This fall, there has been a lot of activity related to DRS on grants.gov. Currently, there are grant competitions that are about to close, newly opened competitions, and other grants that are forecasted but have not yet posted. Below is a breakdown of what we know about the status of DRS competitions. We also highlight a few new resources made available by the Office of Head Start (OHS).
Status of DRS Grant Competitions as of December 4, 2023
Grant Competitions Closing Soon: The current round of DRS includes 30 Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) that were released on October 12. December 14 is the deadline for almost all applications.
The exception to this deadline is Head Start/Early Head Start – Communities in the State of New York (HHS-2024-ACF-OHS-CH-R2-0114). The deadline for applications under this NOFO is now January 29, 2024. The shift in deadline comes after OHS published a revised NOFO on November 27, 2023 and December 1, 2023.
Newly Opened Grant Competitions: This week, one NOFO posted to grants.gov. It is for Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants – Brooklyn, Kings County, and the Bronx, New York. The deadline for this grant competition is January 26, 2024.
Forecasted Grants: One Head Start/Early Head Start NOFO and two Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) NOFOs remain forecasted, but not yet posted. These are for communities in the state of California (Head Start/Early Head Start); Hillsborough County, Florida (EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP); and Dickson, Houston, Humphreys, and Stewart Counties, Tennessee (EHS Expansion and EHS-CCP). All three NOFOs were expected to post this fall, and no updates have been made to the forecasts since July 2023.
Information for programs waiting for a DRS forecast or NOFO
If your program expected to be in DRS this fall but is not in the open or forecasted competitions, you are not alone. We have heard from a number of programs in this situation. If this is the case for your program, we suggest you reach out to the Regional Office for more information. It’s unclear from the activity on grants.gov if more NOFOs will be released this fall or if they will come at a later date.
We also recommend checking grants.gov regularly for DRS activity. One of the easiest ways to find Head Start grants is to go to the Search Grants page of grants.gov. Search by CFDA number 93.600 to view Head Start opportunities. You can also filter by forecasted, posted, closed, and archived. If your program anticipates competing in DRS soon, you might consider downloading one of the currently posted NOFOs. You can use the NOFO as a tool to familiarize yourself with the application requirements and prepare.
New information from OHS – profiles, inventories, and FAQs
In the NOFO Locator, where open competitions are listed by state, there are new resources available to applicants – grantee profiles, grantee inventories, and FAQs.
For each service area open for competition, there is a profile of the current grantee, which offers information on the location of facilities, facility lease/ownership status, program option, funded enrollment, and transportation vehicles. An inventory file also provides lists of program items (e.g., supplies, equipment). Some NOFOs now also have an accompanying FAQ document.
The detailed information in profiles and inventories hasn’t been made available by OHS for this purpose in the past. These new resources might be helpful to applicants that are interested to learn about currently offered services or available facilities, for example. Whether competing to keep a grant or competing for a new service area, it is important to remember that the most competitive applications are built on a strong demonstration of need that is tied to community data. While a glimpse into current program offerings might be useful, it is by no means a blueprint for what should be offered. DRS presents an opportunity for a refresh in program design to meet children and families’ needs.
Foundations for Families offers a variety of Consulting Services to support programs in DRS. If your program has the capacity to write its own grant application but needs help with the timeline, template, and process, consider Foundations for Families’ DRS Toolkit. Explore a Quality Assurance Review to help ensure your program is submitting the most competitive application. Please be in touch to learn more. We would be glad to talk with you about your program’s needs.
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