Age & Basics
What age range can children be enrolled in Early Head Start?
Birth to the child's 3rd birthday
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility. (b) (1) For Early Head Start, except when the child is transitioning to Head Start Preschool, a child must be an infant or a toddler younger than three years old.
What is the standard federal poverty line percentage that is used as a guideline for determining eligibility?
100% or below
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility.(c) (1) A pregnant woman or a child is eligible if: (i) The family’s income is equal to or below the poverty line
What is the name of the active list that must be maintained continuously throughout the year?
Waiting List
Each site has their own wait list. We also have a waitlist for those families who are interested in any of our locations.
1302.14 Selection process (c) A program must develop at the beginning of each enrollment year and maintain during the year a waiting list that ranks children according to the program’s selection criteria.
What types of income documentation do we utilize to determine gross income?
Tax forms, pay stubs, etc.
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (1) To verify eligibility based on income, program staff must use tax forms, pay stubs, or other proof of income to determine the family income for the relevant time period. (i) The program must calculate total gross income using applicable sources of income.
What is the minimum average daily attendance percentage an Early Head Start program must maintain?
85%
1302.16 Attendance (b) Managing systematic program attendance issues. If a program’s monthly average daily attendance rate falls below 85 percent, the program must analyze the causes of absenteeism to identify any systematic issues that contribute to the program’s absentee rate. The program must use this data to make necessary changes in a timely manner as part of ongoing oversight and correction as described in §1302.102(b) and inform its continuous improvement efforts as described in §1302.102(c).
When does a transition plan need to be implemented for an EHS child?
2 years and 6 months
1302.70 Transitions from Early Head Start (b) Timing for transitions. To ensure the most appropriate placement and service following participation in Early Head Start, such programs must, at least six months prior to each child’s third birthday, implement transition planning for each child and family
What are 3 types of public assistance that qualify families for Early Head Start?
1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
3. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
How many calendar days do we have to fill a vacant slot when it opens?
30 days
1302.15 Enrollment. (a) A program must maintain its funded enrollment level and fill any vacancy as soon as possible. A program must fill any vacancy within 30 days.
If a family spends more than ____% of their income on housing, it can be deducted from their total gross income.
30%
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (I)(ii) A program may make an adjustment to a family’s gross income calculation for the purposes of determining eligibility to account for excessive housing costs. A program may use available bills, bank statements, and other relevant documentation provided by the family to calculate total annual housing costs with appropriate multipliers to:
(A) Determine if a family spends more than 30 percent of their total gross income on housing costs, as defined in part 1305 of this chapter; and
(B) If applicable, reduce the total gross income by the amount spent on housing costs that exceed more than 30 percent.
If a child is unexpectedly absent, within how many hours of the start of the program day must program staff attempt to contact the family?
1 hour
1302.16 Attendance. (1) A program must implement a process to ensure children are safe when they do not arrive at school. If a child is unexpectedly absent and a parent has not contacted the program within one hour of program start time, the program must attempt to contact the parent to ensure the child’s well-being.
What does ERSEA stand for?
Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance
Children experiencing what type of severe housing instability are categorically eligible for Early Head Start, regardless of income?
Homelessness
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (c) (iii) The child is homeless, as defined in part 1305;
Homeless children means the same as homeless children and youths in Section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act at 42 U.S.C. 11434a (2).
Who is responsible for the recruitment of children?
Child Care Partners AND CDI Admin
What does a family use if they report no income or experiencing homelessness?
A signed declaration or written note.
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (3) To verify whether a family is homeless, a program may accept a written statement from a homeless services provider, school personnel, or other service agency attesting that the child is homeless or any other documentation that indicates homelessness, including documentation from a public or private agency, a declaration, information gathered on enrollment or application forms, or notes from an interview with staff to establish the child is homeless; or any other document that establishes homelessness.
(ii) If a family cannot provide one of the documents described in paragraph (i)(3) to prove the child is homeless, a program may accept the family’s signed declaration to that effect, if, in a written statement, program staff describe the child’s living situation that meets the definition of homeless in part 1305 of this chapter.
When a child has chronic unexcused absences, staff must conduct this specific type of outreach to support the family and remove barriers to attendance.
Home Visit
1302.16 Attendance (2) A program must implement strategies to promote attendance. At a minimum, a program must:
(i) Provide information about the benefits of regular attendance;
(ii) Support families to promote the child’s regular attendance;
(iii) Conduct a home visit or make other direct contact with a child’s parents if a child has multiple unexplained absences (such as two consecutive unexplained absences)
Early Head Start programs are required to ensure that at least ______% of their enrollment is filled by children eligible for services under IDEA.
This is also the maximum percentage of enrollment that a program may have for families who are over the income eligibility guidelines.
10%
1302.14 Selection process. (b) (1) A program must ensure at least 10 percent of its total actual enrollment is filled by children eligible for services under IDEA, unless the responsible HHS official grants a waiver.
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (c) (2) If the family does not meet a criterion under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, a program may enroll a child who would benefit from services, provided that these participants only make up to 10 percent of a program’s enrollment in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.
Children in this type of state or county system (formal out-of-home care) are automatically eligible for enrollment.
The foster care system
1302.12 Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility (c) (iv) The child is in foster care.
What is a selection criteria point system?
A point-based system that helps a program prioritize which eligible families are selected first when a slot opens.
1302.14 Selection process. (a) (1) A program must annually establish selection criteria that weigh the prioritization of selection of participants, based on community needs identified in the community needs assessment as described in §1302.11(b), and including family income, whether the child is homeless, whether the child is in foster care, the child’s age, whether the child is eligible for special education and related services, or early intervention services, as appropriate, as determined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and, other relevant family or child risk factors.
What is the term for the ethical and legal requirement that staff protect and handle family eligibility and personal information appropriately?
Confidentiality
1303.20 Establishing Procedures. A program must establish procedures to protect the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information (PII) in child records.
A child is considered to have this type of attendance issue when they miss 10% or more of the program days within a specific timeframe.
Chronic Absenteeism
1302.16 Attendance (3) If a child ceases to attend, the program must make appropriate efforts to reengage the family to resume attendance, including as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. If the child’s attendance does not resume, then the program must consider that slot vacant. This action is not considered expulsion as described in §1302.17.
1. What county must children live in for our grant?
2. How many hours of services must be available for daily families Monday through Friday?
1. Kent County
2. 9 hours a day