Head Start

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section, the application must identify the specific geographic location(s) to be served and provide data-based evidence about why that geographic area is in high need of Head Start services, such as the number of eligible children, the extent to which children from low-income families are not meeting school readiness goals, the number of families in extreme poverty, jobless rates, high incidents of community health problems or violence, or other similar factors. If necessary, applications can include other methods to collect data on the need for services such as informal surveys, community meetings, questionnaires, and interviews.

The application must describe proposed program options. This includes how many children will be served; the types of Head Start services they will provide; as well as the number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits that meet the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. Applications that propose the home-based option must include the proposed number of home visits and socializations. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the proposed program options respond to the needs of the community in relation to available or unavailable services in the community. The application should describe how the Head Start program will partner with other programs or services in the community to meet the needs of low-income families to be served.

Head Start is designed to increase the number of low-income children receiving high-quality, comprehensive early education services that help facilitate healthy development, including physical and social/emotional development, and prepare them for school success. To meet this goal, it is critical that Head Start funds awarded through this Funding Opportunity Announcement do not supplant existing services. Thus, an entity receiving a Head Start grant must: 1) expand the number of children it is serving relative to the number it would serve in the absence of the grant, and/or 2) improve the services provided to children it would serve in the absence of the grant. In this section, applicants should describe how the number of children served and the type of services received would be affected if the applicant is awarded a grant to implement the proposed set of services.

Criteria

• Identifies the geographic location the applicant proposes to serve. The application defines the area(s) of greatest need and shows how it will direct Head Start resources to these areas.
• Provides evidence of presence in the community proposed to be served. (For example, being a provider of services in the community, or indicating support from community agencies, service provider organizations, community agencies serving low-income families, or other relevant sectors.)
• Demonstrates community engagement. The applicant discusses its plans or the process for involvement of service providers, public or private entities, and other members of the community in determining the need for services in the geographic locations proposed by the applicant. The applicant must include evidence of plans to collaborate with public or private entities providing early childhood education and development programs, and services for young children in the proposed service area in order to improve the efficiency of service delivery, increase access to needed services, and prevent duplication. Demonstration of community engagement may include memoranda of understanding that provide commitments of exchange of services, resource support, referrals, or other agreements.
• Provides a detailed description of the plan to meet the need for child development services for Head Start eligible children and families (including the estimated number of eligible children by geographic location, and the estimated number of children needing full-day and full-year care), the needs of children with disabilities including procedures to identify such children; the needs of dual language learners; as well as the needs of homeless children and children in foster care and their transportation needs. Includes data regarding the education, health, nutrition, social, child care, and other service needs of the proposed children and families.
• Justifies the program option or options as most appropriate for the communities in which the applicant proposes to provide services (e.g., part or full-day center-based, home-based, family child care or combination option, including the number of children to be served by each option). The application specifies how the proposed number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits meets the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. Applicants proposing the home-based option include the proposed number of home visits and socializations. The applicant's proposed program option(s) support(s) the needs of children and families as described in response to the evaluation criteria listed above. If the identified need in the community includes working families, the applicant describes how its proposed program option will meet this need either through direct services and/or referrals to other services in the community.
• Describes how children and families will be recruited and selected for the program to ensure that services will be provided to those who have the most serious need for Head Start services. The applicant describes how the program will ensure that not less than 10 percent of the total number of children actually enrolled will be children with disabilities.
• Describes a plan to increase the number of low-income children the applicant proposes to serve, and/or how it will improve quality for children currently served. The applicant includes the number of children it currently serves in early education and other related programs, how many it would serve in the absence of this grant, and how many it would serve if awarded this grant.

Maximum Points: 40
Overview

Head Start is designed to help 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 is governed by Program Performance Standards that define the scope of services necessary to support children's development and school readiness. The application must demonstrate the capabilities to implement and sustain a plan for providing comprehensive, high-quality educational, health, mental health, nutritional, oral health, and other social services to children and their families that prepare children to succeed in school. To this end, the applicants must describe how they will implement program components, including the curriculum (HS Act 642(f)(3)) that will be used, why that curriculum (HS Act 642(f)(3)) was chosen above other curricula or approaches and the evidence basis that the curriculum effectively improves school readiness. The application also must include information about how the applicant will meet the health, nutrition, and family engagement goals of children, including how effectiveness and quality will be measured, monitored, and improved upon over time. The applicant must show how it will use child assessment data to inform and improve program practices overall and how these data will be used to tailor instruction and other supports to the needs of individual children; how they will provide ongoing professional development, including regular observation and feedback; how they will engage parents in their roles as teachers and advocates for their children; and how they will partner with local education agencies to create continuity for children across systems.

The application must also describe how the applicant will meet the unique needs of special populations reflective of the ages and groups proposed to be served, including children with disabilities, dual language learners, children and pregnant women experiencing homelessness(HS Act 640(m)), working families(HS Act 642(e)(5)(A)(ii)(VII)), and children in foster care.

The application will be evaluated based on the degree to which the proposed program will meet the developmental and school readiness needs of children in the community, including the special populations described above. The applicant should provide information about why it made various programmatic choices, including, where applicable, how its choices reflect the best practices in the field as well as the unique needs of the community it will serve.

If applicable, the application provides information about proposed delegate agencies, how those delegate agencies were chosen, and how the grantee's oversight will ensure the delegate agencies implement high-quality programs that adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan to implement a high-quality, comprehensive program for the population the applicant proposes to serve, using a curriculum that:
• Is based on scientifically valid research;
• Is developmentally appropriate;
• Promotes the school readiness of participating children in each of the following domains: language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development;
• Is aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and, as appropriate, State early learning standards; and
• The application specifies the name of the curriculum or curricula, the process for selecting the curriculum, why the curriculum was chosen over specific other options, and how the curriculum is tied to outcomes for children. The applicant discusses what tools it will use to support domains that the selected curriculum does not support.
• The application describes the process for establishing school readiness goals including the plans to address the domains of:
• Language and literacy development,
• Cognition and general knowledge,
• Approaches toward learning,
• Physical well being and motor development, and
• Social and emotional development.

School readiness goals reflect the ages of children, three to five, who will be participating in the program and must be culturally and linguistically appropriate and align with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, State early learning guidelines, and the requirements and expectations of schools the children will attend after Head Start. The application explains the extent to which school readiness goals were or will be established in consultation with the parents of children who will be participating in the program.

• The application describes how the applicant will meet the needs of children with disabilities, including procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist the children in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the unique needs of the targeted population, including children in the child welfare system,dual language learners, and homeless children. The application describes the procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist these children in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the health, mental health, nutritional, and oral health needs of children. The application describes the system for health screening and services that will ensure that children are accurately referred for necessary follow-up evaluation and treatment within timeframes specified by Head Start regulations. Screening and services for identified needs should include, at a minimum, health, sensory, developmental and oral health, and may be provided directly or through community partner providers.
• The application describes a plan for implementing a system of regular observation of professional development, teacher-child interaction, feedback, and improvement of classroom practices. The application includes the name of instruments to be utilized.
• The application describes a plan to use child assessment data to individualize the instruction and learning for each child and as necessary refer for additional evaluation and intervention, and to aggregate and analyze child-level assessment data at least three times per year (except for programs operating less than 90 days, which will be required to do so at least twice within their operating program period) and use that analysis in combination with other program data to determine grantees' progress toward meeting its goals, to inform parents and the community of results, and to direct continuous improvement related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design, and other program decisions.
• The application describes a plan to coordinate with public and private entities that are willing to commit resources to assist the applicant in providing high-quality child health and developmental services and program management services. Such partnerships must include a plan to coordinate the proposed Head Start program with other child care and preschool programs, State pre-Kindergarten programs, programs under Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, with the educational programs that children to be served will enter upon leaving Head Start.
• The application provides a plan to facilitate the meaningful engagement of parents (including fathers, grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) in activities (at home and, if practicable, at the location of the Head Start program) designed to help them become full partners in the education of their children. Such engagement includes participation in the conduct of the program, leadership opportunities, support for the parent-child relationship, opportunities for employment and other paths to improved financial well being and continuity as children move to kindergarten and beyond. The application identifies and addresses barriers to parent participation, such as lack of transportation access, or need for child care.
• The application explains the plan to implement the Head Start Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework and to offer family literacy and parenting skills training using evidence-based curricula and approaches directly or through referral to local entities, public and school libraries, and entities carrying out family support programs. The application includes a plan to offer (either directly or through referrals) other support for families struggling with mental health challenges, domestic violence, homelessness, or substance abuse, including information on the effect of drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

This section identifies the qualifications and experience of the applicant. The applicant provides evidence of organizational experience (including the experience of key leaders in the organization) that supports its ability to implement a comprehensive child development program. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application demonstrates a high-functioning program with a competent management team and effective systems with demonstrated capacity to use data to inform continuous improvement in such areas as professional development, instructional practices, and family engagement.

The application must provide detailed information about how their past experience in early education (or related fields) and in communities similar to the targeted community, will enable them to operate a successful Head Start program. The application should provide evidence of the quality of the early education programs or related programs they have operated in the past. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application provides evidence of the quality of services to be provided based on licensing, accreditation, ratings, or independent evaluations of programs, outcome data for children, or other information provided.

The application provides information about the past experience of organizations with which it proposes to delegate all or part of their services to children and families.  Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee’s last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this funding opportunity announcement.

The application must explain the ways (if any) in which their past experience - or the past experience of any delegate agencies - differs from operating a Head Start program, generally and as compared to the program the applicant is proposing to implement. The applicant must discuss how it will address these differences and succeed in providing effective, high-quality comprehensive Head Start services.

Criteria

• Demonstrates how the applicant's history and experience, based on past performance providing high-quality early education or other related programs, supports its ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of the size, complexity and scope of their proposed program. Reviewers will evaluate evidence of experience including:
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) rating,
• Record of high performance in the early primary grades by children formally enrolled in the program,
• Evidence from use of teacher-child interaction rating system,
• Evidence of successful staff development system leading to highly qualified staff, and
• Evidence of high level of success improving family self-sufficiency.

Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee's last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

• Demonstrates how the professional experience of the applicant's proposed management team (executive director, program director, managers), based on past performance providing comprehensive, high-quality early care and education, documents an ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of this size, complexity and scope within the service area.
• The application explains how the applicant's past performance and experience will inform its administration of the Head Start program it will operate and will help ensure a high-quality Head Start program. To the degree that the applicant is currently operating a program that differs from the Head Start program being proposed - such as differences in the target population, the set of services provided, the structure of the program (the hours, days, or weeks of operation), the mechanisms for quality assurance and improvement, the early learning standards to be used, and the performance measurement system - the applicant identifies these differences and explains how it will successfully adapt to the differences between its current program and the proposed program.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section the application must describe the qualifications and experience of the applicant staff in planning, organizing, and providing comprehensive child development services at the community level. The application must address: (1) how the applicant will facilitate strong educator-child relationships that support children's development; (2) how it will ensure that staff are able to implement evidence-based instructional practices that are individualized based on the ongoing assessment of each child to support positive child outcomes; and (3) how it will ensure that family service workers will be able to successfully partner with families in supporting children's development. The application also must describe how the applicant will attract and retain qualified staff; how it will support staff, through the regular provision of feedback, coaching, and other mechanisms; and how it will assess staff performance and address under-performing staff.

