ESAAA/CAA Project Head Start
Annual Report 2014
In FY 2014, Head Start received $1,806,019 in Federal funding for program operations. Head
Start also received $26,827 in training and technical assistance funding that was used for
education and training to increase the knowledge and skills in a variety of areas.
In FY 2014, Head Start operated 12 classrooms at three different sites. The largest portion of
funding was allocated to staff salaries and fringe benefits. Transportation is essential in this
rural area, and transportation costs continue to put pressure on the program. The budget
expenditures are outlined below:
A. Personnel: ESAAA/CAA Project Head Start employed 58 people, 54 of whom are
employed in full-time positions. Salaries, which are our largest expense, account for
$1,031,349.00. We have steadily increased salaries in recent years using quality
improvement funds in order to continue to attract and retain qualified staff.
We currently operate 12 classrooms at three sites. Each classroom has a teacher, at least one
assistant teacher, a health aide, bus driver, bus aide and family service worker to ensure that
high quality services are provided and that all performance standards are met.
B. Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits account for $257,837.00 of our budget. This represents
25% of total salary charges. We pay 90% of health insurance costs for all full-time
employees, and 50% of the cost of part-time employees. We also provide a retirement
plan for employees who have been with the program for at least one year.
C. Travel (out-of-town): In our efforts to reduce costs, we have restricted travel and have
not allocated any funding in this category.
D. Equipment: Large items with a value of over $5,000.00 are usually obtained through
either agency wide fundraising or request for one-time-funds. Therefore, we did not
allocate any funds to this category.
E. Supplies: Our largest supply cost for the budget was our classroom supplies. We have
allocated $25,972.00 for classroom supplies and typically receive at least $10,000.00 for
supplies from the local Department of Social Services from their block grant funding.
Cleaning supplies average $4,433.00 per year. We have budgeted $500.00 for supplies
for children with special needs. We typically can obtain these types of supplies from the
Department of Rehabilitation or the LEA. Health supplies such as toothbrushes and first
aid supplies are budgeted at $1,543.00. Office supplies which include paper, ink for the
printers etc. are budgeted at $13,000.00 based on last year’s actual costs. The $950.00
for Xeroxing includes the cost of the cartridges for the copier and other related costs.
Postage of $1,700.00 is based on actual costs for the current year.
F. Contractual: All contracts are identified in section H. of the report. Therefore, no funds
were allocated to this category.
G. Construction: There are no construction costs.
H. Other: The ACYF cost for center rent is $14,000.00 annually. The grantee purchased and
renovated a new site in Northampton which now houses four classrooms. The
depreciation and use allowance for Head Start is $8,640.00, which is significantly less
than the rental costs of the old classroom locations. We currently pay $5,210.00 per
month towards the mortgage on the Eastern Shore Early Childhood Development
Center located in Accomack, for a total of $62,523.00 per year. The ACYF cost is
$59,000.00 with Wrap-Around paying the remaining $3,523.00.
The cost of utilities for the centers is $40,500.00 and for the office $4,879.00. Office rent
and utilities are calculated based on square footage used by the Head Start program’s
administrative staff. The $9,617.00 for the office telephones and $16,242.00 for center
telephones include the cellular phone bills also. All bus drivers and family service
workers have cellular phones in case of emergencies and for safety.
Building insurance, liability insurance ($2,392.00) and maintenance cost ($22,028.00)
are based on last year’s actual cost. Our portion of the annual audit is $15,057.00.
Advertising costs of $2,754.00 cover the announcement of job vacancies, recruitment
efforts and other information pertaining to Head Start in the local newspaper. The cost
of the program calendar/handbook and brochures is $950.00 per year with the
remaining $1,000.00 allocated for various other printing expenses.
We have maintenance a contract on our office equipment for an annual charge of
$4,500.00. The $4,737.00 allocated for computer expenses includes the costs of both
the Grants Management Software (GMS) that is used for financial data as well as the
Child Plus system that we use for tracking and monitoring program information and
progress.
Our parent activity budget is $3,270.00. This is based on $15.00 per child. Parents assist
in the development of their annual budget.
We have allocated 3,800.00 for dental expenses, $1,650.00 for mental health services,
and $1,200.00 for nutrition services. These figures are based on prior year costs. We
have been fortunate that our consultants have been willing to make generous in-kind
contributions of their services.
Transportation costs for our program are high and the cost of gasoline has been a huge
expense. Because we are located in a rural area and there is no other means of
transportation it is a necessity to provide transportation for the children. If
transportation is not provided the program would not be successful. The $27,093.00
allocated for vehicle insurance is an estimate based on present charges. Vehicle
maintenance cost fluctuates due to the age and high mileage of our buses. We have
allocated $23,050.00 for repairs based on an average of previous year expenditures. We
have allocated $51,080.00 for gas and oil, which is the projected cost, based on the first
six months of this year’s actual charges to this category (adjusted for the reduction in
classrooms). Also included in our transportation cost is the $18,000.00 annual bus
payment used to replace Head Start buses.
