Based on our grant agreement with Head Start, Easter Seals DC | MD | VA is required to provide a 20% contribution of total project costs for each annual budget period, unless a waiver has been requested and approved; any combination of actual cash expended, or in-kind contributions, may be used to meet the matching requirement. Our organization met the 20% non-federal match requirement for the latest program year (Year 2) for our Early Head Start Program in Washington DC. However, we did not meet the match requirement for Year 5 of our Prince George County program.
The mandatory annual waivers associated with our organization’s 20% non-federal share matching contribution requirement for the first four years (2019 - 2022) of the individual award periods ended July 31 of our Prince George’s County Head Start Program grant agreement have been submitted. Likewise, the waiver request for the first year (2022) of the individual award period ended June 30, 2022, for our Washington, DC Head Start Program grant agreement has also been submitted.
Per Section 640(b)(1)(5) of the Head Start Act, a waiver request for Year 5 (2023) was submitted alongside the original budget narrative. While the budget was approved, we were notified after the program year ended that a standalone/separate waiver request for Year 5 was required.
The outstanding waiver requests remain under review by representatives of The Administration of Families and Children, the agency that oversees the Office of Head Start program. We have maintained a constant dialogue with the Office of Head Start, which administers grant funding and oversight, but have yet to receive formal approval for any of the outstanding waiver submissions. However, we believe that amended waiver requests will be required for some of the program years in which we did not meet our 20% non-federal contribution match in Prince George’s County.
In December 2023, we provided the Office of Head Start with additional details related to the organization’s annual expenditures, cash receipts, and non-federal share obligations for the first five years of the Prince George’s County grants. We anticipate that final responses to all five required waiver requests our Prince George’s County Program will be obtained no later than the end of the current grant year (July 31, 2024). We expect the outstanding waiver request for Year 1 of our Washington DC program will be considered and approved by the end of the current grant year (July 31, 2024).