Benefit, Employment & Support Services

ARRA Grant Award for Promoting the Work of the State Advisory Council

Overview

Section 642 B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act, 42 USC 9837, which was added by the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, required the Governor of each State to designate or establish a council to serve as the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care for children from birth to school entry (referred to as State Advisory Councils).  The overall responsibility of the State Advisory Council (SAC) is to lead the development or enhancement of a high-quality, comprehensive system of early childhood development and care that ensures statewide coordination and collaboration among the wide range of early childhood programs and services in the State, including child care, Head Start, IDEA preschool, infant and family programs, and pre-kindergarten programs and services.

The Department of Human Services (DHS), Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD), was designated by the Governor’s Office as the administering agency to receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to implement activities specified in the ARRA grant application.

In September 2010, DHS was awarded an ARRA grant in the total amount of $664,277 to be utilized within a 3-year period to further the work of the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care.

In April 2011, the Early Learning Council (ELC), a public/private entity established in statute in 2008, was designated as the State Advisory Council through an Executive Order.  With the establishment of the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) in the Governor’s Office in July 2012, the Early Learning Council became the Early Learning Advisory Board (ELAB) to the EOEL.  The EOEL is now tasked with implementing the activities of the ARRA grant, with support from the ELAB, https://elab.k12.hi.us/.

Use of Funds

The activities in the grant application include hiring a Project Coordinator to facilitate and support the SAC in its work around increasing access to quality early care and education programs, as well as to further the professional development of child care providers and to assist more child care providers in becoming nationally-accredited programs.

Transparency and Communication

The DHS submits its required quarterly federal ARRA reports (Section 1512 Data Report that is published on the recovery.gov website) and expenditure report (ACF-425) that itemizes the ARRA spending.

ARRA – SAC Grant – Initial Proposal

ARRA – SAC Grant – Supplemental Proposal