Title
Approval to Apply, Accept and Disburse Early Head Start Child Care Partnership Grant Expansion (Ordinance S-44848)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept and if awarded, enter into any necessary agreements for the Early Head Start Child Care Partnership Grant Expansion opportunity for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 from the Department of Health and Human Services in an amount not to exceed $4 million. Further request authorization for the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The Administration for Children and Families will make available funding to be competitively awarded for the purpose of expanding access to high-quality, comprehensive early learning services for low-income infants and toddlers and their families. New or existing grantees can apply for Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships, Non-Partnership Early Head Start Expansion, or a combination of both. Applicants are expected to provide full-day, full-year models. The resulting partnerships will allow programs to leverage their funds to provide more high quality early learning slots for infants and toddlers in the community.
Early Head Start was established in 1995 as a program for low-income families with children ages birth to three years old and pregnant women. It is based on evidence that the time of conception to age three is critical for human development. The family-centered services are designed to promote early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development. Research shows these services improve school readiness outcomes for children.
The City of Phoenix Early Head Start currently serves nine school district areas within Phoenix. The Human Services Department intends to apply for expansion in the federal poverty areas as well as other zip codes in the City of Phoenix Early Head Start service area.
With the approval of this item, Human Services Department staff would apply for the combination program model with first priority going to child care partnerships. Early Head Start Child Care Partnership services must be partially funded by Arizona child care subsidies while the non-partner Early Head Start center-based services would be grant funded. The non-partnership model allows for the city to directly operate classrooms should child care capacity not be sufficient to cover these services.
Financial Impact
If awarded the funding would be for a period of five years. The level of funding available within each of the 10 Administrative for Children and Families Regions is based on the number of young children in poverty in that region. Our region is Region IX.
The non-federal share match required by the grant will be generated by community partners, contractors, volunteers and City in-kind services. No additional general funds are needed to operate programs as a result of this grant opportunity.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Head Start Policy Council approved this item on May 29, 2018. The Parks, Arts, Education and Equality Subcommittee is scheduled to vote on this item on June 27, 2018.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Deanna Jonovich and the Human Services Department.