ACF
Administration for Children and Families
|
U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES
|
1. Log No. ACF-PI-HS-07-04 |
2. Issuance Date: 06/27/07 |
3. Originating Office: Office of Head Start |
4. Key Word: Parent Transportation and
Non-Federal Share |
PROGRAM INSTRUCTION:
TO: Head Start and Early Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies
SUBJECT: Allowability of Parent
Transportation as Non-Federal
Share
INSTRUCTION:
The purpose of
this Program Instruction is to provide grantees with information on
what constitutes allowable non-federal share, particularly with
regards to the transportation of Head Start children to and from the
Head Start center.
BACKGROUND:
On
May 25, 2007, the President signed Public Law 110-28. There
are two provisions in this law that impact Head Start programs.
The first is that it mandates that the requirements of Section
1310.12(a) of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations shall take
effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Law.
Section 1310.12(a) is that part of the Head Start Transportation
Regulation that specifies the types of vehicles that must be used by
those Head Start agencies that provide transportation services when
transporting enrolled children to and from the Head Start
center. This provision was initially to have taken effect on
January 18, 2006 but its implementation had been deferred. It
will now take effect on June 24, 2007.
The second provision, in effect, establishes a third type
of vehicle that can be used to transport Head Start
children. Specifically, it allows a vehicle that meets all of
the specifications of an Allowable Alternate Vehicle except
those “relating to Federal seat spacing requirements, and
Federal supporting seating requirements related to compartmentalization”
to be used for Head Start transportation. This provision
further requires the Secretary to consider the findings of a study
currently underway by the Department of Transportation on occupant
protection on Head Start transit vehicles and to “revise as necessary
the allowable alternate vehicle standards described in part 1310
(or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling) relating to
allowable alternate vehicles used to transport children for a Head
Start program.”
NON-FEDERAL SHARE
The implementation of 45 CFR Part 1310.12(a), as discussed above,
requires that each agency providing transportation services must
ensure that children enrolled in its program are transported on a
school bus, an allowable alternative vehicle, or a vehicle as
described above (i.e. a vehicle which meets all the specifications
of an allowable alternate vehicle except seat spacing). This
means that any Head Start agency providing transportation services
can not, as of June 24, 2007 provide such services in an automobile,
minivan or any other non-compliant vehicle. Head Start funds
can not be used to cover the costs of any transportation that is not
in a compliant vehicle and, therefore, Head Start grantees cannot
claim as non-federal share any costs incurred in transporting Head
Start children who are not being transported in compliant
vehicles. The costs incurred by parents in transporting their
children to and from a Head Start center will no longer be able to
be counted as non-federal share. (While OHS encourages all
programs to consider providing transportation services to its
enrolled children, nothing in this Program Instruction is intended
to suggest that parents, at their own discretion, can no longer
transport their children to or from the Head Start center.)
OHS understands that many grantees have relied on parent
transportation to generate part of their non-federal share.
Each OHS Regional Office has been instructed to work closely with
any grantee that will be impacted by this change and to explore
appropriate options for finding alternative sources of non-federal
share. Grantees are encouraged to seek non-federal share
support from their community and to seek collaborative arrangements
with State Pre-K programs that could provide non-federal resources
to the program. Programs are also encouraged to work with
their local school districts to explore the school system’s
willingness to transport Head Start children, at no or reduced
costs, to Head Start centers using school system buses.
Regions will also consider, on a case-by-case basis,
giving grantees that are significantly impacted by this change a one
year (partial) waiver of Head Start’s non-federal share requirement
in order to allow these grantees to work with their community to
explore other sources of non-federal share. Such waivers will
be granted only when programs can demonstrate they have exhausted
all potential sources of non-federal share and will be granted on
the condition that during the waiver period grantees will be moving
to find ways to meet their required match for their succeeding
budget period. OHS does not anticipate granting waivers for
more than one year because of this change.
Please direct any questions on this Instruction to your OHS
Regional Office.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130303150832im_/https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/images/signature_channell_wilkins.gif)
Channell Wilkins
Director
Office of Head Start
See PDF version:
Allowability of Parent Transportation as Non-Federal Share [PDF, 367KB]
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