The application also must describe the management staff's knowledge of Head Start's broad requirements and how it will ensure that all program staff understand how those standards are applicable to them.

Criteria

• Documents that the proposed program director and proposed key staff are qualified and knowledgeable about administering complex social service programs or early education services. The applicant describes its key staff's major functions and responsibilities in the narrative, and includes their resumes in the appendix.
• Provides a clear plan to attract and retain qualified staff with the ability to implement a research-based curriculum, aligned with the Head Start Child Describes what share of classroom teachers are expected to have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a related field. Demonstrates how all employees in center-based programs meet the requirements of the Head Start Act for staff qualifications set in section 648A:
• For classroom teachers - associate degree(ii) an associate degree in a related field and coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, with experience teaching preschool-age children; or (iii) a baccalaureate degree and has been admitted into the Teach For America program, passed a rigorous early childhood content exam, such as the Praxis II, participated in a Teach For America summer training institute that includes teaching preschool children, and is receiving ongoing professional development and support from Teach For America's professional staff.
• For assistant teachers - by September 30, 2013, have at least a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential; be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree; or be enrolled in a CDA credential program to be completed within 2 years.

• The application describes the plan to maintain child-to-teacher, home visitor, or family child care provider ratios, and family service worker caseloads that comply with regulations, reflect best practices and are tied to high-quality service delivery in the event of staff absences or vacancies.
• The application describes the plan to provide opportunities for qualified parents and other community residents to seek employment and how these opportunities will be designed to improve the quality of the proposed program. The applicant explains how it will provide career development opportunities for professional, paraprofessional, and other staff and how those opportunities will improve the quality of the proposed program.
• The application describes a clear plan to evaluate job applicants, including existing grantee staff, to determine which applicants are most capable of contributing to the implementation of a high-quality comprehensive program, including research-based curriculum aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and State early learning standards. The application describes how these staff evaluations will be used in the hiring process.
• The application describes an ongoing strategy for professional development, peer support, supervision, ongoing observations, coaching and mentoring, and evaluation of staff and program managers, oriented to improving the skills, knowledge, effectiveness, and career opportunities of all employees. The application describes the process for how it will manage underperforming staff. The applicant also describes how it has used these strategies in the past, their past successes and challenges, and any modifications it would make in the context of implementing the Head Start program it is proposing.

Maximum Points: 25
Overview

This section measures the applicant's ability to effectively implement and oversee operations which comply with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. The applicant describes its internal systems for communication, record keeping,reporting, and ongoing monitoring. The application provides evidence of past success in organizational management and successful governance.

The applicant should address how its management system supports its ability to direct change based on the ongoing collection and analysis of relevant data (child assessment (HS Act 642(f)(3)), community assessment,assessment of professional development and training, ongoing monitoring, and other sources).

Applicants must also demonstrate capacity to effectively implement a system of governance, taking into account the ultimate responsibility of the agency Board as well as the crucial role of the Policy Council and parents in decision making. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

The application describes mechanisms for ensuring fiscal integrity, timely implementation of services, and strong coordination with broader early childhood systems.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan identifying the capacity of the applicant's senior executive managers and governing board to: (1) exercise effective oversight of program operations and accountability for Federal funds; (2) include the Policy Council in the planning and decision-making process; (3) assure representation of the diverse community served; (4) set and monitor overall agency priorities and operational systems; and (5) conduct community assessment,annual self-assessments, ongoing monitoring and outcome-based evaluations.
• The applicant explains how its organizational oversight meets the program governance requirements established in Section 642 (c) of the Head Start Act. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
• Demonstrates the existence of management systems for program planning, internal and external communication, recordkeeping, issuance of internal and external reports and program self-assessment and monitoring.
• Demonstrates the applicant's ability to provide effective financial management in operating a Head Start program, based on experience.
• If proposing to delegate all or part of its responsibility for operating a Head Start program, the application identifies proposed delegate agencies including the communities in which they will operate, the number of children served, and their proposed program option(s).
• The application describes plans to meet or exceed State and local requirements concerning licensing for facilities, and to be accessible by State and local authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance, unless State or local laws prohibit such access. Where facilities are not available, the application provides a plan to acquire facilities in accordance with the requirements provided for the purchase, construction, and major renovation of facilities described in 45 CFR Part 1309.
• Demonstrates the ability to provide timely and efficient implementation of all program components and services, including planning during the transition period, the availability of classroom space and facilities that meets applicable State and local licensing standards, the ability to provide necessary transportation and the ability to recruit eligible children and families. The application includes an implementation timetable that expressly states when children will begin receiving Head Start services.
• The applicant provides plans to coordinate with other state programs and participates in state systems of early childhood development, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or the state equivalent. If applicant participates in QRIS, includes rating. If applicable, the applicant explains why it does not participate if there is a QRIS in its geographic area.

Maximum Points: 15
Overview

Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the project costs are appropriate and reasonable in view of the activities to be carried out and the anticipated outcomes. The budget provided in the application should reflect the applicant's commitment to meeting the community's need with regard to the program option(s), recruiting and retaining high performing staff, offering high-quality services, and establishing ongoing professional development and continuous evidence based quality improvement. Additionally, the application provides evidence of the checks and balances and internal controls necessary to both safeguard and ensure the efficient and most effective use of federal funds.

Criteria

• Demonstrates that funds are budgeted to provide all required comprehensive Head Start services to eligible children and families in a cost-effective manner as indicated in the application narrative.
• Demonstrates that start-up costs are justified, reasonable and applicable based on the applicant's proposed Head Start program. Start-up costs may include ensuring that proposed facilities comply with State and local requirements and are adequately equipped, classroom equipment and supplies, and/or staff background checks.
• Demonstrates that the applicant will contribute the required non-federal share/match of the total project cost, using allowable sources.

Maximum Points: 10

In the interest of ensuring a robust competition for high-quality, comprehensive early care and education service providers, we are awarding bonus points to applicant organizations that do not have agreements that prohibit another entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on another entity for making such application. Applicants that wish to receive the bonus points must include in their applications the following statement, "On behalf of (organization), I, (name), attest that (organization) does not have a non-compete or other agreement with any entity, at the time this application is submitted, which prohibits the entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on that entity for making such application." The statement must be signed by the person who is authorized to sign the application on behalf of the applicant.

• Demonstrates the existence of internal control characteristics described in the context of the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (COSO Report) by describing how the applicant's internal control framework relates to the five components of internal controls explained in the COSO Report.
• Demonstrates a plan to maintain strong fiscal controls and cost effective fiscal management and to comply with 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes policies and procedures to achieve compliance with post-award requirements referenced in 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes the applicant's commitment to high ethical standards in relation to written policies and programs inherent within the organization.

• Details the applicant's accounting policies and procedures, specifically addressing how the applicant segregates and identifies direct and indirect costs within the organization.
• Describes the applicant's purchasing policies and system(s) for the review of costs that are directly associated with grant objectives.
• Describes how the applicant utilizes a logical and consistent method for the allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives relating to specific grants or contracts.
• Makes reference to indirect rate agreements , if applicable, or the plan for cost allocation within the organization.
• Identifies the process of collection of indirect costs, calculation of rate(s), and the application or allocation of costs to specific grants.
• Describes how Head Start resources will be combined with other early childhood funding sources, if applicable, and describe how the applicant will properly allocate costs .
• Identifies whether the current or anticipated accounting system is capable of performing the task of indirect cost collection and allocation to specific grants, and describes the review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Identifies any manual processes for indirect cost allocation used in performing the calculation of rate(s), application to specific grants, and review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Details any exclusion of costs charged to government contracts and grants that represent amounts deemed unallowable under the cost principles appropriate for the applicant.
• Describes the process for identification of unallowable costs under the appropriate set of cost principles for the applicant.
• Describes applicant's ability to meet the 15 percent limitation on development and administrative costs (45 CFR § 1301.32) .

• Describes the applicant's current accounting system used and the date of implementation of the system.  Identify any modules currently in use by the applicant, such as billing, indirect rate application, and payroll modules.
• Details the applicant's accounting system expected to be implemented upon award if the applicant expects to employ a new system.
• Outlines the timeframe for the implementation of the new system.
• Describes the groupings of accounts associated with the following cost allocation pools:
• Direct costs and expenditures
• Indirect costs including fringe benefits, if not charged to direct costs, overhead costs, and general and administrative costs
• Unallowable costs
• Describes the applicant's timekeeping system that identifies employees' labor by intermediate or final cost objectives.
• Details how the applicant segregates responsibilities for labor-related activities within the system.
• Identifies whether the timekeeping system is manual or automated.
• If the applicant's timekeeping system is automated, identifies the name of the system utilized, the review processes in place, and the procedures used to correct timekeeping errors within the system.
• Describes the applicant's labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives.
• Identifies the applicant's process for the application of payroll costs from the timekeeping system to the specific charge codes relating to specific grants identified in the system.
• Describes the applicant's review process of payroll costs applied to individual grants.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section, the application must identify the specific geographic location(s) to be served and provide data-based evidence about why that geographic area is in high need of Early Head Start services, such as the number of eligible infants and toddlers, the extent to which infants and toddlers from low-income families are not meeting school readiness goals, the number of families in extreme poverty, jobless rates, high incidents of community health problems or violence, or other similar factors. If necessary, applications can include other methods to collect data on the need for services such as informal surveys, community meetings, questionnaires, and interviews.

The application must describe proposed program options. This includes how many infants, toddlers, and pregnant women will be served; the types of Early Head Start services the applicant will provide; as well as the number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits that meet the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. Applications that propose the home-based option must include the proposed number of home visits and socializations. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the proposed program options respond to the needs of the community in relation to available or unavailable services in the community. The application should describe how the Early Head Start program will partner with other programs or services in the community to meet the needs of low-income families to be served.

Early Head Start is designed to increase the number of low-income infants and toddlers receiving high-quality, comprehensive early education services that help facilitate healthy development, including physical and social/emotional development, and prepare them for school success. To meet this goal, it is critical that Early Head Start funds awarded through this Funding Opportunity Announcement do not supplant existing services. Thus, an entity receiving an Early Head Start grant must: 1) expand the number of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women it is serving relative to the number it would serve in the absence of the grant, and/or 2) improve the services provided to infants, toddlers, and pregnant women it would serve in the absence of the grant. In this section, applicants should describe how the number of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women served and the type of services received would be affected if the applicant is awarded a grant to implement the proposed set of services.

