Title
Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report - August 2023
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; and
- Program information summaries.
Fiscal Expenditures
Attachment A shows year-to-date expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2023-24, which began July 1, 2023. The reports include 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 August, overall enrollment was 1,996 out of 3,451 available slots.
In the Preschool program, all Education Service Providers have started the school year. At the end of August, 1,780 slots out of 2,963 were filled. The Preschool program can serve approximately 175 more children based on the current number of teachers.
Early Head Start ended the month of August with 216 slots filled out of 488. The Home-Based program, which provides year-round, in-person home visitation, filled 63 slots out of 300. The Child Care Partnership program, which provides full-day, year-round services, filled 153 slots out of 188. The Home-Based program can serve two more children based on the current number of home visitors, and the Child Care Partners can serve approximately 10 more children based on the current number of teachers. Some vacancies are due to children turning three and aging out of the program. Children who age out can apply for Head Start Preschool, or a private or school district preschool program.
Education Service Providers and Child Care Partners continue to recruit classroom staff through social media, job search websites, and collaboration with colleges.
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 August. Head Start Preschool was 50 percent, and the Child Care Partnership program was 62 percent. Under-enrollment impacts attendance, as it is calculated on funded enrollment, not actual enrollment.
Medical/Dental Exams
Head Start regulations require all children to have medical and dental exams annually. At the end of August, 1,277 medical and 1,220 dental exams were completed, totaling 2,497 exams, as illustrated in Attachment C.
Program Information Summaries
Please see Attachment D.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and the Human Services Department.