INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: All Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Program Announcement--Availability of Funds under the Early Start Program for Fiscal Years 1997-1998

INFORMATION: Attached for your information is the Early Head Start Program Announcement for fiscal years (FY) 1997-1998 as published in the Federal Register on April 17, 1997.

The Notice is an announcement of financial assistance to be competitively awarded to public and non-profit private entities--including Head Start grantees, Parent and Child Centers and Comprehensive Child Development Programs -- to provide child and family development services for low-income children under age three, their families and pregnant women. Early Head Start programs provide early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services on a year-round basis to low-income families with children under age three and pregnant women. The purpose of the program is to enhance children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; to support parents' efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and to help parents move toward self sufficiency. Beginning in FY 1995, 68 Early Head Start grants were awarded and, in FY 1996, an additional 75 grants were awarded.

The goals for Early Head Start are to:

• promote the physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth of infants and toddlers and prepare them for future growth and development;
• support parents -- mothers, fathers, and guardians -- in their role as the primary caregivers and educators of their children, and in meeting family goals and achieving self sufficiency across a wide variety of domains;
• strengthen community supports for families with young children; and
• develop highly-trained, caring and adequately compensated program staff, because the quality of staff and their relationships with children and parents are critical to achieving all the other goals.

FUNDS AVAILABLE:

We estimate that a total of approximately $25,800,000 in ACYF funds will be available for funding new Early Head Start programs in FY 1997. If the Administration's FY 1998 budget requests are appropriated, a total of approximately $89,000,000 in funds will be available for new Early Head Start grant awards in FY 1998. We are planning to fund all or a part of the FY 1998 cohort of grants from among the applications received pursuant to this Announcement.

PROJECT PERIOD, PROJECT SIZE:

Applicants are encouraged to apply for projects that will, in most cases, serve between 32 and 120 infants, toddlers and pregnant women. There are no pre-determined cost per child amounts for which applicants must apply.

Each applicant is encouraged to request an amount of funds that would allow it to carry out an effective, high quality program that is cost effective and meets the needs of its community. Awards will be for a one-year budget period, although project periods will be for five years.

GRANT COMPETITIONS:

The funds available for Early Head Start grants in FYs 1997-1998 will be awarded in two categories:

Category One - New Awards to Unserved Areas

Grants will be competitively awarded to eligible applicants to operate Early Head Start programs in geographic areas not currently served by Head Start Parent and Child Centers (PCC) and existing Early Head Start (EHS) programs. See Appendix D of the Announcement for a list of the geographic areas not open to competition under Category One. Applicants in Category one will compete on a national basis with all other organizations that apply to serve currently unserved areas.

Category Two - New Awards to Communities Served by PCCs

Grants will be competitively awarded to operate Early Head Start programs in geographic areas currently served by existing Head Start Parent and Child Centers (PCCs). See Appendix E of the Announcement for a list of the geographic areas. In awarding grants in this category, ACYF is interested in assuring that communities currently served by PCCs will have an opportunity to continue receiving services to low-income families with infants and toddlers through Early Head Start programs after the authority for funding the PCCs expires in FY 1997. Applicants in each geographic area will compete for funds against other applicants wishing to serve the same geographic area. There are 58 such competitive areas (see Appendix E of the Announcement.).

CLOSING DATE:

The closing date and time for receipt of applications is 4:30 p.m. on June 16, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

For questions related to the Program Announcement please contact the ACYF Operations Center, Technical Assistance Team at 1-800-351-2293.

We hope you will give careful consideration to this opportunity to bring the benefits of Early Head Start to more low-income children, their families and pregnant women and in more communities in the country.

/S/
Helen H. Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Head Start Bureau