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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 April 22, 2021 Award No. 09HP000105 Non-Federal Share Waiver Request Dear Program Specialists, Non-Federal Share is a statutory requirement of the 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 $117,067 (25%) of the required Non-Federal Share of $460,962 and projects to collect a total of $162,068 by August 31, 2021. The program is respectfully requesting a Non-Federal share waiver as follows: • Early Head Start Reduction/Waiver of $298,894 (64%) of the Non-Federal Share for the funding period of Sept 1, 2020 – August 30, 2021. The following relevant circumstances, as outlined in the Head Start Act Section 640(b) have 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 Human Services Department Early Education Division 2150-1 S Country Club Drive, Suite 7 Mesa, AZ 85210 Maricopa County Human Services Department 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 May 30, 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 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 Human Services Department Early Education Division 2150-1 S Country Club Drive, Suite 7 Mesa, AZ 85210