Grantees have developed different strategies to deal with this issue, but all feel that it is a continuing problem. Retrospective Reimbursements Retrospective reimbursements are also problematic for most grantees. Payments to cover the extended portion of the Head Start day are almost always reimbursed retrospectively. Cash-flow problems often arise as grantees need to pay their bills before the reimbursements are received. In this case, grantees either rely on sponsoring agencies to cover the shortfalls or borrow from one part of their program to pay for another.
Many grantees also struggle to keep their budgets in the black.
The reimbursement rates received from many state and local sources are simply too low to cover the cost of following Head Start Performance Standards throughout the day. For example, child-staff ratios and staffing patterns that are allowable under these other programs often fail to meet Head Start requirements. Although grantees have found ways to provide the required funding to maintain Head Start quality, shortfalls that require financial assistance from sponsoring agencies still do occur. Issues of Collaboration For grantees using wrap-in or connected care, ensuring a high quality of care from contracted providers was at issue. For the one connected care provider, where Head Start Performance Standards are not followed by contracted providers, the quality of these contracted programs is a major concern.