The Office of Head Start (OHS) will be piloting a Birth-to-Five Funding Opportunity Announcement in five service areas where Head Start and Early Head Start funds are slated to be awarded through a competitive process. Under this approach, a single funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will be released in early 2013 to solicit applications for Head Start and Early Head Start services. However, unlike other OHS funding announcements, potential applicants will have the choice to submit a single application for a comprehensive birth-to-five program incorporating both Head Start and Early Head Start funding, or to apply for a Head Start-only or Early Head Start-only grant.

The pilot FOA will allow applicants to craft a proposal in one application that adopts a comprehensive birth-to-five programmatic approach. This pilot also will provide the opportunity for applicants to propose to reallocate funding between Head Start and Early Head Start based on the needs in the community.

There are many approaches an applicant can take to a birth-to-five proposal. For example, a single organization could apply to provide the full set of early education services for children birth to age five, or an applicant could propose to utilize a model where some services are provided by one or more delegates. Our goal is to spur innovation and to encourage comprehensive, integrated approaches to early education for children from birth to age five.

The Office of Head Start will be piloting this Funding Opportunity Announcement in:

• Washington, DC
  
• Baltimore City, MD
• Detroit, MI
• Sunflower County, MS
• Jersey City, NJ
  

Birth-to-Five Funding Opportunity Announcement Pilot. HHS/ACF/OHS. 2012. English

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