Title
Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report - March - 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 March, the total program enrollment was 2,161 out of 2,209 available slots, or 97 percent.
At the end of March, enrollment for the Preschool Education Service Providers was 1,957 slots filled out of 1,957, or 100 percent.
The Early Head Start program, which includes home-based and center-based year-round programming, ended the month with 204 slots filled out of 252, or 81 percent. The home-based program exceeded its capacity, filling 79 out of 64 available slots, or 123 percent. In contrast, the center-based program filled 125 out of 188 slots, or 66 percent. As a result of lower enrollment in the center-based program, additional families have been enrolled in the home-based program to boost overall enrollment.
The contracts with Out of This World Christian Child Care, Inc., Fusion Minds, LLC, and DBA Immanuel Care for Children ended on January 30, 2025, leading to 76 available slots. A contract with Kuehg Corp., DBA KinderCare Learning Centers began on February 1, 2025. KinderCare was awarded 40 slots and began enrolling children on March 24, 2025. At the end of March a total of 30 children were enrolled, totaling 75 percent. The remaining 36 Early Head Start slots, along with an additional four slots from the home-based program, have been allocated to the Greater Phoenix Urban League. The slots will be fully enrolled by June 2, 2025.
Additional families continue to be enrolled in the home-based program. Families receive services while the Greater Phoenix Urban League prepares to open classrooms to maintain full enrollment in the Head Start Birth to Five program.
Federal Impact on Head Start
Congress extended Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding levels through next year. However, this extension will not include a cost-of-living adjustment.
On April 1, five Office of Head Start regional offices, Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, were closed. The closures were in accordance with Secretary Kennedy's plans for reducing the size of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The City of Phoenix's Head Start Birth to Five Program reported to the San Francisco Office, which is part of Region IX. The programs that were reporting to these offices will now be reassigned to different offices. As of now, the Head Start Birth to Five program has not been informed about which office the City of Phoenix will report to.
Office of Head Start Monitoring
The Office of Head Start monitors grantees twice during their five-year grant cycle. The first monitoring, known as Focus Area One (FA1), occurs virtually within the first 18 months of the grant. The Head Start Birth to Five Program's five-year grant cycle began on July 1, 2024, and the FA1 was conducted February 18-19, 2025. During this review, staff answer questions about the program's practices, procedures, and services. This review covers several areas including program design and management, education and child development, health, family and community engagement, and fiscal infrastructure. The review also addresses the processes involved in eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance. Based on the responses from the Head Start Birth to Five staff, the Office of Head Start assesses the program's alignment with the Head Start Program Performance Standards. The assessment also includes determining whether the program is compliant, has an area of concern, an area of noncompliance, or a deficiency.
On March 11, 2025, the Head Start Birth to Five Program received the outcome of the FA1 review. The results indicated that the program was in compliance in all areas except for two areas of concern. An area of concern does not require any action but reflects an area of performance that is at risk of becoming an area of non-compliance. The first area of concern involves Early Head Start center-based teachers who are working to obtain a Child Development Associates (CDA) credential. The six teachers identified are taking coursework and are on track to complete the CDA within the next year. The second area of concern is in health services related to obtaining medical and oral health determinations from a health care professional. The Health Specialist is actively working to ensure compliance in this area. Attachment B provides the report received.
Full Enrollment Initiative
The Full Enrollment Initiative for the Head Start Birth to Five Program concluded on April 4, 2025. On October 1, 2024, 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 the time.
Starting in November 2024, the Head Start Birth to Five Preschool Program achieved an enrollment rate of 97 percent or higher, fulfilling the mandatory six-month requirement to be fully enrolled by April 2025. The Early Head Start Program maintained full enrollment from November 2024 through January 2025 but did not meet the 97 percent enrollment rate in February or March due to the new provider onboarding. Additional families will be enrolled in the home-based program to achieve full enrollment in April 2025. Program staff expect to receive notice of the Head Start Birth to Five program status by June, 2025.
Risk Assessment Notification Review
The Head Start Birth to Five program received a Risk Assessment Notification in April 2024 due to a violation by a provider of the Head Start Program Performance Standards, specifically regarding the Standards of Conduct. To enhance the program's current policies and procedures for ensuring children safety, training and technical assistance were provided through Region IX Head Start Office.
The Risk Assessment Notification process officially concluded on February 6, 2025. The final step occurred February 11-12, 2025, when reviewers from Region IX conducted a visit. They evaluated seven classrooms and interviewed several teachers. On April 3, 2025, the Head Start Birth to Five program received a letter from the Office of Head Start confirming the program had successfully corrected the deficiency and the findings were officially closed. A copy of the letter can be found in Attachment C.
School Attendance
The annual target for attendance set by the Office of Head Start is 85 percent. Attachment D indicates the year-to-date average attendance through the end of March. Head Start Preschool was 74 percent. The Early Head Start Center-Based program was 44 percent.
Medical/Dental Exams
Head Start regulations require all children have medical and dental exams annually. At the end of March, 2,423 medical and 2,188 dental exams were completed, totaling 4,611 exams. This is illustrated in Attachment E. The target goals have been updated to reflect the new enrollment number.
Program Information Summaries
Please see Attachment F.
Nutrition
Each program must design and carry out nutrition services that are culturally and developmentally appropriate. Programs must also 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 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 March.
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 March, 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. 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 March, there were no PI's and one IM released. The IM was released on March 19, 2025, promoting healthy eating and nutrition for Head Start children and families, see Attachment G.
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.