OHS Instructs Programs to Expect New Normalcy

Head Start grantees should plan for full enrollment and in-person services starting in program year (PY) 2021-2022. This is according to a new Office of Head Start (OHS) Program Instruction (ACF-PI-HS-21-04) issued on May 20, 2021, that communicated OHS’s expectations for the upcoming program year amidst improving COVID-19 pandemic conditions.

The Program Instruction discusses program operating status and enrollment, virtual and remote services, and recruitment and selection. OHS clarified that its use of virtual means services for children provided through technology, whereas remote means services provided via the delivery of supports and resources, such as educational materials or food boxes.

Operating Status and Enrollment

OHS expects that Head Start programs will provide comprehensive services to participants in-person and pursue full enrollment for PY 2021-2022. Programs that have been providing in-person Head Start services should continue to do so, and those that have been utilizing virtual and/or remote service delivery options should transition to in-person service delivery, provided local health conditions allow, and in line with CDC guidance, local and state guidelines, and school districts’ decisions. Programs should also pursue full enrollment as soon as possible, as OHS will start reviewing monthly enrollment in the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) in September 2021.

Any program that cannot achieve full enrollment or provide services in-person must communicate with its Regional Office and show why it is not possible to do so. OHS plans to begin tracking, monitoring, and evaluating enrollment pursuant to pre-pandemic practices starting in January 2022. Though OHS expected grantees to continue to report enrollment in the HSES during the pandemic, it was not evaluating or taking action on grantee underenrollment during that time. It had also suspended notice and evaluation elements of the Full Enrollment Initiative. According to the new PI, monitoring and evaluation of underenrollment will start fresh for all grantees in January 2022.

Virtual and Remote Services

OHS further clarified that virtual and remote services are not allowable as locally-designed options.* Instead, they are interim strategies for use during an emergency. As such, Head Start programs should not consider virtual and remote service options in lieu of in-person service offerings, as OHS will not allow program services to be delivered solely via virtual and/or remote services in PY 2021-2022. New aspects of virtual and remote services found to enhance rather than replace in-person services may be retained, however. In addition, they may be used as part of policies for service delivery during inclement weather.

Recruitment and Selection

For summer and PY 2021-2022 programming, Head Start grantees are expected to prioritize recruitment. As the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated childhood poverty, efforts should include reviewing and updating existing community assessments to ensure grantees are reaching the families most in need of services, as well as revisiting their selection criteria. Grantees must submit revised community assessments to OHS for approval if their pre-pandemic approved program option will no longer meet the needs of their community.

OHS reiterated that funding made available because of the pandemic, including Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Acts, as well from the American Rescue Plan may be used to support recruitment efforts. It also highlighted the ongoing flexibilities that exist with regard to grantees’ use of American Rescue Plan funds for program purposes, including for one-time purchases that help “ramp up” recruitment.

For more details about OHS’s expectations for PY 2021-2022 operations, please see Program Instruction (ACF-PI-HS-21-04).

*Locally-designed options are program options that Head Start grantees may request to operate in their programs in order to better meet the needs of the local communities served or demonstrate/test alternative approaches. See 45 C.F.R. 1302.24.

This News Flash is part of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Legal Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Center. It was created by Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. (CAPLAW) in the performance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services Cooperative Agreement – Grant Award Number 90ET0467-03-C3. Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

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