Head Start & Early Head Start

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc

Department & Agency:

Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Office of Head Start

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/

Administering Agency:

Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Office of Head Start

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/

Agency Contact:

Nina McFadden
Regional Program Manager for the American Indian/Alaska Native Program Branch
Administration for Native Americans
370 L'Enfant Promenade SW
Washington, D.C. 20447-0002
202-205-8569
nina.mcfadden@acf.hhs.gov

Stimulus Funding:

Head Start: $10 million for Tribal Set-Aside in FY 2009; if half of funding distributed, another $10 million in FY 2010. Possible Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of up to $9 million (based upon existing statutory formula).

Early Head Start: Tribal eligibility for competitive grants

Eligibility and Type:

Head Start & Early Head Start Eligibility: Current Operating Head Start & Early Head Start Programs

Head Start Type: Tribal set-aside

Early Head Start Type: Competitive

Program Description:

“The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop the early reading and math skills they need to be successful in school. In FY 1995, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to three years of age in recognition of the mounting evidence that the earliest years matter a great deal to children's growth and development.” - from the HHS website.

Funding Guidance and Timelines:

Early Head Start funding will be used as expansion dollars. It is anticipated that 10% of these funds will be used for technical assistance and monitoring.

General Provisions:

To review legislative language concerning time periods for funds to available, allocation of overall Head Start and Early Head Start funds, and additional requirements see: Title VIII, Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children and Family Services Programs.

Analysis:

While no Tribal set-aside is given for the Early Head Start program, the conference report did call upon the Secretary of HHS to give consideration to the circumstances of Tribal programs in awarding the grants and emphasized the need for waivers for matching funds.

Funding Notices:

The Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for both the Head Start and Early Head Start grants have been drafted and are in review process at ACF and HHS. It is anticipated that announcements will be out within the next three weeks.

Technical Assistance:

National Indian Head Start
http://www.nihsda.org/