(a) Service area.

(1) A program must propose a service area in the grant application and define the area by county or sub-county area, such as a municipality, town or census tract or jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian reservation.

(i) A tribal program may propose a service area that includes areas where members of Indian tribes or those eligible for such membership reside, including but not limited to Indian reservation land, areas designated as near-reservation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) provided that the service area is approved by the tribe’s governing council, Alaska Native Villages, Alaska Native Regional Corporations with land-based authorities, Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas, and Tribal Designated Statistical Areas where federally recognized Indian tribes do not have a federally established reservation.

(ii) If the tribe’s service area includes any area specified in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, and that area is also served by another program, the tribe may serve children from families who are members of or eligible to be members of such tribe and who reside in such areas as well as children from families who are not members of the tribe, but who reside within the tribe’s established service area.

(2) If a program decides to change the service area after ACF has approved its grant application, the program must submit to ACF a new service area proposal for approval.

(b) Community wide strategic planning and needs assessment (community assessment).

(1) A program must conduct a comprehensive community assessment at least once over the five-year grant period and annually review and update if any significant changes are needed as described in paragraph (b)(5) of this section to: 

(i) Identify populations most in need of services including prevalent social or economic factors, challenges, and barriers experienced by families and children;

(ii) Inform the program’s design and to ensure equitable, inclusive, and accessible service delivery that reflect needs and diversity of the community;

(iii) Inform the enrollment, recruitment, and selection process to prioritize the enrollment of those populations with relevant circumstances identified under paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section;

(iv) Identify strengths and resources in the community that can be leveraged for service delivery, coordination, and partnership efforts for education, health, nutrition, and referrals to social services to eligible children and families; and,

(v) Identify the communication methods and modalities available to the program that best engage with prospective and enrolled families in accessible ways.

(2) In conducting the community assessment, the program must collect and utilize data that describes community strengths, needs, and resources and include, at a minimum:

(i) Relevant demographic data about eligible children and expectant mothers, including:

(A) Race and ethnicity;

(B) Children living in poverty;

(C) Children experiencing homelessness in collaboration with, to the extent possible, McKinney-Vento Local Education Agency Liaisons (42 U.S.C. 11432 (6)(A));

(D) Children in foster care;

(E) Children with disabilities, including types of disabilities and relevant services and resources provided to these children by community agencies; and

(F) Geographic location and languages they speak.

(ii) The education, health, nutrition and social service needs of eligible children and their families, including prevalent social or economic factors, challenges, and barriers to program participation such as transportation needs;

(iii) Typical work, school, and training schedules of parents with eligible children;

(iv) Other child development, child care centers, and family child care programs that serve eligible children, including home visiting, publicly funded State and local preschools, and the approximate number of eligible children served and their ages;

(v) Resources that are available in the community to address the needs of eligible children and their families, especially transportation resources, and culturally appropriate and responsive supports;

(vi) Strengths of the community; and,

(vii) Gaps in community resources in areas relevant to addressing the needs of eligible children and their families such as gaps in health and human services, housing assistance, food assistance, employment assistance, early childhood development, and social services.

(3) Programs should have a strategic approach:

(i) To determine what data to acquire to reach goals in paragraph (b)(1) of this section prior to conducting the community assessment; and

(ii) For how to use the data acquired to reach goals in paragraph (b)(1) of this section after conducting the community assessment.

(4) When determining what data to acquire under paragraph (b)(2) of this section programs should consider what information is most relevant to inform services for families most in need. Data gathering should be informed by the program’s understanding of the community and be intentionally designed to help the program identify community strengths, needs and resources, and plan the program accordingly. Programs are not required to collect all information themselves; rather programs should utilize community partners and utilize existing available data sources relevant to the local community.

(5) A program must annually review and, where needed, update the community assessment to identify any significant shifts in community demographics, needs, and resources that may impact program design and service delivery. As described in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, programs should consider results from their self-assessment as required in subpart J of this part (§§ 1302.101 through 1302.103) and their annual funding application to inform this process. The annual update review must consider at a minimum: changes related to children and families experiencing homelessness; how the program addresses equity, accessibility, and inclusiveness in its provision of services; and changes to the availability of publicly-funded pre-kindergarten and whether it meets the needs of families. Programs must consider how the annual review and update can inform and support management approaches for continuous quality improvement, program goals, and ongoing oversight.

(6) A program must consider whether the characteristics of the community allow it to include children from diverse economic backgrounds that would be supported by other funding sources, including private pay, in addition to the program’s eligible funded enrollment. A program must not enroll children from diverse economic backgrounds if it would result in a program serving less than its eligible funded enrollment.