Fiscal Year 2002 Discretionary Announcement for Nationwide Competition of Early Head Start; Availability of Funds and Request for Applications

Early Head Start programs provide early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services on a year-round basis to low-income families. The purpose of the Early Head Start program is to enhance children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; to support parents' efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and to help parents move toward self-sufficiency. The Administration on Children, Youth and Families announces approximately $72 million in financial assistance to be competitively awarded to local public and private non-profit and for-profit entities--including Early Head Start and Head Start grantees--to provide child and family development services for low-income families with children under age three and pregnant women. Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for these funds to become Early Head Start grantees. Applicants may apply for one or more of the following categories of expansion: 1. Current Early Head Start grantees, proposing to expand in their currently approved EHS service area ($20 million). (See Priority 1 Evaluation Criteria.) 2. Applicants, including current Early Head Start grantees and, proposing to establish an Early Head Start program in areas currently unserved by Early Head Start (see Attachment A for a listing of currently served areas; any area not listed is eligible for funding in this category) ($42 million). (See Priority 1 Evaluation Criteria.) 3. Applicants proposing to serve children in an Early Head Start program whose families are receiving support from the Child Welfare Services (CWS) system ($10 million). (See Priority 2 Evaluation Criteria.) Applicants eligible for funding under this category are as follows: a. Current grantees may include a request for serving CWS children as a second part of their application under either 1 or 2 above or may submit an application only to serve CWS children. While each applicant should decide on the appropriate mix between CWS children and other children, we would not expect applicants to propose that a large portion of their children be CWS children unless there are compelling reasons for doing so which must be documented in the application. b. Applicants who are not current EHS providers may apply to serve CWS children only if they are also submitting an expansion proposal under 2 above. While each applicant should decide on the appropriate mix between CWS children and other children, we would not expect applicants to propose that a large portion of their children be CWS children unless there are compelling reasons for doing so which must be documented in the application.