UMass Donahue Institute Receives $32.5 Million from Office of Head Start

HADLEY — The UMass Donahue Institute has been awarded a new five-year, $6.5 million per year cooperative agreement to direct the Head Start National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations (NCPMFO), a role it has filled for the past five years under an earlier award. Under the new cooperative agreement, the institute will continue to work in collaboration with its partners: Family Health International 360, Zero to Three, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

NCPMFO will continue to disseminate clear, consistent guidance, materials, and trainings on Office of Head Start priorities for the development and implementation of sound management systems and strong internal controls in Head Start programs across the country. NCPMFO’s work addresses topics such as risk management, governance, data collection and analysis, budgeting, management of multiple funding sources, and leadership, including the annual Head Start Management Fellows Program conducted at UCLA.

NCPMFO’s work reaches approximately 1,700 grantees of Early Head Start and Head Start programs located in all states, including those programs serving American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and migrant and seasonal workers. NCPMFO is one of four national center cooperative agreements recently awarded. The others address early childhood development, teaching, and learning; early childhood health; behavioral health and safety; and parent, family, and community engagement.

“The UMass Donahue Institute is extremely proud of our longstanding relationship with this vital national program that is Head Start, including also serving as the regional training and technical assistance provider for New England for close to 20 years, work that was also recently re-awarded to us,” said Eric Heller, executive director of the UMass Donahue Institute. “We are thrilled to be selected once again to lead this national center and look forward to building upon the tremendous work our team has delivered during the past five years. Head Start programs, their staff, and families face tremendous challenges during the pandemic, and we are committed to supporting them in every way possible during these terribly challenging times.”