FY2015/ FY2016 Head Start State Supplemental Grant (Fund Code 390) Bidders’ Conference

1. FY2015/ FY2016 Head Start State Supplemental Grant(Fund Code 390) Bidders’ Conference

2. Today’s Agenda • Welcome • Overview of the FY2015/FY2016 Head Start State Supplemental Grant • Questions and Answers • Grant Posting/Grant Timeline/Submission Deadline • Grant Application Components • Purpose • Eligibility/Funding • Grant Priorities and Requirements • Head Start Online Application • Budgetary Guidance & Allowable Use of Funds • Head Start Site Survey • Online Application and Mail Submission Process

3. Questions and Answers (FAQ) To ensure consistency in responses • At the end of the Bidders’ Conference presentation, an EEC staff member will record questions. • Those questions will be reviewed and answered in the FAQs. • All other questions must be emailed by March 10, 2014 by 4:00 PM to EECSubmission@massmail.state.ma.us • Subject line: FY 2015/FY 2016 HS – Code 390 • The FAQ document will be posted online on or around March 19, 2014 • The FAQ document then becomes an official part of the RFR.

4. Posting of Grant Related Information • Grant Posting Available: • On Comm-PASS at www.comm-pass.com • On EEC’s website at http://www.mass.gov/eec under Funding Opportunities- -Open Renewal Grants • Grantees are responsible for checking EEC’s website and Comm-PASS for any updates to the Grant Application Information.

5. Grant Application Timeline

6. Grant Submission Deadlines The EEC Central Office must have the following by April 11, 2014 by 4:00 PM Mail submission: • One (1) original hard copy • Two (2) hard copies Notification of Online Application Submission: • To alert EEC of your grant submission, please email EECSubmission@massmail.state.ma.us with the subject line “FY 2015/FY 2016 Head Start State Supplemental Grant Submission Confirmation - YourAgency Name.”

7. Grant Application: Follow the Checklist • The Checklist is completed in the Online Grant Application. The Checklist includes the following components of the Grant Application: • Contact Information (Part 1) • Communities Served (Part 2) • Languages Served (Part 3) • Lead Agency Budget (Part 4) • Subcontractor Budget (Part 5) • FY 2015 Budget Summary (Part 6a) • FY 2016 Budget Summary (Part 6b) • Narrative Questions (Part 7) • Projected Deliverables (Part 8) • Required Grant Forms (N/A for FY15/FY16 Head Start) (Part 9) • Checklist (Part 10) • Cover Page (Part 11) • Indirect Cost Approval Letter (If claiming Indirect Cost Rate) • Site Survey

8. Grant Appendices (For reference only) • Appendix A: Online Application Instructions • Appendix B: Head Start Budget Guidelines • Appendix C: Grant Payment Terms, Grant Expenditures, Termination, Recoupment of Funds, and Relevant Law • Appendix D: FY2015/FY2016 Head Start State Supplemental Eligibility Amounts • Appendix E: List of Towns and Cities in each EEC Region • Appendix F-1: Demographic Information Regarding Cities and Towns in Massachusetts • Appendix F-2: Demographic Information Regarding Cities and Towns in Massachusetts • Appendix G: Supplemental Information for FY2015/FY2016 Head Start Grant Process • Appendix H: Head Start State Funded Children • Appendix I: QRIS Standards and Core Competency Areas

9. Purpose • Through this Grant Application, EEC may award grants to all current Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) programs for fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016. • The Massachusetts Head Start State Supplemental Renewal Grant aims to support the development and creation of a system of early quality education and care. • In this system, Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) programs are key partners in supporting and enhancing the Department of Early Education and Care’s (EEC) broader commitment to ensure that all children and families have access to the full array of Head Start services.

10. Are YOU eligible to apply? • Only agencies that received a Head Start Supplemental grant in FY2014 are eligible to apply. All current HS and EHS programs seeking to renew their grants for fiscal year 2015 must apply for funding using this application. All renewal funding awards will be based on the quality and completeness of the renewal application and will be reviewed in accordance with the required grant services. • The lead agency and any subcontracted providers must comply with all applicable statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures inclusive of any changes made to the HS and EHS Programs as a result of enacted legislation, duly promulgated regulations, or policies enacted by the federal and/or state government, EEC, and/or its Board.

