< back to welcome page 1 Recruitment 2 Eligibility

2.1Eligibility Requirements Overview

2.1.1Head Start and Early Head Start Eligibility Requirements 2.1.2Eligibility Requirements for State Programs (CCTR and CSPP)

2.2Application and Eligibility Meeting (First Meeting)

2.2.1Preparing for the Application and Eligibility Meeting 2.2.2Conducting the Application and Eligibility Meeting 2.2.3Completing Tasks from the Application and Eligibility Meeting 2.2.4Verifying New Eligibility 2.2.5Login to DocuSign

2.3Waitlist Management

2.3.1Family Changes prior to Enrollment 2.3.2Reverifying Returning Children

2.4Applying for a State Program

2.5Verifying and Reverifying Families for State Programs

2.6Addressing Family Changes for State Program Applications

3 Selection 4 Enrollment 5 Receiving (or Providing) Services 6 Transition 7 Admin/Operations 8 ChildPlus 9 Learning Paths

2.2.4

Verifying New Eligibility

Note: This SOP provides instruction on verifying new children or pregnant mothers for Early Head Start or Head Start. For information regarding reverification of returning children for the next program year, refer to the SOP Reverifying Returning Families.

The ERSEA team is responsible for creating a new family and enrollment records in ChildPlus, and for verifying the eligibility of all children applying for Head Start and State programs.

An Enrollment Clerk downloads the scanned bundles of application materials from the queue. He/she does a visual review to ensure the materials are complete, then looks for conflicts of information (e.g., an application providing a piece of information that conflicts with the information provided in the support documentation).

Note: For Head Start applications, if the bundle is incomplete or errors are found during the process, the Enrollment Clerk emails the staff member who compiled it to request the documentation necessary to complete the bundle. For State applications reviewed by the Enrollment Coordinator, an incomplete bundle is accepted. Additional materials may be sent piecemeal, as long as they are accompanied by a completed State Coversheet. Formster | English

The Enrollment Clerk creates a new family record in ChildPlus.

Note: All documents are extracted from the bundle and attached individually to the child record in ChildPlus. This allows the user to filter for specific attachments, such as the IEP or IFSP (Refer to ChildPlus report #2132).

The Enrollment Clerk completes a spreadsheet to evaluate the family’s income. The family’s eligibility is determined by the number of people in the family, their income, and the updated federal poverty guidelines, among other criteria.
The Enrollment Clerk enters the results of the verification in ChildPlus and creates the child’s enrollment record to reflect the results of the verification.
The Enrollment Clerk signs off on the Eligibility Verification form, which effectively puts the child on the waitlist.
A second Enrollment Clerk reviews the content the first Clerk has entered to ensure data accuracy, completion of the required fields, that the child is being waitlisted for the appropriate site and program, etc. The Clerk confirms that the correct attachments are included and attached to the correct child’s record.
If the child is verified as Public Assistance or Foster Care, the Waitlist Notification letter is sent.

If the family does have income or is McKinney-Vento:

The ERSEA Program Manager reviews the records to ensure the pay stubs and data entry are consistent, and that the income was evaluated appropriately. Once the family’s eligibility is confirmed, the Waitlist Notification letter is sent.

Note: The family is waitlisted regardless of income; however, few places are available for families who are over-income.

Refer to the SOP Waitlist Management for next steps.

Note: State-related bundles are reviewed and verified by the Enrollment Coordinators specializing in State applications. Refer to the SOP Verifying Families for State Programs for instruction.