Designation Renewal System (DRS) grant competitions were announced on Grants.gov. Applications are due no later than January 5, 2021. FOAs are available on the Office of Head Start (OHS) Funding Opportunities website. DRS FOAs were released by state (in past rounds, there was a FOA for each service area that was up for competition). For example, state FOAs include the language, “communities in the state of…” In the Appendix of...
DRS Rule Change in Effect as Grant Competitions Approach
Over the summer, a Final Rule was published that describes substantial changes to DRS. We’ve now reached the effective period for the rule change. The Final Rule published in the Federal Register clearly states “the Final Rule is effective on October 27, 2020.” According to the Final Rule, the revised DRS conditions are in effect as of today. Yet, in the OHS Program Instruction (PI) released on August 27, 2020, the final rule effective date was communicated as November 9, 2020. If you have...
DRS Quarterly Status Update (#3 of 4)
This is the third of four 2020 quarterly status updates about DRS. Learn about changes to DRS, new resources, and what to expect for the upcoming round of DRS grant competitions. Changes to DRS were published in Final Rule. Last month, shortly after releasing the 2020 National CLASS Scores, OHS announced substantial changes to DRS. These changes impacted the competition status of some grantees. Many grantees that expected to compete in the upcoming round of DRS are no longer required to do so....
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.
Get more insights from our Blogs
Follow up-to-date research and regulatory knowledge with analysis on other topics – from our experienced consulting team.