11. Funding and Distribution of Grants • The Head Start Program is funded from a State appropriation account (3000-5000).  The appropriation for this grant is $8.1 Million, which is the same as last year’s funding allocation. • This grant will have an initial duration of two years, starting on or about July 1, 2014 and ending on June 30, 2016 with a two one-year options to renew, and will besubject to State and Federal budget allotment and appropriation. • An FY 2015 (July 1, 2014- June 30, 2015) and FY2016 budget is required for submission. Please be advised that the FY2016 Budget is projected and may be amended as necessary.As a condition of approving FY2016 renewal grants, EEC will require that all Grantees have complied with the Required Services and Reporting Requirements before approving renewal. 

12. Mandatory Requirements Through this renewal grant, EEC seeks to continue to: • Enhance program capacity to serve state-funded children and offer them Head Start services; • Increase the professional development opportunities available to staff; • Use of Head Start funds to support staff salaries; • Enhance program quality by continuing to require Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) center-based and family child care programs to participate in QRIS; • Provide non-federal matching funds for programs; and • Support HS and EHS approaches to school readiness to ensure that children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children's learning, and schools are ready for children. Note: these are the only EEC funds which can be used for matching federal funds.

13. Priorities and Required Services Grantees must implement the Grant Renewal Priorities and continue to provide the following required services: 1) Enhance program capacity to serve state-funded children • Continue to implement program practices that provide the full array of HS and EHS services to state-funded children by leveraging additional support and resources for children of working families and increase the number of children enrolled; • Continue to enroll the number of state-funded children in HS and EHS programs as identified in the Office of Head Start’s Grant Award, if applicable to your program; (See Appendix H); • Continue to ensure that quality services are provided on a full-time basis during the entire year for state-funded children and working families.

14. Priorities and Required Services 2) Provide professional development opportunities for staff • Provide staff with the ability to attend professional development opportunities by paying them competitive salaries, offering fringe benefits, stipends, and tuition reimbursement; • Support staff salaries; • Maintain support for staff to move along the professional development continuum and increase competency in relationship to EEC’s 8 Core Competency Areas; • Support staff’s ability to earn credentials, certificates, and/or degrees in early education and care and related fields; • Provide professional development opportunities for staff that work with children and families that speak more than one language. (i.e., English Language Learners (ELL), Dual Language Learners, etc.);

15. Priorities and Required Services 2) Provide professional development opportunities for staff (Continued) • Ensure that professional development meets the needs and addresses the diversity of the early education and care out of school time workforce (i.e., race, language, and hours of operation, learning styles, and age of the learner) across EEC’s mixed delivery system. • Support staff accessing on-line professional development opportunities (e.g. availability of equipment, space, internet connections, etc.); • Encourage programs to partner with local institutions of higher education to support staff to matriculate into credit bearing programs; • Provide staff with coaching and mentoring opportunities in the field of early education and care that meet the individual needs of staff; • Collaborate and partner with local agencies to enhance information on roles and resources with other providers regarding professional development opportunities.

16. Priorities and Required Services 3) Participation of HS and EHS programs in QRIS Activities: • Continue to support program quality by ensuring that all HS and EHS center-based and family child care programs participate in the Massachusetts Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS); • Programs must have 100% QRIS participation of their total center-based and family child care sites;

17. Priorities and Required Services 4) Use of state funds to match federal funding requirements • Continue to use funds to supplement federal funding and support a program’s ability to meet the federal Head Start requirement of matching no less than 20% of the federal funds with non-federal funding. 5)Program Staff Required to Register in the Professional Qualifications Registry • Educators, along with their respective titles, must be registered in EEC’s Professional Qualifications (PQ) Registry. Programs must ensure that no staff,educators, are in an “expired” status. All staff must have “Active” Professional Qualification Registry (PQR) IDs.

