Title
Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report - November - Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8
Description
This report provides the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee, which serves as the City of Phoenix Head Start Birth to Five Governing Board, with an updated summary of the Head Start Birth to Five Program's financial and programmatic status.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
Report
Summary
The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 requires each Head Start Grantee to share monthly information with the Governing Board and Policy Council on program planning, policies and operations. In compliance with the Act, the Head Start program provides a monthly report on the following areas:
- Fiscal expenditures.
- Enrollment reports.
- School attendance.
- Medical/dental exams.
- Program information summaries.
- Nutrition.
- Child Incident Reports.
- Program Instructions or Information Memorandums.
Fiscal Expenditures
Attachment A shows year-to-date expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2024-25. The report includes a breakdown of each Education Service Provider, Child Care Partnership, Policy Council and the administrative support budget.
Enrollment Reports
The Office of Head Start requires programs to report the total number of children enrolled on the last day of each month. At the end of November, the total program enrollment was 2,191 out of 2,209 available slots, or 99 percent.
Enrollment at the end of November for the Preschool Education Service Providers was 1,943 slots filled out of 1,957, or 99 percent.
Early Head Start, which includes home-based and center-based year-round programming, ended the month with 248 slots filled out of 252, or 98 percent. The home-based program filled 98 out of 64 slots, or 153 percent, and the center-based program filled 150 out of 188 slots, or 80 percent. Due to lower enrollment in the center-based program, additional families have been enrolled in the home-based program to maintain full enrollment.
Enrollment Reduction Request
On April 1, 2024, the Head Start Birth to Five Program submitted a request to reduce its enrollment by 1,242 slots. The reduction approval would bring the program to 1,957 Head Start preschool slots and 252 Early Head Start slots (64 home-based and 188 center-based), for a total of 2,209 slots. This request aims to maintain current funding levels while enhancing service delivery by offering full-day preschool classes requested by families and by increasing salaries for teachers and staff.
The Head Start Birth to Five Program achieved a 99.7 percent enrollment rate based on the proposed reduced number of slots, by the end of November, exceeding the target 97 percent of 2,209 slots. This success was reached through the active involvement of staff in various community events, collaboration with community partners, and through analysis of locations with vacancies.
On November 26, 2024, the Region 9 Office of Head Start informed the program via email that the request for enrollment reduction had been approved. On November 29, 2024, the Office of Head Start issued a Notice of Award reflecting the change in funded slots, bringing the total to 2,209 slots: 1,957 for Head Start Preschool and 252 in Early Head Start. The December Monthly Report attachments will reflect the new enrollment numbers.
Full Enrollment Initiative
The Full Enrollment Initiative for the Head Start Birth to Five Program concluded on April 4, 2024. On October 1, the program received a final letter from the Office of Head Start designating it as chronically under enrolled. The letter noted that, due to measurable progress towards achieving full enrollment, the Office of Head Start will not reduce the base grant for the Head Start Birth to Five Program at this time. However, any unobligated funds may be recaptured at the end of the grant period.
Risk Assessment Notification Review
The Head Start Birth to Five program received a Risk Assessment Notification in April 2024 due to a Child Care Partner violating the Head Start Program Performance Standards, specifically the Standards of Conduct. Training and technical assistance to enhance the Birth to Five's current policies and procedures for ensuring the safety of children has been provided through Region 9 Head Start. To date, the Birth to Five staff are on track to complete the items on the Quality Improvement Plan as scheduled. Standards of Conduct training has been completed with Education Service Provider and City staff. The Quality Assurance Monitoring team concluded the Standards of Conduct monitoring in all 135 classrooms. Initial findings suggest that instructional staff consistently adhere to the Standards of Conduct. This positive compliance reflects a commitment to maintaining a professional and respectful learning environment.
School Attendance
The annual target for attendance set by the Office of Head Start is 85 percent. Attachment B indicates the year-to-date average attendance through the end of November. Head Start Preschool was 57 percent. The Early Head Start Center-Based program was 53 percent. This reduction in attendance is due to vacant slots. Under-enrollment impacts attendance, as it is calculated on funded enrollment, not actual enrollment. Since the program received the approval of the proposed enrollment reduction by the Office of Head Start at the end of November, attendance percentage will reflect the new enrollment number in the December report.
Medical/Dental Exams
Head Start regulations require all children to have medical and dental exams annually. At the end of November, 2,170 medical and 1,869 dental exams were completed, totaling 4,039 exams, as illustrated in Attachment C.
Program Information Summaries
Please see Attachment D.
Nutrition
Each program must design and carry out nutrition services that are culturally and developmentally appropriate and provide children with up to two-thirds of their daily nutritional requirements. Nutrition services must meet the nutritional needs and feeding requirements of each child, including children with identified food allergies, children with disabilities, and children who have special diets due to religion and family preference. In addition, a program must serve meals and snacks that meet U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary patterns and are high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar, and salt. Children in the Early Head Start Center-Based classrooms receive protein, fruits, vegetables, and low carbohydrates during breakfast and lunch with milk or water. Snacks include protein and low carbohydrates with milk or water.
Child Incident Reports
The Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to submit reports, as appropriate, to the responsible Office of Head Start official immediately, or as soon as practicable, related to any significant incidents affecting the health and safety of the program participations. This includes injuries requiring hospitalization, emergency room treatment, or doctor's visit, as well as inappropriate discipline, potential child abuse or maltreatment, lack of supervision, or unauthorized release of a child. There were no Child Incident Reports submitted to the Office of Head Start in November.
Department of Child Safety Reports
All Head Start and Early Head Start staff are required to report suspected child abuse and neglect to protect children and help children and families connect to services. During the month of November, two reports were made to the Department of Child Safety.
Program Instructions or Information Memorandums
Periodically, the Office of Head Start needs to provide information or programmatic updates to all Head Start Grantees. This is done through Program Instructions (PIs) and Information Memorandums (IMs). PIs provide information or recommendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families to States, Tribes, grantees, and others on various issues of child welfare that usually result in guidance or policy changes. IMs provide up-to-date information but do not establish requirements or supersede existing laws of official guidance. In November, there were no IM's or PI's released.
Locations
Alhambra Elementary School District, 4510 N. 37th Avenue
Cartwright Elementary School District, 5220 W. Indian School Road
Deer Valley Unified School District, 20402 N. 15th Avenue
Fowler Elementary School District, 1617 S. 67th Avenue
Isaac School District, 3348 W. McDowell Road
Laveen Elementary School District, 5601 W. Dobbins Road
Murphy Elementary School District, 3140 W. Buckeye Road
Pendergast Elementary School District, 3802 N. 91st Avenue
Phoenix Elementary School District, 1817 N. 7th Street
Riverside Elementary School District, 1414 S. 51st Avenue
Roosevelt Elementary School District, 6000 S. 7th Street
Washington Elementary School District, 4650 W. Sweetwater Avenue
Wilson Elementary School District, 3025 E. Fillmore Street
Council Districts: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and the Human Services Department.