Title
Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report - June - Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 & 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 (FY) 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 June, the total program enrollment was 247 out of 2,209 available slots, which is 11 percent. The low enrollment numbers are due to the preschool programs not being in session.
Head Start Preschool follows the local elementary school district calendars, so there is no programming in June or July. Preschool will resume for all Education Service Providers in August.
The Early Head Start program, which includes home-based and center-based year-round programming, ended the month with 247 slots filled out of 252, representing 98 percent capacity. Notably, the home-based program exceeded its capacity, by enrolling 111 children out of 64 available slots, equating to 173 percent. In contrast, the center-based program filled 136 out of 188 slots, which is 72 percent capacity. The home-based program continues to enroll families to maintain full enrollment while the Greater Phoenix Urban League and Booker T. Washington Child Development Center prepare their center-based classrooms to open in August 2025.
Federal Impact on Head Start
Congress extended Federal FY 2024-25 funding levels through FY 2025-26. However, this extension will not include a cost-of-living adjustment.
On July 10, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a statement designating Head Start as a "federal public benefit" under Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. On July 14, 2025, this statement was filed in the Federal Register. The Head Start Birth to Five Program is adjusting its eligibility requirements to comply with this new ruling. More information will be included in the August report.
Full Enrollment Initiative
The Full Enrollment Initiative for the Head Start Birth to Five Program concluded on April 4, 2025. Early Head Start continues to participate in the initiative due to enrollment below 97 percent in June.
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 June. Head Start Preschool was 77 percent. The Early Head Start Center-Based program was 47 percent.
Medical/Dental Exams
Head Start regulations require all children have medical and dental exams annually. At the end of June, 2,531 medical and 2,277 dental exams were completed, totaling 4,808 exams. This is illustrated in Attachment C. The target goals have been updated to reflect the new enrollment number.
Program Information Summaries
Please see Attachment D.
Child Incident Reports
The Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs submit reports related to any significant incidents affecting program participant health and safety. This includes injuries requiring hospitalization, emergency room treatment, or doctor's visit. Additionally, significant incidents include 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 June.
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 June, there were no reports 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. This includes 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 June, there were no PI's and or IM'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.