Criteria

• Identifies the geographic location the applicant proposes to serve. The application defines the area(s) of greatest need and show how it will direct Early Head Start resources to these areas.
• Provides evidence of presence in the community proposed to be served. (For example, being a provider of services in the community, or indicating support from community agencies, service provider organizations, community agencies serving low-income families, or other relevant sectors.)
• The application demonstrates community engagement. The applicant discusses its plans or the process for involvement of service providers, public or private entities, and other members of the community in determining the need for services in the geographic locations proposed by the applicant. The applicant must include evidence of plans to collaborate with public or private entities providing early childhood education and development programs, and services for young children in the proposed service area in order to improve the efficiency of service delivery, increase access to needed services, and prevent duplication. Demonstration of community engagement may include memoranda of understanding that provide commitments of exchange of services, resource support, referrals, or other agreements.
• Provides a detailed description of the plan to meet the need for child development services for Early Head Start eligible children and families (including the estimated number of eligible infants, toddlers, and pregnant women by geographic location, and the estimated number of children needing full-day and full-year care); the needs of children with disabilities including procedures to identify such children; the needs of dual language learners; as well as the needs of homeless infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, children in foster care, and their transportation needs. Include data regarding the education, health, nutrition, social, child care and other service needs of the proposed infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and their families.
• Justifies the program option or options as most appropriate for the communities in which the applicant proposes to provide services (e.g., full-day center-based, home-based, family child care or combination option, including the number of children to be served by each option). The application specifies how the proposed number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits meets the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. Early Head Start programs must provide a minimum of 48 weeks per year to ensure the continuity of services that best supports positive outcomes. Applicants proposing the home-based option include the proposed number of home visits and socializations. The applicant's proposed program option(s) support(s) the needs of children and families as described in response to the evaluation criteria listed above. If the identified need in the community includes working families, the applicant describes how its proposed program option will meet this need either through direct services and/or referrals to other services in the community.
• Describes how infants, toddlers, pregnant women and their families will be recruited and selected for the program to ensure that services will be provided to those who have the most serious need for Early Head Start services. The applicant describes how the program will ensure that not less than 10 percent of the total number of infants and toddlers actually enrolled will be children with disabilities.
• Describes a plan to increase the number of low-income infants and toddlers the applicant proposes to serve, and/or how it will improve quality for children currently served. The applicant includes the number of children it currently serves in early education and other related programs, how many it would serve in the absence of this grant, and how many it would serve if awarded this grant.

Maximum Points: 40
Overview

Early Head Start is designed to help children start preschool, and eventually school, ready to succeed. School readiness requires that children are cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally prepared to continue to make academic and social and emotional progress as they enter Kindergarten. Early Head Start is governed by Program Performance Standards that define the scope of services necessary to support infants and toddlers development and school readiness. The application must demonstrate the capacity to implement and sustain comprehensive, high-quality educational, health, mental health, nutritional, oral health, and other social services to infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and their families that prepare children to succeed in school. To this end, the applicants must describe how they will implement program components, including the curriculum that will be used, why that curriculum was selected and the evidence basis that the curriculum effectively supports infant and toddler development that is foundational to school readiness. The application also must include information about how the applicant will meet the health, nutrition, and family engagement needs of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, including how effectiveness and quality will be measured, monitored, and improved upon over time. The applicant must show how it will use child assessment data to inform and improve program practices overall and how these data will be used to individualize for children; how they will provide ongoing professional development, including regular observation and feedback; how they will engage parents in their roles as teachers and advocates for their infants and toddlers; and how they will partner with preschools including Head Start and local education agencies to create continuity for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women across systems.

The application must also describe how the applicant will meet the unique needs of special populations, including infants and toddlers with disabilities, dual language learners,homeless infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, working families, and children in foster care.

The application will be evaluated on the degree to which the proposed program will meet the comprehensive needs of pregnant women, infants and toddlers in the community, including the special populations described above. The applicant should provide information about why it made various programmatic choices, including, where applicable, how its choices reflect the best practices in the field as well as the unique needs of the community it will serve.
If applicable, the application provides information about proposed delegate agencies, how those delegate agencies were chosen, and how the grantee's oversight will ensure the delegate agencies implement high-quality programs that adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan to implement a high-quality, comprehensive program for the population the applicant proposes to serve, using a curriculum that:
• Is based on scientifically valid research;
• Is developmentally appropriate;
• In center-based and family child care options, provides continuity of care to promote attachment and a secure foundation for learning;
• Promotes the healthy development and foundations of school readiness of participating infants and toddlers in each of the following domains: language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development;
• Is aligned with State early learning guidelines for infants and toddlers, as appropriate.

The application specifies the name of the curriculum or curricula, the process for selecting the curriculum, why the curriculum was chosen over specific other options, and how the curriculum is tied to outcomes for children. The applicant discusses what tools it will use to support domains that the selected curriculum does not support.

• The application describes the process for establishing school readiness goals including the plans to address the following domains:
• Language and literacy development,
• Cognition and general knowledge,
• Approaches toward learning,
• Physical well being and motor development, and
• Social and emotional development.

Goals must reflect the ages of infants and toddlers who will be participating in the program and must be culturally and linguistically appropriate. The application explains the extent to which goals were or will be established in consultation with the parents of infants and toddlers participating in the program and in alignment with State early learning guidelines for infants and toddlers, as appropriate.

• The application describes how the applicant will meet the needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities, including procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist the infants and toddlers in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the unique needs of its targeted population, including infants and toddlers in the child welfare system, dual language learners, and homeless infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The application describes procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist these infants and toddlers in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the health, mental health, nutritional, and oral health needs of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The application describes the system for health screening and services that will ensure that infants and toddlers are accurately referred for necessary follow-up evaluation and treatment within timeframes specified by Head Start regulations. Screening and services for identified needs include, at a minimum, health, sensory, developmental and oral health and may be provided directly or through community partner providers.
• The application describes a plan for implementing a system of regular observation of professional development, teacher-child interaction, feedback, and improvement of classroom practices. The application includes the name of instruments to be utilized.
• The application describes a plan to use child assessment data to individualize the instruction and learning for each child, and as necessary refer for additional evaluation and intervention, and to aggregate and analyze child-level assessment data at least three times per year (except for programs operating less than 90 days, which will be required to do so at least twice within their operating program period) and use that analysis in combination with other program data to determine grantees progress toward meeting its goals, to inform parents and the community of results, and to direct continuous improvement related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design and other program decisions. Applicants are reminded that assessment of infant and toddler development must be developmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate and is most often observation-based.
• The application describes a plan to coordinate with public and private entities that are willing to commit resources to assist the Early Head Start program in providing high-quality child health and developmental services and program management services. Such partnerships must include a plan to coordinate the proposed Early Head Start program with other child care and preschool programs, State pre-kindergarten programs, programs under Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and with the educational programs that children to be served will enter upon leaving Early Head Start.
• The application describes how the applicant will develop and implement a systematic procedure, including established channels of communication, for transitioning children and parents including pregnant women, the process of how programs will deliver services to the newborn, and transition the newborn into Early Head Start services at the appropriate time; how the program will support transition from Early Head Start to Head Start or other community-based programs and; and how the program will support transitions within the Early Head Start program, which might include a child moving from one program option to another, adjusting to staff turnover, or moving from one classroom to the next.
• The application describes how the applicant will ensure that infants, toddlers, and their families participating in the Early Head Start program will have the opportunity to receive Head Start or other appropriate preschool services for which they are eligible through the age of mandatory school attendance.
• The application provides a plan to facilitate the meaningful engagement of parents (including fathers, grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) in activities (at home and, if practicable, at the location of the Early Head Start program) designed to help them become full partners in the education of their children. Such engagement includes participation in the conduct of the program, leadership opportunities, support for the parent-child relationship, opportunities for employment, and other paths to improved financial well-being. The application identifies and addresses barriers to parent participation, such as lack of transportation access, or need for child care.
• The application explains the plan to implement the Head Start Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework and to offer family literacy and parenting skills training using evidence-based curricula and approaches directly or through referral to local entities, public and school libraries, and entities carrying out family support programs. The application includes a plan to offer (either directly or through referrals) other support for families struggling with mental health challenges, domestic violence, homelessness, or substance abuse, including information on the effect of drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

This section identifies the qualifications and experience of the applicant. The applicant provides evidence of organizational experience (including the experience of key leaders in the organization) that supports its ability to implement a comprehensive child development program for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application demonstrates a high-functioning program with a competent management team and effective systems with demonstrated capacity to use data to inform continuous improvement in such areas as professional development, instructional practices and family engagement.

The application must provide detailed information about how their past experience in early education (or related fields) and in communities similar to the targeted community, will enable them to operate a successful Early Head Start program. The application should provide evidence of the quality of the early education programs or related programs they have operated in the past. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application provides evidence of the quality of services to be provided based on licensing, accreditation, ratings, or independent evaluations of programs, outcome data for children, or other information provided.

The application provides information about the past experience of organizations with which it proposes to delegate all or part of their services to children and families.  Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee’s last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this funding opportunity announcement.

The application must explain the ways (if any) in which their past experience – or the past experience of any delegate agencies - differs from operating an Early Head Start program, generally and as compared to the program the applicant is proposing to implement. The applicant must discuss how it will address these differences and succeed in providing effective, high-quality comprehensive Early Head Start services.

Criteria

• Demonstrates how the applicant's history and experience, based on past performance providing high-quality early education or other related programs, support its ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women of the size, complexity and scope of their proposed program. Reviewers will evaluate evidence of experience, including:
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) rating,
• Record of high performance in early primary grades by children formerly enrolled in the program,
• Evidence from use of teacher-child interaction rating system,
• Evidence of successful staff development system leading to highly qualified staff, and
• Evidence of high level of success improving family self-sufficiency.
• Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee's last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

If the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, it must include its three most recent OHS monitoring reports. Applicants that served as delegate agencies to the former grantee and operated programs that met or exceeded the performance standards and measures must provide documentation of their past performance.

• Demonstrates how the professional experience of the applicant's proposed management team (executive director, program director, managers), based on past performance providing comprehensive, high-quality early care and education, documents an ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of this size, complexity and scope within the service area.
• The application explains how the applicant's past performance and experience will inform its administration of the Early Head Start program being proposed and will help ensure a high-quality Early Head Start program. To the degree that the applicant is currently operating a program that differs from the Early Head Start program being proposed - such as differences in the target population, the set of services provided, the structure of the program (the hours, days, or weeks of operation), the mechanisms for quality assurance and improvement, the early learning standards to be used, and the performance measurement system - the applicant acknowledges these differences and explains how it will successfully adapt to the differences between its current program and the proposed program.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section the application must describe the qualifications and experience of the applicant staff in planning, organizing and providing comprehensive child development services at the community level. The application must address: (1) how the applicant will facilitate strong educator-child relationships that support infant and toddler development; (2) how it will ensure that staff are able to implement evidence-based instructional practices that are individualized based on the ongoing assessment of each child to support positive child outcomes; and (3) how it will ensure that family service workers will be able to successfully partner with families in supporting children's development. The application also must describe how the applicant will attract and retain qualified staff; how it will support staff, through the regular provision of feedback, coaching, and other mechanisms; and how it will assess staff performance and address under-performing staff.

The application also must describe the management staffs knowledge of Head Start's broad requirements and how it will ensure that all program staff understand how those standards are applicable to them.