18. Priorities and Required Services 6) HS and EHS Support to School Readiness • Support approaches to school readiness to ensure that children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children’s learning, and schools are ready for children as required in the HS Act of 2007. 7) Brain Building in Progress • All grantees are required to incorporate the approval tagline for the Brain Building in Progress Communication initiative on appropriate marketing and communication materials and resources that are funded in whole or part through this grant.

19. FY2015 Reporting Requirements • In order to continue to recognize accomplishments, identify challenges, and inform future decisions, all FY2015 funded programs will be required to complete and submit both a semi-annual and an annual progress report. • EEC may withhold funding, terminate, and/or reduce funding to any grantees if required reports are not submitted on a timely basis. A template will be forthcoming from EEC, along with due dates. • All grantees are required to participate in the EEC data collection initiatives during the grant period, including program performance. All grantees will be expected to report performance data in a format to be determined by EEC. • Grantees must complete the Head Start Projected Deliverables Form included with this application.

20. Link to Online Application • Located on the EEC Website is a Link to access the Head Start Online Application this will take you to the Introduction page.

21. Accessing the Online Application: Introduction Page • Enter the Online Application by clicking Complete Online Application. • The link to the Head Start Site Survey can also be accessed through this page. Enter the Head Start Site Survey by clicking Go to FY2015 Head Start State Supplemental Program Site Survey.

22. Select your Agency from the Drop-Down Menu

23. Create a Password • Please write down this password for your records. You will need this password to access your Online Application in the future. • The next time you log into the Online Application, the system will prompt you to enter your existing password.

24. Budget • Appendix B, the Head Start Budget Guidelines will provide you with definitions, allowable and unallowable costs.

25. Allowable Fund Use: • Administrators: A person whose job is to manage a company, school, or other organization. • Instructional/Professional Staff: Professional staff who are certified or licensed to provide either instructional or direct services. • Support Staff: Paraprofessional, clerical, or non-professional staff who provide either non-instructional services or support services. • Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits are allowances and services by employers to their employees as compensation in addition to regular salaries and wages. Fringe benefits include, but are not limited to, the costs of leave, employee insurance, pensions, and unemployment benefit plans. • Contractual Services: Funds to pay to an individual to carry out a single purpose or specific service to meet the objectives of the grant at a specific rate per hour/day/week/flat.

26. Allowable Fund Use Continued: • Supplies & Materials: Supplies that will be used to carry out the required services of the grant. These supplies and materials are items costing less than $5,000 per unit or having a useful life of less than a year. • Laptops (price not to exceed $1000.00 per laptop) • Tablets (price not to exceed $600.00 per tablet) • Travel: Travel costs are the expenses for transportation, and related items such as mileage and conference fees. • Other Costs: This sub-line is used to indicate costs associated with a variety of activities outlined in the application instructions. • Purchase of Food will be considered an allowable expense if the purchase of food is connected to the grant priorities. Please clearly describe how your program will utilize the purchase of food in the Budget Narrative. • Note that photocopying costs belong under printing/reproduction in this line, while amounts budgeted to purchase paper for the photocopier would be listed under Materials & Supplies. The lease of a photocopying machine would be listed on the Equipment Rental line under Other Costs, while the purchase of such a machine would be listed under Materials & Supplies or Equipment, depending on the cost.

27. Allowable Fund Use Continued: • Capacity Building: May be defined as the acquisition of skills and knowledge both for personal development and for career advancement. • Indirect Cost: Indirect Costs are costs incurred for common objectives that benefit multiple programs administered by the grantee organization, or the organization as a whole, and as such are not readily assignable to a particular program funding stream. • Indirect Costs are part of the expenses allocated to administrative funds. • Under no circumstances can the use of the indirect cost rate exceed the amount of funds (8% of the total grant) allocated to administrative purposes.   • Equipment:Tangible nonexpendable personal property including exempt property charged directly to the award having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5000 or more per unit.

