Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Expansion, and Migrant and Seasonal Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Expansion Grants

Background
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS) is offering approximately $14 million in grants to expand access to high-quality, comprehensive services for Migrant and Seasonal infants, toddlers, and their families through Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-CC) Partnerships, and/or through the expansion of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start services. The goal is to ensure a distribution of resources to meet the demonstrated community needs of children from birth to compulsory school age and the needs of families pursuing employment, training, education, and other opportunities to support their well-being.

Grant Details
Eligible applicants can apply to establish or add new traditional Head Start slots through Head Start Expansion. For any new Head Start center-based slots, applicants are expected to propose a service duration that meets the identified needs of the community and is not less than the requirements described in 1302.21(c)(2) of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Eligible applicants including existing EHS recipients can apply to establish or add new traditional EHS slots through non-partnership EHS Expansion. Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) will enhance and support early learning settings to provide full-day, full-year, comprehensive services that meet the needs of low-income working families; enhance access to high-quality, full-time child care; support the development of infants and toddlers through strong relationship-based experiences; and prepare them for the transition into preschool.

Eligibility Requirements
ACF solicits applications from public entities, including states, or private non-profit organizations, including community-based or faith-based organizations, or for-profit agencies that meet eligibility for applying as stated in section 42 U.S.C. 9840A of the Head Start Act. Applicants must prioritize providing services to vulnerable families with the greatest need. ACF recognizes that funding should be prioritized to facilitate the enrollment of families living in poverty while also considering measures of need such as extreme poverty or homelessness.

Period of Performance
The project period is 60 months with five 12-month budget periods. The anticipated project start date is 09/30/2024.

Grant Value
$14,658,024 is available for approximately 7 awards with an average projected award amount of $1,500,000 per budget period.