Criteria

• Documents that the proposed program director and proposed key staff are qualified and knowledgeable about administering complex social service programs or early education services. The applicant describes its key staffs major functions and responsibilities in the narrative, and includes their resumes in the appendix.
• Provides a clear plan to attract and retain qualified staff with the ability to implement a research-based curriculum, aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and State early learning standards, effective instructional strategies, and a high-quality comprehensive program.
• Demonstrates that employees of the agency will meet the requirements of the Head Start Act for staff qualifications (Section 645A(h)) to have a minimum of a child development associate credential CDA and have been trained (or have equivalent coursework) in early childhood development. The applicant describes how it will ensure that not later than September 30, 2012, all center-based Early Head Start teachers have been trained (or have equivalent coursework) in early childhood development with a focus on infant and toddler development [Section 645A(h) of the Head Start Act]. If applicable, the applicant describes how it will hire Early Head Start home visiting staff qualified or trained to conduct home visits that include the full range of comprehensive Early Head Start services.
• The application describes the plan to maintain child-to-teacher, home visitor, or family child care provider ratios and family service worker caseloads that comply with regulations, reflect best practices, and are tied to high-quality service delivery in the event of staff absences or vacancies.
• The application describes the plan to provide opportunities for qualified parents and other community residents to seek employment and how these opportunities will be designed to improve the quality of the proposed program. The applicant explains how it will provide career development opportunities for professional, paraprofessional, and other staff and how those opportunities will improve the quality of the proposed program.
• The application describes a clear plan to evaluate job applicants, including existing grantee staff, to determine which applicants are most capable of contributing to the implementation of a high-quality comprehensive program, including the implementation of a research-based curriculum. The application describes how these staff evaluations will be used in the hiring process.
• The application describes an ongoing strategy for professional development, peer support, supervision, ongoing observations, coaching and mentoring, and evaluation of staff and program managers, oriented to improving the skills, knowledge, effectiveness, and career opportunities of all employees. The application describes the process for how it will manage underperforming staff. The applicant also describes how it has used these strategies in the past, their past successes and challenges, and any modifications it would make in the context of implementing the Early Head Start program it is proposing.

Maximum Points: 25
Overview

This section measures the applicant's ability to effectively implement and oversee operations which comply with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. The applicant describes its internal systems for communication, record keeping, reporting, and ongoing monitoring. The application provides evidence of past success in organizational management and successful governance.
An applicant should address how its management system supports its ability to direct change based on the ongoing collection and analysis of relevant data ( child assessment, community assessment,assessment of professional development and training, ongoing monitoring and other sources).
Applicants must also demonstrate capacity to effectively implement a system of governance, taking into account the ultimate responsibility of the agency Board as well as the crucial role of the Policy Council and parents in decision making. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
The application describes mechanisms for ensuring fiscal integrity, timely implementation of services, and strong coordination with broader early childhood systems.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan identifying the capacity of the applicants senior executive managers and governing board to: (1) exercise effective oversight of program operations and accountability for Federal funds; (2) include the Policy Council in the planning and decision-making process; (3) assure representation of the diverse community served; (4) set and monitor overall agency priorities and operational systems; and (5) conduct community assessment, annual self-assessments, ongoing monitoring and outcome-based evaluations.
• The applicant explains how its organizational oversight meets the program governance requirements established in Section 642 (c) of the Head Start Act. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
• Demonstrates the existence of management systems for program planning, internal and external communication, recordkeeping, issuance of internal and external reports and program self-assessment and monitoring.
• Demonstrates the applicant's ability to provide effective financial management in operating an Early Head Start program, based on experience.
• If proposing to delegate all or part of its responsibility for operating an Early Head Start program, the application identifies proposed delegate agencies including the communities in which they will operate, the number of children served, and their proposed program option(s).
• The application describes plans to meet or exceed State and local requirements concerning licensing for facilities, and to be accessible by State and local authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance, unless State or local laws prohibit such access. Where facilities are not available, the application provides a plan to acquire facilities in accordance with the requirements provided for the purchase, construction, and major renovation of facilities described in 45 CFR Part 1309.
• Demonstrates the ability to provide timely and efficient implementation of all program components and services, including planning during the transition period, the availability of classroom space and facilities that meets applicable State and local licensing standards, the ability to provide necessary transportation and the ability to recruit eligible infants, toddlers, and their families. The applicant includes an implementation timetable that expressly states when infants and toddlers will begin receiving Early Head Start services.
• The applicant provides plans to coordinate with other state programs and participates in state systems of early childhood development, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or the state equivalent. If applicant participates in QRIS, includes rating. If applicable, the applicant explains why it does not participate if there is a QRIS in its geographic area.

Maximum Points: 15
Overview

Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the project costs are appropriate and reasonable in view of the activities to be carried out and the anticipated outcomes. The budget provided in the application should reflect the applicant's commitment to meeting the community's need with regard to the program option(s), recruiting and retaining high performing staff, offering high-quality services, and establishing ongoing professional development and continuous evidence based quality improvement. Additionally, the application provides evidence of the checks and balances and internal controls necessary to both safeguard and end ensure the efficient and most effective use of Federal funds.

Criteria

• Demonstrates that funds are budgeted to provide all required comprehensive Early Head Start services to eligible infants, toddlers, pregnant women and their families in a cost-effective manner as indicated in the application narrative.
• Demonstrates that start-up costs are justified, reasonable and applicable based on the applicant's proposed Early Head Start program. Start-up costs may include ensuring that proposed facilities comply with State and local requirements and are adequately equipped, classroom equipment and supplies, and/or staff background checks.
• Demonstrates that the applicant will contribute the required non-Federal share/match of the total project cost, using allowable sources.

Maximum Points: 10

In the interest of ensuring a robust competition for high-quality, comprehensive early care and education service providers, we are awarding bonus points to applicant organizations that do not have agreements that prohibit another entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on another entity for making such application. Applicants that wish to receive the bonus points must include in their applications the following statement, "On behalf of (organization), I, (name), attest that (organization) does not have a non-compete or other agreement with any entity, at the time this application is submitted, which prohibits the entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on that entity for making such application." The statement must be signed by the person who is authorized to sign the application on behalf of the applicant.

• Demonstrates the existence of internal control characteristics described in the context of the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (COSO Report) by describing how the applicant's internal control framework relates to the five components of internal controls explained in the COSO Report.
• Demonstrates a plan to maintain strong fiscal controls and cost effective fiscal management and to comply with 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes policies and procedures to achieve compliance with post-award requirements referenced in 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes the applicant's commitment to high ethical standards in relation to written policies and programs inherent within the organization.

• Details the applicant's accounting policies and procedures, specifically addressing how the applicant segregates and identifies direct and indirect costs within the organization.
• Describes the applicant's purchasing policies and system(s) for the review of costs that are directly associated with grant objectives.
• Describes how the applicant utilizes a logical and consistent method for the allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives relating to specific grants or contracts.
• Makes reference to indirect rate agreements , if applicable, or the plan for cost allocation within the organization.
• Identifies the process of collection of indirect costs, calculation of rate(s), and the application or allocation of costs to specific grants.
• Describes how Head Start resources will be combined with other early childhood funding sources, if applicable, and describe how the applicant will properly allocate costs .
• Identifies whether the current or anticipated accounting system is capable of performing the task of indirect cost collection and allocation to specific grants, and describes the review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Identifies any manual processes for indirect cost allocation used in performing the calculation of rate(s), application to specific grants, and review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Details any exclusion of costs charged to government contracts and grants that represent amounts deemed unallowable under the cost principles appropriate for the applicant.
• Describes the process for identification of unallowable costs under the appropriate set of cost principles for the applicant.
• Describes applicant's ability to meet the 15 percent limitation on development and administrative costs (45 CFR § 1301.32) .

• Describes the applicant's current accounting system used and the date of implementation of the system.  Identify any modules currently in use by the applicant, such as billing, indirect rate application, and payroll modules.
• Details the applicant's accounting system expected to be implemented upon award if the applicant expects to employ a new system.
• Outlines the timeframe for the implementation of the new system.
• Describes the groupings of accounts associated with the following cost allocation pools:
• Direct costs and expenditures
• Indirect costs including fringe benefits, if not charged to direct costs, overhead costs, and general and administrative costs
• Unallowable costs
• Describes the applicant's timekeeping system that identifies employees' labor by intermediate or final cost objectives.
• Details how the applicant segregates responsibilities for labor-related activities within the system.
• Identifies whether the timekeeping system is manual or automated.
• If the applicant's timekeeping system is automated, identifies the name of the system utilized, the review processes in place, and the procedures used to correct timekeeping errors within the system.
• Describes the applicant's labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives.
• Identifies the applicant's process for the application of payroll costs from the timekeeping system to the specific charge codes relating to specific grants identified in the system.
• Describes the applicant's review process of payroll costs applied to individual grants.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section, the application must identify the specific geographic location(s) to be served and provide data  about why that geographic area is in high need of Head Start and/or Early Head Start services, such as the number of eligible pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers; the availability of other early childhood education services for low-income infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers and families; the extent to which children from low-income families are not meeting school readiness goals ; the number of families in extreme poverty; jobless rates; high incidents of community health problems or violence; or other similar factors. If necessary, applications can include other methods to collect data on the need for services such as informal surveys, community meetings, questionnaires, and interviews.

Applicants must clearly justify how the needs of the community are best served by the proposed approach, including by clearly articulating the rationale for proposing an Early Head Start-only or Head Start-only program.  The application must describe the program option(s) proposed for each age group to be served.  This includes how many pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers will be served; the types of services the applicant will provide; as well as the number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits that meet the needs of families, including the role of child care partners.  Applications that propose the home-based option for any age group must include the proposed number of home visits and socializations for that subgroup. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the proposed program options respond to the needs of the community in relation to available or unavailable services in the community. The application must describe how the proposed program will partner with other programs or services in the community to best meet the needs of low-income families to be served.

Head Start and Early Head Start are designed to increase the number of low-income pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers receiving high-quality, comprehensive early education services that help facilitate healthy development, including physical and social/emotional development, and prepare them for eventual school success.  To meet this goal, it is critical that funds awarded through this funding opportunity announcement do not supplant existing services. Thus, an entity receiving this grant must: 1) expand the number of pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers it is serving relative to the number it would serve in the absence of the grant, and/or 2) improve the services provided to pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers it would serve in the absence of the grant.  In this section, applicants must describe how the number of pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers served and the type of services received would be affected if the applicant is awarded a grant to implement the proposed set of services.

