The Office of Head Start (OHS) announces the availability of approximately $295 million to be awarded for increasing the total annual hours of high-quality early education services offered to children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start center-based, family child care, and locally-designed programs. Of the $295 million that may be available for award, $257.4 million is available under Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141), and additional funding may be available under fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations. Awards made under this Program Instruction (PI) are subject to the availability of federal funds.

This funding is not available to grants funded under the Early Head Start Expansion and Child Care Partnership appropriations.

OHS will award funds to grantees eligible under this PI. Funding is noncompetitive. OHS expects to award funds to eligible grantees in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and the Republic of Palau, pending fundable applications. Subject to appropriations, funds awarded would become part of a grantee's base funding in future years.

Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) grantees, including American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) grantees, are described in this section.

Funds will be awarded in priority order by condition listed below. In the event fundable requests exceed available funding, conditions with lower priority will not be funded.

Grantees will not be awarded funding under this opportunity to extend program hours beyond 1,020 hours for Head Start center-based slots nor to extend program hours beyond 1,380 hours for family child care and EHS center-based slots.

For all grantees, eligibility will be determined using the data from the Program Schedule Verification Amendment in the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES), including grantees that have successfully competed and received awards since July 1, 2018.

Grantees meeting one or more of the conditions below are eligible to receive funds for the program(s) where the condition applies. Conditions are listed in priority order.

Conditions of Eligibility

• Condition 1: EHS programs operating less than 100 percent of family child care and/or center-based slots at 1,380 hours
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 100 percent of their Early Head Start center-based or family child care slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
• Condition 2: Head Start programs operating less than 100 percent of family child care slots at 1,380 hours
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 100 percent of their Head Start family child care slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
• Condition 3: MSHS programs serving predominantly infants and toddlers and operating less than 45 percent center-based slots at 1,380 hours
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase up to 45 percent of their infant and toddler center-based slots to operate for 1,380 hours.
• Condition 4: Head Start programs operating double session variations with less than 45 percent of total center-based slots at 1,020 hours, and proposing to convert part-day, double session variations to single sessions
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their percentage of Head Start center-based slots that operate for 1,020 hours up to 45 percent or, for very small programs, one classroom (which may exceed 45 percent in total).
• Condition 5: Head Start programs operating less than 45 percent of center-based slots at 1,020 hours
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their percentage of Head Start center-based slots that operate for 1,020 hours up to 45 percent or, for very small programs, one classroom (which may exceed 45 percent in total).
• Condition 6: EHS programs operating a locally-designed option (LDO) with a combination model of classroom hours and home visits
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their hours of service.
• Condition 7: Head Start programs operating an LDO with a combination model of classroom hours and home visits
  • Eligible grantees may apply for funding to increase their hours of service.

Ineligible

• Requests proposed to supplant existing subsidies or other funding. For example, grantees using other funding sources, such as State or private funding, to operate slots for longer annual hours cannot apply to use this Head Start funding in lieu of existing streams of funding. OHS will use current program schedule data to determine eligibility for this funding.
• Grantees not meeting any of the seven conditions outlined above
• Requests to increase enrollment
• Requests proposed to increase other program costs not associated with extending service hours for applicable slots

Applying for Funds
Applicants must submit all required materials, as explained below, by December 1, 2018.

Eligible applicants must submit an Amendment to Increase Program Hours in HSES. Application for these funds is voluntary. Further instructions are available in HSES.

Content of Applications
Applicants must address the following requirements in their application. The Application and Budget Justification Narrative should begin with a Table of Contents, use 12-point font, and should not exceed 20 pages.

Application and Budget Justification Narrative
Applicants must base their approach on the most recent community assessment and the program's priorities for selection of children with the highest need for services.

For each condition of eligibility for which the applicant is requesting funding, specify the following:

• Identify the condition(s) by number (e.g., Condition 1, Condition 2, etc.).
• Indicate the number of children proposed to receive increased hours of service under each applicable condition.
• Explain the rationale for increased program hours and discuss how the proposed changes will meet the identified needs of children and families for each applicable condition.
• Explain staffing increases for each applicable condition.
• Identify the sites at which the services are proposed, why these sites were selected, the proposed number of classrooms, and the proposed number of children to be served for each applicable condition.
• Specify the timetable and dates, by site, when services will be fully implemented for each applicable condition.

OHS expects applicants will be fully operational at the increased service hours not later than the 2019–20 school year.

Applicants must ensure the proposed program schedule accurately reflects the total funded enrollment and includes the total annual fully increased hours of service for children. Incomplete schedules may not be considered for funding.

Budget Requirements
Grantees may have varying start dates by group based on their program model, available facilities, training, and supplies. OHS is requesting an initial budget that will consist of funding for start-up and operations that will occur prior to each grantee's FY 2020 funding date. OHS reserves the right to issue initial funding in one or multiple awards based on available funding, grantee annual funding months, and the intended timeline for implementation of services. Additionally, OHS requires a Standard Form (SF)-424A object class category breakdown of ongoing annual costs to accurately plan future national funding and to determine the cost of ongoing services by grant.

Grantee training and technical assistance (T/TA) set-asides will not increase under this appropriation. However, consistent with current budgeting authority, grantees may elect to use a portion of operational funding, both in start-up and ongoing costs, for T/TA purposes.

Budget for Initial Award
All initial awards will be effective March 1, 2019.

Applicants will enter the detailed budget for the initial award that includes pro-rated operations and start-up requests in the budget data fields that populate to the SF-424A of the Amendment to Increase Program Hours in HSES.

The initial award amount requested should indicate funding needed from March 1, 2019 (FY 2019) to your FY 2020 annual funding date. Applicants should consider the funds needed to scale up and provide services until the start of their FY 2020 annual funding, based on the timelines indicated in the narrative. The maximum number of months to include is displayed in the table below.

When proposing the initial budget, consider the implementation date of services by group/condition and the funds needed to scale up and provide such services. Identify requested start-up as a separate line item.

Start-up costs must be identified as a separate line item in the SF-424A. Itemize and explain requests in the Narrative. Approval of start-up costs is not guaranteed. Start-up funds are negotiated at the time of award and are based on reasonableness, necessity, and the availability of funds.

Examples of start-up activities include classroom supplies, licensing, training, background checks for additional staff, busses, and space costs.

Facilities
Requests for funds to purchase, construct, or complete major renovations are subject to Facilities, 45 CFR § 1303 Subpart E of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Applicants are encouraged to submit 45 CFR § 1303 materials with the application for funds to ensure timely review prior to award.

Budget for 12-Month (Annual) Operations
Applicants will provide a budget that includes the ongoing annual cost to increase program hours. The budget should be broken out by object class category on the SF-424A as "12-Month Budget" in the Amendment to Increase Program Hours. Further instructions are available in HSES.

In future budgets, these amounts may be added to the base CANs for Head Start and Early Head Start. Applicants must provide a narrative that describes the intended use of annual supplemental funds necessary to support the ongoing operating costs for the increased hours of service.

Deadline
All applications (Amendment to Increase Program Hours) must be submitted in HSES not later than December 1, 2018.

Please direct any questions regarding this PI to your Regional Office.

Thank you for the work you do on behalf of children and families.

/ Deborah Bergeron /

Deborah Bergeron
Director
Office of Head Start