On September 10, 2018 the Office of Head Start (OHS) announced funds available for Head Start and Early Head Start programs to increase their program hours. Funding is voluntary, meaning programs aren’t required to apply. It is, however, only available to Head Start or Early Head Start grantees – not grants funded under Early Head Start Expansion and Child Care Partnership appropriations. This is an opportunity to seek new funding that will allow programs to provide additional hours of high-quality services to enrolled children.
There are a few points to keep in mind if your program is considering applying for Supplemental Funds. Supplemental Funds cannot be used to extend program hours beyond 1,020 hours for Head Start center-based slots. It also cannot be used to extend program hours beyond 1,380 hours for family child care and EHS center-based slots. If your program is meeting this minimum then funding will not be awarded to further increase hours. Also keep in mind that increasing enrollment is not an allowable use of funds (see the Program Instruction (PI) for additional eligibility factors).
Now that we’ve covered what’s not allowable, here’s what you need to know if you intend to apply –
If your program is planning to apply for Supplemental Funds, applications are due by December 1, 2018 and funding will be effective March 1, 2019. Proposals are limited to 20 pages. The funding announcement requires that proposals be based on the grantee’s most recent community assessment among other factors. If your community assessment is due for an update then we recommend prioritizing this data gathering to take place as soon as possible. Read all of the detail about proposal requirements in the PI.
Applying for Supplemental Funds is voluntary, but funding may be prioritized based on conditions – with Condition 1 being top priority. For convenience, we’ve listed the Conditions of Eligibility below, as stated in the PI.
Condition 1: EHS programs operating less than 100 percent of family child care and/or center-based slots at 1,380 hours. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 100 percent of their Early Head Start center-based or family child care slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
Condition 2: Head Start programs operating less than 100 percent of family child care slots at 1,380 hours. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 100 percent of their Head Start family child care slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
Condition 3: MSHS programs serving predominantly infants and toddlers and operating less than 45 percent center-based slots at 1,380 hours. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 45 percent of their infant and toddler center-based slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
Condition 4: Head Start programs operating double session variations with less than 45 percent of total center-based slots at 1,020 hours, and proposing to convert part-day, double session variations to single sessions. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their percentage of Head Start center-based slots that operate for 1,020 hours up to 45 percent or, for very small programs, one classroom (which may exceed 45 percent in total).
Condition 5: Head Start programs operating less than 45 percent of center-based slots at 1,020 hours. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their percentage of Head Start center-based slots that operate for 1,020 hours up to 45 percent or, for very small programs, one classroom (which may exceed 45 percent in total).
Condition 6: EHS programs operating a locally-designed option (LDO) with a combination model of classroom hours and home visits. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their hours of service.
Condition 7: Head Start programs operating an LDO with a combination model of classroom hours and home visits. Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their hours of service.
Regardless of which Condition of Eligibility applies to your program, you’ll need to justify your approach and consider staffing, site selection, and the number of children impacted by an increase in program hours. This is no small task, but one that could pay off with an increase in services for children and families!
Please be in touch if your program needs assistance developing an application for Supplemental Funds. Foundations for Families offers an array of report and grant writing services customized to meet a program’s needs.
Thank you.