Criteria

• Identifies the geographic location  the applicant proposes to serve. The application defines the area(s) of greatest need and shows how it will direct Head Start and/or Early Head Start resources to these areas.
• Describes the rationale for which ages of children the applicant proposes to serve, demonstrating how the applicant will satisfy unmet demand. Provides an analysis of access to other early childhood education programs for each age group of children under five in the geographic area.
• For applicants proposing a Head Start program: Provides evidence of presence in the community proposed to be served. (For example, being a provider of services in the community, or indicating support from community agencies, service provider organizations, community agencies serving low-income families, or other relevant sectors.)
• Demonstrates community engagement.  The applicant discusses its plans or the process for involvement of service providers, public or private entities, and other members of the community in determining the need for services in the geographic locations proposed by the applicant. The applicant must include evidence of plans to collaborate with public or private entities providing early childhood education and development programs, and services for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers in the proposed service area in order to improve the efficiency of service delivery, increase access to needed services, and prevent duplication. Demonstration of community engagement may include memoranda of understanding that provide commitments of exchange of services, resource support, referrals, or other agreements.
• Provides a detailed description of the plan to meet the need for child development services for each age group of Head Start and/or Early Head Start eligible children and families (including the estimated number of eligible pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers by geographic location, and the estimated number of children needing full-day and full-year care); the needs of children with disabilities, including procedures to identify such children; the needs of dual language learners; as well as the needs of homeless pregnant women and/or children, children in foster care, and their transportation needs. Include data regarding the education, health, nutrition, social, child care, and other service needs of the proposed pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and their families.
• Justifies the program option or options for each age group as most appropriate for the communities in which the applicant proposes to provide services (e.g., full-day center-based, home-based, family child care or combination option, including the number of children to be served by each option). The application specifies how the proposed number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits meets the needs of families, including the role of child care partners.  Applicants proposing the home-based option include the proposed number of home visits and socializations, broken out for each age group(s) to be served. The applicant's proposed program option(s) support(s) the needs of infants, toddlers and/or preschoolers and their families as described in response to the evaluation criteria listed above. If the identified need in the community includes working families, the applicant describes how its proposed program option will meet this need either through direct services and/or referrals to other services in the community.

For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program: Programs must provide a minimum of 48 weeks per year for infants and toddlers to ensure the continuity of services that best supports positive outcomes.  Applicants proposing to enroll pregnant women include how services support the needs of expectant families.

For applicants proposing a Head Start program: Applicants must propose a number of weeks per year for preschoolers that meets the Head Start requirements.

• Describes how pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers, and their families will be recruited and selected for the program to ensure that services will be provided to those who have the most serious need for these services. The applicant describes how the program will ensure that not less than 10 percent of the total number of children actually enrolled will be children with disabilities.
• Describes a plan to increase the number of low-income children the applicant proposes to serve, and/or how it will improve quality for children currently served. The applicant includes the number of children it currently serves in early education and other related programs, how many it would serve in the absence of this grant, and how many it would serve if awarded this grant.

Maximum Points: 40
Overview

Early Head Start is designed to help infants and toddlers start preschool. Head Start is designed to help preschoolers start school ready to succeed.  School readiness requires that children are cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared to continue developing and learning.  Both programs are governed by the Head Start Program Performance Standards that define the scope of services necessary to support development across all domains.  The application must demonstrate the capacity to implement and sustain the comprehensive, high-quality individualized educational, health, mental health, nutritional, oral health, and other social services to pregnant women, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families that prepare children to succeed in school. To this end, the applicants must describe how they will implement program components and where applicable, describe separately for infants and toddlers and for preschoolers. The application must name the curriculum or curricula that will be used, why that curriculum/curricula was selected, and the evidence basis that the curriculum/curricula effectively improves school readiness (for preschoolers) or its developmental foundations (for infants and toddlers).  The application also must include information about how the applicant will meet the health, nutrition, and family engagement needs for pregnant women and children of various ages. Applicants must describe how service effectiveness and quality will be measured, monitored, and improved upon over time. The applicant must show how it will use child assessment data and other program data to individualize services and learning opportunities for children and to inform continuous program improvement; how they will provide ongoing professional development, including regular observation and feedback; how they will engage parents in their roles as teachers and advocates for their children; and how they will partner with preschools, including Head Start, as well as child care programs, local education agencies, and other programs serving young children and their families to create continuity for young children and pregnant women across systems. 

The application must also describe how the applicant will meet the unique needs of special populations reflective of the ages and groups proposed to be served, including children with disabilities, dual language learners, children and pregnant women experiencing homelessness, working families, and children in foster care.

The application will be evaluated on the degree to which the proposed program will meet the comprehensive needs of pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the community, including the special populations described above. The applicant must provide information about why it made various programmatic choices, including, where applicable, how its choices reflect the best practices in the field as well as the unique needs of the community it will serve.  In addition, the application must propose the coordination of services within a community that support transitions for children and families within a community that support transitions for children and families in accordance with 45 CFR § 1304.41 of the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

If applicable, the application provides information about proposed delegate agencies, how those delegate agencies were chosen, and how the grantee's oversight will ensure the delegate agencies implement high-quality programs that adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan to implement a high-quality, comprehensive program for the population the applicant proposes to serve, with specific attention to how the plan will be different based on the ages and needs of children and families eligible for services. The plan for a high-quality, comprehensive program includes using a curriculum or set of curricula that:
• Is based on scientifically valid research;
• Is developmentally appropriate for all of the ages of children proposed to be served;
• Provides continuity of care to promote attachment and a secure foundation for learning in all program options. For infants and toddlers, explains approach to staffing continuity across the days, months, and years of service.
• Promotes the healthy development and foundations of school readiness of participating infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in each of the following domains: language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development; and
• Is aligned with all relevant state early learning guidelines and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework for preschoolers.
• The application specifies the name of the curriculum or curricula proposed to be used in different program options and for children of different ages, the process for selecting the curriculum, why the curriculum was chosen over specific other options, and the evidence supporting how the curriculum is tied to outcomes for children. 
• The applicant discusses what tools it will use to support domains that the selected curriculum does not support. The application describes a process for establishing school readiness goals, including the plans to address the following domains, as appropriate for the age and developmental needs of enrolled children:
• Language and literacy development,
• Cognition and general knowledge,
• Approaches toward learning,
• Physical well being and motor development, and
• Social and emotional development.

School readiness goals must reflect the ages of children that the applicant proposes to serve in the program and must be culturally and linguistically appropriate. The application explains the extent to which school readiness goals were or will be established in consultation with the parents of children who will be participating in the program. Additionally,

• For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program: Infant and toddler school readiness goals must reflect the ages of children (birth to 3). The application explains the extent to which goals were or will be established in alignment with State early learning guidelines for infants and toddlers, as appropriate.
• For applicants proposing a Head Start program: Preschool school readiness goals must reflect the ages of children, three to five, and align with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework , state early learning guidelines, and the requirements and expectations of schools the children will attend after Head Start.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers with disabilities, including procedures to identify such participants, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist children in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the unique needs of its targeted population, including infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers in the child welfare system, dual language learners, and homeless children and pregnant women.  The application describes procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist these infants and toddlers in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the health, mental health, nutritional, and oral health needs of pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers. The application describes the system for health screening and services that will ensure participants are accurately referred for necessary follow-up evaluation and treatment within time frames specified by Head Start regulations.  Screening and services for identified needs include, at a minimum, health, sensory, developmental, and oral health, and may be provided directly or through community partner providers.
• The application describes a plan for observing teacher practice, including teacher-child interactions, and using that information to inform professional development and practice improvements. The application includes the name of any instrument(s) to be utilized.
• The application specifies the name and process for selection of their assessment tool.  It describes a plan to use child assessment data to individualize the instruction and learning for each child, and as necessary refer for additional evaluation and intervention; and to aggregate and analyze child-level assessment data at least three times per year (except for programs operating less than 90 days, which will be required to do so at least twice within their operating program period); and to use that analysis in combination with other program data to determine grantees' progress toward meeting its goals, to inform parents and the community of results, and to direct continuous improvement related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design, and other program decisions, in accordance with 45 CFR § 1307.3(b)(2). Applicants are reminded that assessment must be developmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate.
• The application describes a plan to coordinate with public and private entities that are willing to commit resources to assist the program in providing high-quality child health and developmental services, and program management services. Such partnerships must include a plan to coordinate the proposed Head Start and/or Early Head Start program with other child care and preschool programs, state pre-Kindergarten programs , programs under Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and with the educational programs that children to be served will enter upon leaving Early Head Start or Head Start .
• For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program: The application must describe the system of how the applicant will deliver services to enrolled pregnant women post-pregnancy, and how the newborn infant and family will transition into the appropriate program option at the appropriate time; how the program will support transition from Early Head Start to Head Start or other community-based programs; and how the program will support transitions from Head Start to public and community-based school settings in accordance with 45 CFR § 1304.41 of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Additionally, the application describes how the program will support transitions within the Head Start and/or Early Head Start program, which might include a child moving from one center or program option to another, adjusting to staff turnover, moving from one classroom to the next or to new grantees in different communities as families move for economic or other reasons.
• For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program: The application must describe how the applicant will ensure that infants, toddlers, and their families participating in the program will have the opportunity to receive Head Start or other appropriate preschool services for which they are eligible through the age of mandatory school attendance.
• The application provides a plan to facilitate the meaningful engagement of parents (including fathers, grandparents, foster parents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) in activities (at home and, if practicable, at the location of the program) designed to help them become full partners in the education of their children.  Such engagement includes participation in the conduct of the program, leadership opportunities, support of their child’s development and health, support for the parent-child relationship, opportunities for employment, and other paths to improved financial well-being.  The application identifies and addresses barriers to parent participation, such as lack of transportation access or need for child care.
• The application explains the plan to implement the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework and to offer family literacy and parenting skills training using evidence-based curricula and approaches, either directly or through referral to local entities, public and school libraries, and entities carrying out family support programs. The application includes a plan to offer (either directly or through referrals) other support for families struggling with mental health challenges, domestic violence, homelessness, or substance abuse, including information on the effect of drug exposure on young children and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

This section identifies the qualifications and experience of the applicant.  The applicant provides evidence of organizational experience (including the experience of key leaders in the organization) that supports its ability to implement a comprehensive child development program for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application demonstrates a high-functioning program with a competent management team and effective systems with demonstrated capacity to use data to inform continuous improvement in such areas as professional development, instructional practices, and family engagement.

The application must provide detailed information about how the applicant's past experience in early education (or related fields) and in communities similar to the targeted community, will enable them to operate a successful Head Start and/or Early Head Start program.  The application must provide evidence of the quality of the early education programs or related programs they have operated in the past.  The applicant must demonstrate their capacity and experience serving pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschool-age children.  Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application provides evidence of the quality of services to be provided based on licensing, accreditation, ratings, or independent evaluations of programs, outcome data for children, or other information provided. 

The application must also provide information about the past experience of organizations with which it proposes to delegate all or part of their services to any group of proposed participants (pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers) and their families. Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start and/or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee's last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this funding opportunity announcement.

The application must explain the ways (if any) in which their past experience - or the past experience of any delegate agencies - differs from operating a Head Start and/or Early Head Start program, both generally and as compared to the program(s) the applicant is proposing to implement.  The applicant must discuss how it will address these differences and succeed in providing effective, high-quality, comprehensive Head Start and/or Early Head Start services.

Criteria

• Demonstrates how the applicant's history and experience, based on past performance providing high-quality early education or other related programs, support its ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers of the size, complexity, and scope of their proposed program.  Reviewers will evaluate evidence of experience, including:
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) rating,
• Record of high performance in the early primary grades by children formerly enrolled in the program,
• Evidence from use of teacher-child interaction rating system,
• Evidence of successful staff development system leading to highly qualified staff, and
• Evidence of high level of success improving family self-sufficiency.

Applicants that serve or have served as delegate agencies to Head Start and Early Head Start grantees must provide documentation of their past performance.

• Demonstrates how the applicant has a strong track record of successfully preparing young children for school.
  
