Yesterday, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the additional $140 million in grants to expand Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs) and Early Head Start programs. The FOA was released ahead of the estimated November 1 date in the funding forecast. States, as well as public and private organizations that meet eligibility requirements, are able to apply by the November 30 deadline.
While the partnerships were established in 2013, the first cohort of EHS-CCP grants were awarded in 2015. Grantees have successfully expanded access to the high-quality learning and comprehensive services of Early Head Start to thousands of low-income infants and toddlers in child care settings. These new grants will build on this success and create additional partnerships between Early Head Start and other child care providers. The full FOA can be accessed here. ACF expects to make 60 awards ranging from $750,000 to $8 million.
Currently, Early Head Start does not have nearly enough capacity to serve all eligible children. EHS-CCP grants aim to incorporate the strengths of Early Head Start into other child care settings, elevating the quality of these programs and reaching more children. To date, more than 32,000 infants and toddlers have benefited from the partnerships and more than 8,000 teachers and staff are receiving enhanced professional development through the partnerships. The initial grantees have leveraged the innovative partnership model to maximize funding, while preserving their autonomy, to improve learning and care for children. You can learn more about EHS-CCPs and read profiles of some grantees here.