NFS BASE HS-EHS 20-21.PDF

Maricopa County
Human Services Department
Early Education Division
Andrea Harvey
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Head Start
90 7th Street, 9th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Joanna Chan
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Grants Management, Region IX
90th Street, Suite 9-100
San Francisco, CA 94103
February 22, 2021
Non-Federal Share Waiver Request Grant No. 09CH010385
Dear Program Specialists,
Non-Federal Share is a statutory requirement of the Head Start Act Head Start Act
Section 640(b). As stated in the Act, a grantee agency must provide 20-percent of the total
costs of the Head Start program through Non-Federal match unless a waiver has been granted.
The Maricopa County Head Start program has successfully collected $905,046 (25%) of
the required $3,557,097 and projects to collect a total of $1,355,046 by June 30, 2021 of Non-
Federal share. The program is respectfully requesting a waiver as follows:
• Head Start- Early Head Start Reduction/Waiver of 62% of the NFS in the amount of
$2,202,051 for the funding period of July 1, 2020- June 30, 2021.

The following relevant circumstances, as outlined in the Head Start Act Section 640(b) affected
the program's ability to collect the required full amount.
• The Head Start agency is located in a community adversely affected by a major disaster
During FY 20-21, the state of Arizona and Maricopa County experienced significant spikes
in positive COVID–19 cases. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) developed
COVID 19 benchmarks for local schools and childcare facilities to utilize when determining in
person services and alternate service delivery models. ADHS recommends county-specific
public health benchmarks fall in the moderate or minimal category in all three benchmarks for
two weeks in order to provide hybrid learning models.
Per these benchmarks Maricopa County is consistently identified as a high-risk county
with virtual instruction as the recommended learning model. The implementation of virtual
services during the program year created barriers towards meeting full enrollment due to
families requesting in person learning. Despite numerous efforts to increase virtual enrollment
and family engagement the collection of in-kind and volunteer hours generated in a typical
program year were negatively impacted.
The increase in positive COVID-19 cases and ADHS county specific recommendations
position the program to have no physical contact with children and families to responsibly
protect their health and safety. In response to the ongoing surge the Maricopa County Board of
Supervisors ordered County employees to sustain telecommuting until March 1, 2021 to
minimize the risk of community spread.
The program will continue to track and monitor progress towards meeting the NFS
requirement and adjust as needed through alternative strategies. This waiver request and
accompanying budget revision documentation was approved by the governing bodies as
reflected in the March 24, 2021 approval statement.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the NFS waiver, please feel free to contact me
at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Eve Del Real, M.Ed.
Assistant Director, Maricopa County Human Services
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