• Documents how the professional experience of the applicant's proposed management team (executive director, program director, managers), based on past performance providing comprehensive, high-quality early care and education, documents an ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of this size, complexity, and scope within the service area. 
• Explains how the applicant's past performance and experience will inform its administration of the Head Start and/or Early Head Start program being proposed and will help ensure a high-quality program. To the degree that the applicant is currently operating a program that differs from the Head Start and/or Early Head Start program being proposed - such as differences in the target population, the set of services provided, the structure of the program (the hours, days, or weeks of operation), the ages of children served, the mechanisms for quality assurance and improvement, the early learning standards to be used, and the performance measurement system - the applicant acknowledges these differences and explains how it will successfully adapt to the differences between its current program and the proposed program. 

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section, the application must describe the qualifications and experience of the applicant staff in planning, organizing, and providing comprehensive child development services at the community level.  Applicants proposing a birth-to-five program must include staff with infant/toddler as well as preschool expertise in decision-making roles to ensure the needs of each age group will be addressed.

The application must address: (1) how the applicant will facilitate strong staff-child relationships that support the development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers; (2) how it will ensure that staff are prepared for and supported in implementing evidence-based instructional practices that are individualized based on the ongoing assessment of each child to support positive child outcomes; and (3) how it will ensure that all staff will successfully partner with families in supporting children's development.  The application also must describe how the applicant will attract and retain qualified staff, including through salary and benefits; how it will support staff through the regular provision of feedback, supervision, coaching, and other mechanisms; and how it will assess staff performance and address under-performing staff.

The application also must describe the management staff's knowledge of Head Start and/or Early Head Start's broad requirements and how it will ensure that all program staff understand how those standards are applicable to them.

Criteria

• Documents that the proposed program director and proposed key staff are qualified and knowledgeable about administering complex social service programs or early education services.  The applicant describes its key staff's major functions and responsibilities in the narrative, and includes their resumes in the appendix.
• Provides a clear plan to attract and retain qualified staff with the ability to implement a research-based curriculum, aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and state early learning guidelines, effective instructional strategies, and a high-quality comprehensive program.
• For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program:  Demonstrates that employees of the agency will meet the requirements of the Head Start Act for staff qualifications set in section 645A(h) for Early Head Start. The applicant describes how it will ensure that not later than September 30, 2013, all center-based Early Head Start teachers have an Infant Toddler Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and have been trained (or have equivalent coursework) in early childhood development with a focus on infant and toddler development Section 645A(h) of the Head Start Act. If applicable, the applicant describes how it will hire Early Head Start home visiting staff qualified or trained to conduct home visits that include the full range of comprehensive Early Head Start services.
• For applicants proposing a Head Start program: The application describes how all employees in the Head Start center-based programs meet the requirements of the Head Start Act for staff qualifications set in Section 648A and what share of preschool classroom teachers are expected to have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a related field.
• For classroom teachers - associate degree in early childhood education; (ii) an associate degree in a related field and coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, with experience teaching preschool-age children; or (iii) a baccalaureate degree and has been admitted into the Teach For America program, passed a rigorous early childhood content exam, such as the Praxis II, participated in a Teach For America summer training institute that includes teaching preschool children, and is receiving ongoing professional development and support from Teach For America's professional staff.
• For assistant teachers - by September 30, 2013, have at least a CDA credential; be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree; or be enrolled in a CDA credential program to be completed within two years.
• The application describes the plan to maintain child-to-teacher, home visitor, or family child care provider ratios and family service worker caseloads that comply with appropriate regulations given the varying ages of children served, reflect best practices, and are tied to high-quality service delivery in the event of staff absences or vacancies.
• The application describes the plan to provide opportunities for qualified parents and other community residents to seek employment and how these opportunities will be designed to improve the quality of the proposed program.  The applicant explains how it will provide career development opportunities for professional, paraprofessional, and other staff, and how those opportunities will improve the quality of the proposed program.
• The application describes a clear plan to evaluate job applicants, including existing grantee staff, to determine which applicants are most capable of contributing to the implementation of a high-quality comprehensive program, including the implementation of a research-based curriculum. The application describes how these staff evaluations will be used in the hiring process.  For applicants proposing an Early Head Start program: The curriculum is aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and State early learning guidelines.
• The application describes an ongoing strategy for professional development, peer support, supervision, ongoing observations, coaching and mentoring, and evaluation of staff and program managers, oriented to improving the skills, knowledge, effectiveness, and career opportunities of all employees.  The application describes the process for how it will manage underperforming staff.   The applicant also describes how it has used these strategies in the past, their past successes and challenges, and any modifications it will make in the context of implementing the Head Start and/or Early Head Start program it is proposing.

Maximum Points: 25
Overview

This section measures the applicant's ability to effectively implement and oversee operations which comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.  The applicant describes its internal systems for communication, record keeping, reporting, and ongoing monitoring. The application provides evidence of past success in organizational management and successful governance. The applicant should also describe how the decision to serve pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschool-age children, while based primarily on the needs of the community, also considering the applicant's capacity and experience. Applicants proposing a birth-to-five approach should include strategies and methods that ensure the varying and appropriate needs of children birth to 5 years of age.

An applicant must address how its management system supports its ability to direct change based on the ongoing collection and analysis of relevant data (child assessment, community assessment, assessment of professional development and training, ongoing monitoring, and other sources). 

Applicants must also demonstrate capacity to effectively implement a system of governance, taking into account the ultimate responsibility of the agency Board as well as the crucial role of the Policy Council and parents in decision making.  The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

The application describes mechanisms for ensuring fiscal integrity, timely implementation of services, and strong coordination with broader early childhood systems.  

Criteria

• The application provides a plan identifying the capacity of the applicant's senior executive managers and governing board to: (1) exercise effective oversight of program operations and accountability for federal funds; (2) include the Policy Council in the planning and decision-making process; (3) assure representation of the diverse community served; (4) set and monitor overall agency priorities and operational systems; and (5) conduct community assessment, annual self-assessments, ongoing monitoring and outcome-based evaluations.
• The applicant explains how its organizational oversight meets the program governance requirements established in Section 642(c) of the Head Start Act. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
• Demonstrates the existence of management systems for program planning, internal and external communication, recordkeeping, issuance of internal and external reports, and program self-assessment and monitoring.
• Demonstrates an ability to provide effective financial management in operating a Head Start and/or Early Head Start program, based on experience.
• If proposing to delegate all or part of its responsibility for operating a program with these funds, the application identifies proposed delegate agencies including the communities in which they will operate, the number of children served by age of child, and their proposed program option(s).
• The application describes plans to meet or exceed state and local requirements concerning licensing for facilities, and to be accessible by state and local authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance, unless state or local laws prohibit such access.  Where facilities are not available, the application provides a plan to acquire facilities in accordance with the requirements provided for the purchase, construction, and major renovation of facilities described in 45 CFR § 1309.
• Demonstrates the ability to provide timely and efficient implementation of all program components and services, including planning during the transition period, the availability of classroom space and facilities that meet applicable state and local licensing standards for each age group, the ability to provide necessary transportation, and the ability to recruit eligible pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and their families.  The applicant includes an implementation timetable that expressly states when children will begin receiving Head Start and/or Early Head Start services.
• The applicant provides plans to coordinate with other state programs and to participate in state systems of early childhood development, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or the state equivalent.  If applicant participates in QRIS, includes rating. If applicable, the applicant explains why it does not participate if there is a QRIS in its geographic area.

Maximum Points: 15
Overview

Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the project costs are appropriate and reasonable in view of the activities to be carried out and the anticipated outcomes. The budget provided in the application should reflect the applicant's commitment to meeting the community's need with regard to the program option(s), offering high-quality services, and establishing ongoing professional development and continuous evidence-based quality improvement. Further the applicant’s budget should reflect a commitment to recruiting and retaining highly-performing staff. Staff salaries should be commensurate with wages as identified in a Wage and Fringe Benefits Comparability Survey that is based on similar staff qualifications and experience for the proposed geographic area, such as school districts and child care programs.

Additionally, the application provides evidence of the checks and balances and internal controls necessary to both safeguard and ensure the efficient and most effective use of federal funds.  Where partnerships are proposed to extend the hours, days, or months of the proposed program, or to provide additional program services, the applicant describes plans to appropriately allocate costs.  Applicants should consider combining Head Start funds with resources from other early childhood programs or funding streams, including state, local, and private sector funding for child care, pre-Kindergarten, and special education services.

Criteria

• Demonstrates that funds are budgeted to provide all required comprehensive Early Head Start and/or Head Start services to eligible pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers, and their families in a cost-effective manner as indicated in the application narrative.
• Demonstrates that teaching staff salaries are commensurate with the degree qualifications and experience required in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Proposed staff salaries should reflect the data identified in the Wage and Fringe Benefits Comparability Survey.
• Demonstrates that start-up costs are justified, reasonable, and applicable based on the applicant's proposed Head Start and/or Early Head Start program. Start-up costs may include 1) ensuring that proposed facilities comply with state and local requirements and are adequately equipped, 2) purchasing classroom equipment and supplies, and/or 3) conducting staff background checks.
• Demonstrates that the applicant will contribute the required non-federal share/match of the total project cost using allowable sources. Identifies each source of non-federal share match, including the estimated amount per source and the valuation methodology.

Maximum Points: 10

In the interest of ensuring a robust competition for high-quality, comprehensive early care and education service providers, we are awarding bonus points to applicant organizations that do not have agreements that prohibit another entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on another entity for making such application.  Applicants that wish to receive the bonus points must include in their applications the following statement, "On behalf of (organization), I, (name), attest that (organization) does not have a non-compete or other agreement with any entity, at the time this application is submitted, which prohibits the entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on that entity for making such application." The statement must be signed by the person who is authorized to sign the application on behalf of the applicant. 

• Demonstrates the existence of internal control characteristics described in the context of the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (COSO Report) by describing how the applicant's internal control framework relates to the five components of internal controls explained in the COSO Report.
• Demonstrates a plan to maintain strong fiscal controls and cost effective fiscal management and to comply with 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.
• Describes policies and procedures to achieve compliance with post-award requirements referenced in 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.
• Describes the applicant's commitment to high ethical standards in relation to written policies and programs inherent within the organization.

• Details the applicant's accounting policies and procedures, specifically addressing how the applicant segregates and identifies direct and indirect costs within the organization.
• Describes the applicant's purchasing policies and system(s) for the review of costs that are directly associated with grant objectives.
• Describes how the applicant utilizes a logical and consistent method for the allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives relating to specific grants or contracts.
• Makes reference to indirect rate agreements, if applicable, or the plan for cost allocation within the organization.
• Identifies the process of collection of indirect costs, calculation of rate(s), and the application or allocation of costs to specific grants.
• Describes how Head Start resources will be combined with other early childhood funding sources, if applicable, and describe how the applicant will properly allocate costs.
• Identifies whether the current or anticipated accounting system is capable of performing the task of indirect cost collection and allocation to specific grants, and describes the review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Identifies any manual processes for indirect cost allocation used in performing the calculation of rate(s), application to specific grants, and review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Details any exclusion of costs charged to government contracts and grants that represent amounts deemed unallowable under the cost principles appropriate for the applicant.
• Describes the process for identification of unallowable costs under the appropriate set of cost principles for the applicant.
• Describes applicant's ability to meet the 15 percent limitation on development and administrative costs (45 CFR § 1301.32).