28. Allowable Fund Use Continued: • Subcontractors: Funds paid out to another program or agency to carry out an entire part (sub-part) of the grant. • All subcontractors and partners performing services on behalf of the applicant must meet the required services of this grant proposal and be approved by EEC. • If an applicant proposes subcontracting some of its required services, the applicant must submit the proposed subcontracted services from each subcontractor and other partners as part of its grant application response.

29. Administrative Costs • All Administration Costs for the Lead agency and Subcontractors (if applicable) cannot exceed 8% of the grant requested amount. • For the purposes of this Grant Application, administration expenses are defined as the following: • Advertising • Equipment Rental • Fringe Benefits for Supervisor/Director and/or Secretary/Bookkeeper • Indirect Costs • Maintenance/Repairs • Membership Subscriptions • Printing/Reproductions • Secretary/Bookkeeper salary/wages • Stipends for Supervisor/Director and/or Secretary/Bookkeeper • Supervisor/Director salary/wages • Telephone/Utilities

30. Program or Administrative Costs • The following expenses can be consider direct or administration costs depending on the purpose of the funds. A justification of the use of funds must be provided in the budget narrative. • Direct Service Transportation • Rental of Space

31. Unallowable Fund Use: • Out-of-State Travel • Lobbying Expenses: Grant funds shall not be used to cover costs incurred by employees, lobbyists, or consultants to influence anylocal, state or Federal legislation or policy in either the Legislative or Executive branch. • Staff professional opportunities that are not endorsed/approved by EEC.

32. Proposal Narrative Questions • This section is designated to address the effectiveness of your program in continuing to meet the priority areas listed in the FY15/16 HS Supplemental Grant. For each question, responses must include: a) Specific practices used; b) Outcomes of specific practices; and c) Lessons learned including positive and challenging experiences encountered. • The questions include: (character limit including spaces: 2000) • How will your program ensure that your grantee continues to provide the full array of Head Start services to children enrolled in state-funded Head Start programs? •  How will your grantee continue to increase professional development opportunities available for staff? • How will your program continue to enhance quality through participation in the MA State Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) thereby promoting school readiness for all children in the Commonwealth? • In Meeting the HS approach to School Readiness Goals, please describe your program’s current readiness goals. Note:Please aligned with your program responses to Projected Deliverables Form.

33. Administrative Forms Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Administrative Forms: • A signed Commonwealth Terms & Conditions form  • W-9 with DUNS #  • Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing  • Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment (EFT) Form  • Supplier Diversity Program Plan Form (If the Grant is competitive and involves distributing more than $150,000 in funds.) • Federal Funding and Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Reporting Requirements If not already on file with the EEC, you will need to fill out and mail to the EEC: You do not need to email these materials the Administrative Forms, please only sign and mail these in with your grant application.

34. Online Application Submission: • SUBMIT ONLINE: Once your Online Application is complete, click Submit at the bottom of the home page to send your Online Application to EEC. • Once submitted, an Applicant will be able to print their entire application as a PDF by clicking Print Summary. Please ensure that your checklist is complete and accurate at this time.

35. Online Application & Mail Submission: • To alert EEC of your grant submission, please email EECSubmission@massmail.state.ma.us with the subject line “FY 2015/FY 2016 Head Start State Supplemental Grant Submission Confirmation - YourAgency Name”. • Obtain the appropriate signatures on the cover page (all signatures in blue ink) and additional attachments, if necessary. Mail the printed PDF summary and one (1) original and two (2) copies to EEC along with any necessary administrative forms. EEC’s mailing address is displayed at the bottom of the cover page. The ENTIRE submission process must be completed by: April 11, 2014 BY 4:00 PM (email, online, mail must be submitted and in the EEC office)

36. EEC Contacts • Jennifer Amaya-Thompson • Phone: 617-988-6634 • Email: Jennifer.Amaya-Thompson@massmail.state.ma.us • Elizabeth Bryant • Phone: 617-988-6617 • Email: Elizabeth.Bryant@massmail.state.ma.us