A comprehensive Community Assessment will be conducted in the first year of the contract, with updates completed in the following two years. The firm or individual selected will be responsible for the collection and analysis of information that meets the requirements of the Office of Head Start and the Community Service Block Grant. 1. The Office of Head Start regulations mandate each Early Head Start and Head Start grantee conduct a Community Assessment within its service area that meets community needs and builds on strengths and resources as follows: (1) A grantee must conduct a community needs assessment at least once over the five-year grant period. The assessment must use data that describes community strengths, needs, and resources and include, at a minimum, all information identified on the Community Assessment Matrix at the following link: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/program-planning/article/community-assessmentmatrix (2) A program must annually review and update the community assessment to reflect any significant changes including increased availability of publiclyfunded pre-kindergarten- (including an assessment of how the pre-kindergarten available in the community meets the needs of the parents and children served by the program, and whether it is offered for a full school day), rates of family and child homelessness, and significant shifts in community demographics and resources.