• Describes the applicant's current accounting system used and the date of implementation of the system.  Identify any modules currently in use by the applicant, such as billing, indirect rate application, and payroll modules.
• Details the applicant's accounting system expected to be implemented upon award if the applicant expects to employ a new system.
• Outlines the timeframe for the implementation of the new system.
• Describes the groupings of accounts associated with the following cost allocation pools:
• Direct costs and expenditures
• Indirect costs including fringe benefits, if not charged to direct costs, overhead costs, and general and administrative costs
• Unallowable costs
• Describes the applicant's timekeeping system that identifies employees' labor by intermediate or final cost objectives.
• Details how the applicant segregates responsibilities for labor-related activities within the system.
• Identifies whether the timekeeping system is manual or automated.
• If the applicant's timekeeping system is automated, identifies the name of the system utilized, the review processes in place, and the procedures used to correct timekeeping errors within the system.
• Describes the applicant's labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives.
• Identifies the applicant's process for the application of payroll costs from the timekeeping system to the specific charge codes relating to specific grants identified in the system.
• Describes the applicant's review process of payroll costs applied to individual grants.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section, the application must identify the specific geographic location(s) to be served and provide data-based evidence about why that geographic area is in high need of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start services, such as the number of eligible children of farm workers, other available options for children while parents are employed in migrant or seasonal agricultural work, the extent to which children from low-income families are not meeting school readiness goals, the number of families in extreme poverty, high incidents of community health problems or violence, or other similar factors. If necessary, applications can include other methods to collect data on the need for services such as interviews with growers, informal surveys, community meetings, questionnaires, and interviews.

The application must describe proposed program options. This includes how many children and/or pregnant women will be served; the types of Head Start services they will provide; as well as the number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits that meet the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. The applicant should describe its capacity to meet the family needs of agricultural workers who are affected by weather, type of crop, season (e.g., planting versus harvesting), and other factors. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the proposed program options respond to the needs of the community in relation to available or unavailable services in the community. The application should describe how the Head Start program will partner with other programs or services in the community to meet the needs of low-income families to be served.

Head Start is designed to increase the number of low-income children receiving high-quality, comprehensive early education services that help facilitate healthy development, including physical and social/emotional development, and prepare them for school success. To meet this goal, it is critical that Head Start funds awarded through this Funding Opportunity Announcement do not supplant existing services. Thus, an entity receiving a Head Start grant must: 1) expand the number of children it is serving relative to the number it would serve in the absence of the grant, and/or 2) improve the services provided to children it would serve in the absence of the grant. In this section, applicants should describe how the number of children served and the type of services received would be affected if the applicant is awarded a grant to implement the proposed set of services.

Criteria

• The applicant identifies the geographic location it proposes to serve. The application defines the area(s) of greatest need and shows how it will direct Head Start resources to these areas.
• Provides evidence of presence in the community proposed to be served. (For example, being a provider of services in the community, or indicating support from community agencies, service provider organizations, community agencies serving low-income families, or other relevant sectors.)
• Demonstrates community engagement. The applicant discusses its plans or the process for involvement of service providers, public or private entities, and other members of the community in determining the need for services in the geographic locations proposed by the applicant. The applicant must include evidence of plans to collaborate with public or private entities providing early childhood education and development programs, and services for young children in the proposed service area in order to improve the efficiency of service delivery, increase access to needed services, and prevent duplication. Demonstration of community engagement may include memoranda of understanding that provide commitments of exchange of services, resource support, referrals, or other agreements.
• Provides a detailed description of the plan to meet the need for child development services for Head Start eligible children and families ( including the estimated number of eligible children by geographic location ); the needs of children with disabilities including procedures to identify such children; and the needs of dual language learners. Includes data regarding the education, health, nutrition, social, child care, and other service needs of the proposed children and families.
• Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs are expected to meet the comprehensive needs of enrolled children, including the number of hours per day and the number of weeks per season or year (depending on the crops) that families will be employed in agricultural work. The application specifies how the proposed number of hours per day, days per week, weeks per year, and home visits meets the needs of families, including the role of child care partners. The applicant's proposed program option(s) support(s) the needs of children and families as described in response to the evaluation criteria listed above.
• Describes how children and families will be recruited and selected for the program to ensure that services will be provided to those who have the most serious need for Head Start services. The applicant describes how the program will ensure that not less than 10 percent of the total number of children actually enrolled will be children with disabilities.
• Describes a plan to increase the number of low-income children the applicant proposes to serve, and/or how it will improve quality for children currently served. The applicant includes the number of children it currently serves in early education and other related programs, how many it would serve in the absence of this grant, and how many it would serve if awarded this grant.

Maximum Points: 40
Overview

Head Start is designed to help 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 is governed by Program Performance Standards that define the scope of services necessary to support children's development and school readiness. The application must demonstrate the capabilities to implement and sustain a plan for providing comprehensive, high-quality educational, health, mental health, nutritional, oral health, and other social services to children and their families that prepare children to succeed in school. To this end, the applicants must describe how they will implement program components, including the curriculum that will be used, why that curriculum was chosen above other curricula or approaches and the evidence basis that the curriculum effectively improves school readiness. The application also must include information about how the applicant will meet the health, nutrition, and family engagement goals of children and enrolled pregnant women, including how effectiveness and quality will be measured, monitored, and improved upon over time. The applicant must show how it will use child assessment data to inform and improve program practices overall and how these data will be used to tailor instruction and other supports to the needs of particular children; how they will provide ongoing professional development, including regular observation and feedback; how they will engage parents in their roles as teachers and advocates for their children; and how they will partner with other Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs that may enroll children as families move to follow the agricultural work; and how they will partner with local education agencies to create continuity for children across systems.

The application must also describe how the applicant will meet the unique needs of special populations, including children with disabilities, dual language learners, homeless children, children in working families, and children in foster care.

The application will be evaluated based on the degree to which the proposed program will meet the developmental and school readiness needs of children whose parents are migrant or seasonal agricultural workers, including the special populations described above. The applicant should provide information about why it made various programmatic choices, including, where applicable, how its choices reflect the best practices in the field as well as the unique needs of the community it will serve.

If applicable, the application provides information about proposed delegate agencies, how those delegate agencies were chosen, and how the grantee's oversight will ensure the delegate agencies implement high-quality programs that adhere to the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan to implement a high-quality, comprehensive program for the population the applicant proposes to serve, using a curriculum that:
• Is based on scientifically valid research;
• Is developmentally appropriate;
• Promotes the school readiness of participating children in each of the following domains: language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development;
• For preschool children, is aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and, as appropriate, State early learning standards; and
• The application specifies the name of the curriculum or curricula, the process for selecting the curriculum, why the curriculum was chosen over specific other options, and how the curriculum is tied to outcomes for children. The applicant discusses what tools it will use to support domains that the selected curriculum does not support.
• The application describes the process for establishing school readiness goals, including the plans to address the domains of:
• Language and literacy development,
• Cognition and general knowledge,
• Approaches toward learning,
• Physical well being and motor development, and
• Social and emotional development.

School readiness goals reflect the ages of children who will be participating in the program and must be culturally and linguistically appropriate and, for preschool children, align with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, State early learning guidelines, and the requirements and expectations of schools the children will attend after Head Start. The application explains the extent to which school readiness goals were or will be established in consultation with the parents of children who will be participating in the program.

• The application describes how the applicant will meet the needs of children with disabilities, including procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist the children in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the unique needs of the targeted population, including children in the child welfare system, and dual language learners. The application describes the procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide services to assist these children in making meaningful progress in attaining age-appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and development.
• The application describes how the applicant will meet the health, mental health, nutritional, and oral health needs of children. The application describes the system for health screening and services that will ensure children are accurately referred for necessary follow-up evaluation and treatment within timeframes specified by Head Start regulations and within the often very limited time the family may be enrolled before leaving in pursuit of work. Screening and services for identified needs should include, at a minimum, health, sensory, developmental, and oral health, and may be provided directly or through community partner providers. If electing to enroll pregnant women, the applicant describes how it will work with them to meet prenatal health care, educational, nutritional, and other needs to maximize the opportunity for healthy babies and successful transition of infants and families to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start services.
• The application describes a plan for implementing a system of regular observation of professional development, teacher-child interaction, feedback, and improvement of classroom practices. The application includes the name of instruments to be utilized.
• The application describes a plan to use child assessment data to individualize the instruction and learning for each child, and as necessary refer for additional evaluation and intervention, and to aggregate and analyze child-level assessment data at least three times per year (except for programs operating less than 90 days, which will be required to do so at least twice within their operating program period) and use that analysis in combination with other program data to determine grantees' progress toward meeting its goals, to inform parents and the community of results, and to direct continuous improvement related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design, and other program decisions.
• The application describes a plan to coordinate with public and private entities that are willing to commit resources to assist the applicant in providing high-quality child health and developmental services, and program management services. Such partnerships must include a plan to coordinate the proposed Head Start program with other child care and preschool programs, State pre-kindergarten programs, programs under Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, with the educational programs that children to be served will enter upon leaving Migrant and Seasonal Head Start.
• The application provides a plan to facilitate the meaningful engagement of parents (including fathers, grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) in activities (at home and, if practicable, at the location of the Head Start program) designed to help them become full partners in the education of their children. Such engagement includes participation in the conduct of the program, leadership opportunities, support for the parent-child relationship, opportunities for employment, and other paths to improved financial well being and continuity as children move to kindergarten and beyond. The application identifies and addresses barriers to parent participation, such as lack of transportation access or need for child care.
• The application explains the plan to implement the Head Start Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework and to offer family literacy and parenting skills training using evidence based curricula and approaches directly or through referral to local entities, public and school libraries, and entities carrying out family support programs. The application includes a plan to offer (either directly or through referrals) other support for families struggling with mental health challenges, domestic violence, homelessness, or substance abuse, including information on the effect of drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol syndrome. Such support must meet the unique needs of families who may move frequently in pursuit of agricultural work.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

This section identifies the qualifications and experience of the applicant. The applicant provides evidence of organizational experience (including the experience of key leaders in the organization) that supports its ability to implement a comprehensive child development program. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application demonstrates a high-functioning program with a competent management team and effective systems with demonstrated capacity to use data to inform continuous improvement in such areas as professional development, instructional practices, and family engagement.

The application must provide detailed information about how their past experience in early education (or related fields) and in communities similar to the targeted community, will enable them to operate a successful Head Start program. The application should provide evidence of the quality of the early education programs or related programs they have operated in the past. Reviewers will evaluate the degree to which the application provides evidence of the quality of services to be provided based on licensing, accreditation, ratings, or independent evaluations of programs, outcome data for children, or other information provided.

The application provides information about the past experience of organizations with which it proposes to delegate all or part of their services to children and families. Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee's three most recent OHS monitoring reports.

The application must explain the ways (if any) in which their past experience - or the past experience of any delegate agencies - differs from operating a Head Start program, generally and as compared to the program the applicant is proposing to implement. The applicant must discuss how it will address these differences and succeed in providing effective, high-quality, comprehensive Head Start services.

