Emergency Funding: Disaster Recovery Grants for Early Childhood Programs

This morning, the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) announced President Trump signed the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 on June 6, 2019. This act provides $55,000,000 in emergency funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programs that were affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019.

Now, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will award funds to eligible grantees up until Sept. 30, 2021. However, ACF is restricted to only send funds to programs that are “Federal Emergency Management Agency-declared disaster areas.”

The ECLKC states, “This Program Instruction (PI) outlines the process to request disaster recovery funds for Head Start and Early Head Start program recovery, including replacement of damaged or destroyed property and facilities following hurricanes, typhoons, wildfires, and earthquakes occurring in calendar year 2018 and tornadoes and floods occurring in the calendar year 2019.”

If an agency qualifies for funding, then a proposed grant must be submitted. Keep in mind, each proposal “should have clear timelines for execution and completion.” Furthermore, all proposals must be submitted through the Head Start Enterprise System.

To send in a request, grantees must complete a required list of “standard forms and backup documents.” Also, grantees should be aware that they are not limited to a single proposal – additional requests are allowed.

If grantees have any questions regarding the PI, they can contact OHSDisasterRecovery@acf.hhs.gov. All other information regarding the PI can be found here.