Deadline: 2-Feb-22
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start will solicit applications from public or private non-profit organizations, including community-based and faith-based organizations, or for-profit organizations that wish to compete for funds to provide Head Start and/or Early Head Start services to eligible children and families.
The goal of this NOFO is to ensure the distribution of resources to meet the demonstrated community needs of children from birth to compulsory school age, ensuring continuity of services and taking into account the availability of high-quality and comprehensive early childhood education opportunities (which may include public pre-kindergarten programs for 4- year-olds). Applicants proposing to serve pregnant women are expected to serve the newborn through the EHS program.
ACF intends to fund applications that demonstrate an organization’s commitment and capacity to operate a Head Start and/or Early Head Start (EHS) program that raises the quality of early care and education in the community and helps children start school ready to succeed. School readiness requires that children are cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared to continue to make progress as they enter kindergarten.
Head Start and EHS programs must provide, directly or through referral, early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services that will enhance the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of participating children in the key domains of physical development and health; social and emotional development; approaches to learning, language, and literacy; cognition; and general knowledge.
Programs support parent engagement in their roles as their children’s teachers and advocates, and help parents move toward self-sufficiency. Head Start promotes school readiness by addressing the key domains of language, literacy, mathematics, science, and social and emotional development.
Head Start and EHS programs emphasize family engagement because of the critical role that parents play in supporting their children’s healthy development and school success. Effective programs engage parents in their children’s development and learning. Programs also emphasize the significant involvement of parents in the administration of local Head Start and EHS programs. These leadership opportunities are designed to strengthen skills that parents can apply to improving their family’s economic well-being and to becoming more effective advocates for their children.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Funding: $2,871,953
- Award Ceiling: $2,871,953 Per Budget Period
- Award Floor: $1,000,000 Per Budget Period
- Anticipated Project Start Date: 07/01/2022
- Length of Project Periods: 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods
Eligibility Criteria
- Head Start serves children when they are at least 3 years old by the date used to determine eligibility for public school in the community where the Head Start program is located. EHS programs enroll pregnant women and infants and toddlers from birth to age 3. Families must either have incomes below the poverty line or be eligible for public assistance in order to be income eligible for Head Start or EHS programs.
- Entities applying for Head Start only – OR – both Head Start and EHS: Eligible applicants are limited to local public or private non-profit agencies, including community-based and faith-based organizations, or local for-profit agencies, pursuant to section 641(a)(1) of the Head Start Act.
- Entities applying for Early Head Start only: Eligible applicants are any public or private non-profit agencies, including community-based and faith-based organizations, or for-profit agencies pursuant to section 645A(d) of the Head Start Act.
- Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336594