Criteria

• Demonstrates how the applicant's history and experience, based on past performance providing high-quality early education or other related programs, supports its ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of the size, complexity, and scope of their proposed program. Reviewers will evaluate evidence of experience, including:
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) rating,
• Record of high performance in the early primary grades by children formerly enrolled in the program,
• Evidence from use of teacher-child interaction rating system,
• Evidence of successful staff development system leading to highly qualified staff,
• Evidence of high level of success improving family self-sufficiency, and
• Evidence of successfully providing services to migrant and seasonal farmworker families.

Please note that if the applicant is a current or former Head Start or Early Head Start grantee, ACF will retrieve and review the grantee's last two OHS triennial monitoring reports, plus any other OHS monitoring reports issued in the five years preceding the posting of this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

• Demonstrates how the professional experience of the applicant's proposed management team (executive director, program director, managers), based on past performance providing comprehensive, high-quality early care and education, documents an ability to effectively and efficiently administer a project of this size, complexity, and scope within the service area.
• The application explains how the applicant's past performance and experience will inform its administration of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program it will operate and will help ensure a high-quality Head Start program. To the degree that the applicant is currently operating a program that differs from the Head Start program being proposed - such as differences in the target population, the set of services provided, the structure of the program (the hours, days, or weeks of operation), the mechanisms for quality assurance and improvement, the early learning standards to be used, and the performance measurement system - the applicant identifies these differences and explains how it will successfully adapt to the differences between its current program and the proposed program.

Maximum Points: 20
Overview

In this section the application must describe the qualifications and experience of the applicant staff in planning, organizing, and providing comprehensive child development services at the community level. The application must address: (1) how the applicant will facilitate strong educator-child relationships that support children's development; (2) how it will ensure that staff are able to implement evidence-based instructional practices that are individualized based on the ongoing assessment of each child to support positive child outcomes; and (3) how it will ensure that family service workers will be able to successfully partner with families in supporting children's development. The application also must describe how the applicant will attract and retain qualified staff; how it will support staff, through the regular provision of feedback, coaching, and other mechanisms; and how it will assess staff performance and address under-performing staff.

The application also must describe the management staff's knowledge of Head Start's broad requirements and how it will ensure that all program staff understand how those standards are applicable to them.

Criteria

• Documents that the proposed program director and proposed key staff are qualified and knowledgeable about administering complex social service programs or early education services. The applicant describes its key staff's major functions and responsibilities in the narrative, and includes their resumes in the appendix.
• Provides a clear plan to attract and retain qualified staff with the ability to implement a research-based curriculum, aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and State early learning standards, effective instructional strategies, and a high-quality comprehensive program.
• Describes what share of classroom teachers are expected to have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a related field. Demonstrates how all employees in center-based programs meet the requirements of the Head Start Act for staff qualifications set in Section 648A:
• For classroom teachers - associate degree in early childhood education ; (ii) an associate degree in a related field and coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, with experience teaching preschool-age children; or (iii) a baccalaureate degree and has been admitted into the Teach For America program, passed a rigorous early childhood content exam, such as the Praxis II, participated in a Teach For America summer training institute that includes teaching preschool children, and is receiving ongoing professional development and support from Teach For America's professional staff.
• For assistant teachers - by September 30, 2013, have at least a CDA CDA credential; be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree; or be enrolled in a CDA credential program to be completed within 2 years.
• The application describes the plan to maintain child-to-teacher, or family child care provider ratios, and family service worker caseloads that comply with regulations, reflect best practices and are tied to high-quality service delivery in the event of staff absences or vacancies.
• The application describes the plan to provide opportunities for qualified parents and other community residents to seek employment and how these opportunities will be designed to improve the quality of the proposed program. The applicant explains how it will provide career development opportunities for professional, paraprofessional, and other staff and how those opportunities will improve the quality of the proposed program.
• The application describes a clear plan to evaluate job applicants, including existing grantee staff, to determine which applicants are most capable of contributing to the implementation of a high-quality comprehensive program, including research-based curriculum aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and State early learning standards. The application describes how these staff evaluations will be used in the hiring process.
• The application describes an ongoing strategy for professional development, peer support, supervision, ongoing observations, coaching and mentoring, and evaluation of staff and program managers, oriented to improving the skills, knowledge, effectiveness, and career opportunities of all employees. The application describes the process for how it will manage underperforming staff. The applicant also describes how it has used these strategies in the past, their past successes and challenges, and any modifications it would make in the context of implementing the Head Start program it is proposing.

Maximum Points: 25
Overview

This section measures the applicant's ability to effectively implement and oversee operations which comply with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. The applicant describes its internal systems for communication, record keeping, reporting, and ongoing monitoring. The application provides evidence of past success in organizational management and successful governance.

The applicant should address how its management system supports its ability to direct change based on the ongoing collection and analysis of relevant data ( child assessment, community assessment, assessment of professional development and training, ongoing monitoring, and other sources).

Applicants must also demonstrate capacity to effectively implement a system of governance, taking into account the ultimate responsibility of the agency Board as well as the crucial role of the Policy Council and parents in decision making. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

The application describes mechanisms for ensuring fiscal integrity, timely implementation of services, and strong coordination with broader early childhood systems.

Criteria

• The application provides a plan identifying the capacity of the applicant's senior executive managers and governing board to: (1) exercise effective oversight of program operations and accountability for Federal funds; (2) include the Policy Council in the planning and decision-making process; (3) assure representation of the diverse community served; (4) set and monitor overall agency priorities and operational systems; and (5) conduct community assessment, annual self-assessments, ongoing monitoring and outcome-based evaluations.
• The applicant explains how its organizational oversight meets the program governance requirements established in Section 642(c) of the Head Start Act. The applicant provides information about how its current governance structure would change (if at all) to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
• Demonstrates the existence of management systems for program planning, internal and external communication, recordkeeping, issuance of internal and external reports and program self-assessment and monitoring.
• Demonstrates the applicant's ability to provide effective financial management in operating a Head Start program, based on experience.
• If proposing to delegate all or part of its responsibility for operating a Head Start program, the application identifies proposed delegate agencies including the communities in which they will operate, the number of children served, and their proposed program option(s).
• The application describes plans to meet or exceed State and local requirements concerning licensing for facilities, and to be accessible by State and local authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance, unless State or local laws prohibit such access. Where facilities are not available, the application provides a plan to acquire facilities in accordance with the requirements provided for the purchase, construction, and major renovation of facilities described in 45 CFR Part 1309.
• Demonstrates the ability to provide timely and efficient implementation of all program components and services, including planning during the transition period, the availability of classroom space and facilities that meets applicable State and local licensing standards, the ability to provide necessary transportation and the ability to recruit eligible children and families. The application includes an implementation timetable that expressly states when children will begin receiving Head Start services.
• The applicant provides plans to coordinate with other state programs and participates in state systems of early childhood development, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or the state equivalent. If applicant participates in QRIS, includes rating. If applicable, the applicant explains why it does not participate if there is a QRIS in its geographic area.

Maximum Points: 15
Overview

Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the project costs are appropriate and reasonable in view of the activities to be carried out and the anticipated outcomes. The budget provided in the application should reflect the applicant's commitment to meeting the community's need with regard to the program option(s), recruiting and retaining high performing staff, offering high-quality services, and establishing ongoing professional development and continuous evidence based quality improvement. Additionally, the application provides evidence of the checks and balances and internal controls necessary to both safeguard and ensure the efficient and most effective use of federal funds.

Criteria

• Demonstrates that funds are budgeted to provide all required comprehensive Head Start services to eligible children and families in a cost-effective manner as indicated in the application narrative.
• Demonstrates that start-up costs are justified, reasonable and applicable based on the applicant's proposed Head Start program. Start-up costs may include ensuring that proposed facilities comply with State and local requirements and are adequately equipped, classroom equipment and supplies, and/or staff background checks.
• Demonstrates that the applicant will contribute the required non-federal share/match of the total project cost, using allowable sources.

Maximum Points: 10

In the interest of ensuring a robust competition for high-quality, comprehensive early care and education service providers, we are awarding bonus points to applicant organizations that do not have agreements that prohibit another entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on another entity for making such application. Applicants that wish to receive the bonus points must include in their applications the following statement, "On behalf of (organization), I, (name), attest that (organization) does not have a non-compete or other agreement with any entity, at the time this application is submitted, which prohibits the entity from applying for a Head Start or Early Head Start grant on its own behalf or imposes a penalty on that entity for making such application." The statement must be signed by the person who is authorized to sign the application on behalf of the applicant.

• Demonstrates the existence of internal control characteristics described in the context of the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (COSO Report) by describing how the applicant's internal control framework relates to the five components of internal controls explained in the COSO Report.
• Demonstrates a plan to maintain strong fiscal controls and cost effective fiscal management and to comply with 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes policies and procedures to achieve compliance with post-award requirements referenced in 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 .
• Describes the applicant's commitment to high ethical standards in relation to written policies and programs inherent within the organization.

• Details the applicant's accounting policies and procedures, specifically addressing how the applicant segregates and identifies direct and indirect costs within the organization.
• Describes the applicant's purchasing policies and system(s) for the review of costs that are directly associated with grant objectives.
• Describes how the applicant utilizes a logical and consistent method for the allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives relating to specific grants or contracts.
• Makes reference to indirect rate agreements , if applicable, or the plan for cost allocation within the organization.
• Identifies the process of collection of indirect costs, calculation of rate(s), and the application or allocation of costs to specific grants.
• Describes how Head Start resources will be combined with other early childhood funding sources, if applicable, and describe how the applicant will properly allocate costs.
• Identifies whether the current or anticipated accounting system is capable of performing the task of indirect cost collection and allocation to specific grants, and describes the review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Identifies any manual processes for indirect cost allocation used in performing the calculation of rate(s), application to specific grants, and review of indirect cost information entered into the accounting system.
• Details any exclusion of costs charged to government contracts and grants that represent amounts deemed unallowable under the cost principles appropriate for the applicant.
• Describes the process for identification of unallowable costs under the appropriate set of cost principles for the applicant.
• Describes applicant's ability to meet the 15 percent limitation on development and administrative costs (45 CFR § 1301.32) .

• Describes the applicant's current accounting system used and the date of implementation of the system.  Identify any modules currently in use by the applicant, such as billing, indirect rate application, and payroll modules.
• Details the applicant's accounting system expected to be implemented upon award if the applicant expects to employ a new system.
• Outlines the timeframe for the implementation of the new system.
• Describes the groupings of accounts associated with the following cost allocation pools:
• Direct costs and expenditures
• Indirect costs including fringe benefits, if not charged to direct costs, overhead costs, and general and administrative costs
• Unallowable costs
• Describes the applicant's timekeeping system that identifies employees' labor by intermediate or final cost objectives.
• Details how the applicant segregates responsibilities for labor-related activities within the system.
• Identifies whether the timekeeping system is manual or automated.
• If the applicant's timekeeping system is automated, identifies the name of the system utilized, the review processes in place, and the procedures used to correct timekeeping errors within the system.
• Describes the applicant's labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives.
• Identifies the applicant's process for the application of payroll costs from the timekeeping system to the specific charge codes relating to specific grants identified in the system.
• Describes the applicant's review process of payroll costs applied to individual grants.