Local travel is the cost of reimbursing family service workers and other staff for mileage
at .25 per mile. Family service workers make monthly home visits to each family and
often to assist parents with transportation to medical, dental, social service, and
educational appointments. The $15,618.00 allocated in this category is based on the
current year’s figures.
Non-Federal Share Total: A total of $458,212.00 is the required match for the program
award year. Much of this is obtained through parent and community volunteer hours,
which are valued at $10.00 per hour. Last year’s parents volunteered almost 30,000
hours of service.
We received dental, nutrition and mental health services were obtained at a discounted
rate. The difference between rates is considered as in-kind donations. During the
preparation of the non-federal share categories included in the refunding application
represent estimates based on prior year figures.
The Eastern Shore Community Services Board (ESCSB) provides our program with the
services of two prevention specialist who work in each classroom two hours per week.
They conduct activities that increase self-esteem and which promote safe and healthy
behaviors in young children. They also work with parents by providing take home
reinforcing activities for families to work on together.
We receive funds and donations of new books for our family lending library and family
building library from civic organizations. Last year cash donations amounted to
$66,000.00 and almost 2000 books were donated. The Lion’s Club provided nearly
$7,000.00 of vision services for our children and 10 children were referred out and
received eye glasses. We also conducted an on-site GED program for parents. The
community college pays the teacher who spends at least 15 hours per week with our
parents. We also provide an English as a Second Language program on site. We partner
with the local Department of Social Services. They provided computers and tablets for
our classrooms and monetary allowances toward the purchase of a new curriculum.
The agency operates an Older Workers Program. We currently have five workers from
the program acting as janitors, receptionists, kitchen aide, and bus/classroom aides. We
value their contribution at the same rate ($10.00 per hour) as our other job trainees.
Head Start partnered with a number of other local agencies in order to provide
additional services to our children and families. Unfortunately parents are not eligible to
participate due to their scheduled hours of work. We operated 12 classrooms at full-day
but not full year.
Head Start has an annual independent audit as part of the required overall Agency
audit. As a “major” program, Head Start is required to undergo additional testing as
part of the audit process. The audit produced no “findings” and no “material
weaknesses”. The auditor gave an unqualified opinion and found the agency to be a
“low risk “auditee. (Copies of the Audit are available for review at 5432 Bayside Road,
Exmore, Virginia 23350)
Head Start served 228 children and 223 families during the cost of the program year.
The funded enrollment is 218 and Head Start maintained a 100 average monthly
enrollment and monthly average attendance was always at or above 85%. 90 percent of
the children were enrolled were below 100% of federal poverty line 2014.
100 percent of our children received a dental exam. Of the 218 children that were seen
by the dentist 65 received dental treatment. All children during their attendance in Head
Start received a complete physical exams and have medical homes and dental homes.
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that focuses on all areas of
development. School readiness is a key element in preparing our children for
kindergarten. We have aligned our curriculum with that of the local school systems in
order to provide continuity of services. We use a research-based curriculum that
promotes children’s school readiness goals in areas of health and physical development,
social emotional, cognition and general knowledge, language and literacy, and
approaches to learning. Children receive initial screenings utilizing a researched
screening tool that is standardized, reliable, valid, and accurate for the child being
screened. As a result of the screening, children that exhibit scores that are lower than
normal will be referred for further evaluation to ensure areas of concern are being
addressed. Children that need further evaluation are referred to the Local Education
Agency that will attend once they are transitioned out of Head Start. All children receive
ongoing assessment three times per year with developmental and learning goals
developed with input from their parents. Learning and development goals are reviewed
regularly and tracked for progress. All assessment data is analyzed and reports are
generated and used for future planning for classroom strategies for individual
classrooms and children. Our Head Start children show statistical significant gains as
measured by standardized test as a result of their enrollment in Head Start.
Most Virginia Pre-School programs utilize PALS-Pre-K for phonological assessments for 4
year olds because students in K-3 in the public school system continue to be assessed
with PALS tool. This allows for longevity of comparable data for each individual child.
Head Start utilize PALS-Pre-K. The assessment is administered once at the beginning of
school and at the end of the school year. At the end of the school year our children
transitioning to kindergarten scored well above the expected levels for their age group
on the PALS assessment.
Head Start participates in CACFP USDA program. Head Start children are provided two
meals and a snack daily. We served 116,930 meals in funding year 2014. The CACFP
USDA reimbursement for the year was $182,946.91. Head Start served 22 children with
diagnosed disabilities.
Parents are considered the primary educators of their children and treated as full
partners in the child’s and families’ development. Parents are provided training in
becoming educational advocates for their children in preparing both the child and family
for transitioning from Head Start to kindergarten through transition activities. The focus
of the educational advocates training is to engage the parents in their child’s education.
Parents receive training in improving their financial security, child development, and
positive discipline. Parents also received training in recognizing child abuse and neglect,
social emotional development, and health life styles. Parents played an important role
in program governance through policy council and participation in such activities as
curriculum and school readiness goals development. Parents volunteer in many
capacities of the program. Through parents, staff, and community collaboration our
Head Start children and families had a positive and successful Head Start experience in
2014.