Region XII Migrant and Seasonal Worker Collaboration Office | HHS 2025 ACF OHS HC R12 0162

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2025 ACF OHS HC R12 0162

The Region XII Migrant and Seasonal Worker Collaboration Office grant (Funding Opportunity Number HHS 2025 ACF OHS HC R12 0162) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), specifically through the Office of Head Start (OHS). Its main purpose is to strengthen how organizations in OHS Region XII work together to better serve low-income children and families connected to migrant and seasonal work. Rather than funding direct classroom slots by itself, the opportunity is designed to build stronger coordination, shared planning, and aligned services across Head Start programs, early care and education partners, and other community stakeholders who influence young children s development and learning.

The funded Collaboration Office is expected to function as a regional hub that connects the OHS Region XII Office, the broader OHS Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) system, Head Start recipients, and other early childhood providers. A central emphasis is promoting partnerships with child care providers, particularly those that align with the Early Head Start Child Care Partnership initiatives. In practical terms, this means encouraging formal and informal partnerships that expand access to high-quality infant and toddler care, improve consistency in program quality expectations, and help working families who face mobility, seasonal employment demands, and gaps in child care availability.

Another major component of the work is data-related. The Collaboration Office is expected to collect and use data about early childhood programs and child outcomes, helping the region understand what services are available, where needs are concentrated, and what strategies appear to support better developmental and learning results for children. This kind of regional data coordination can also support decision-making across multiple systems, for example by identifying service deserts, tracking program participation patterns for highly mobile families, and informing continuous quality improvement efforts across partners.

The opportunity also prioritizes workforce and career development. The Collaboration Office is expected to support expansion of access to high-quality training, professional development, and career pathways for staff across the early childhood ecosystem that serves migrant and seasonal worker families. The intent is to improve staff capacity and retention by connecting programs and practitioners to development opportunities, helping align competencies across Head Start and child care, and reinforcing quality practices that meet families needs in culturally and linguistically responsive ways.

School continuity is another explicit focus. The Collaboration Office is expected to work with school systems to ensure smoother transitions and better alignment between Head Start and school system goals. This typically includes efforts that reduce disruption when children move into kindergarten, improve coordination around early learning standards, and strengthen information-sharing and relationship-building between early childhood providers and local education agencies, while remaining consistent with applicable privacy and program rules.

In addition to these core areas, the Collaboration Office must support broader OHS regional priorities tied to whole-child and whole-family outcomes. That includes advancing family and community partnerships and strengthening coordination related to health services, mental health supports, and oral health. For migrant and seasonal worker families, these areas can be especially important because of barriers such as transportation, limited provider availability, inconsistent insurance coverage, language access needs, and frequent moves across communities or states.

Funding is capped at 350,000 dollars (award ceiling), with an expectation of a single award (ExpectedAwards: 1). Because it is a cooperative agreement, recipients should anticipate substantial federal involvement beyond a standard grant, such as ongoing collaboration with OHS staff, shared planning, and regular communication about implementation and priorities. The original closing date listed is 2025-01-21, and the opportunity was created on 2024-11-19. The CFDA/Assistance Listing number associated with this program area is 93.600 (Head Start).

Eligibility is broad across public and private sectors, but with clear exclusions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they otherwise qualify); and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. Individuals, including sole proprietorships, are not eligible, and foreign entities are also not eligible; applications from either category will be disqualified from merit review and funding consideration. Faith-based and community organizations may apply if they meet the eligibility requirements, and the notice states that ACF will not discriminate based on an organization s religious character or affiliation, consistent with 45 CFR Part 87 and 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as funding a regional coordination and partnership-building office for Region XII that can connect Head Start, child care, schools, workforce development efforts, and health-related supports into a more coherent system for migrant and seasonal worker families. The end goal is not only better collaboration among providers, but also more consistent access to high-quality early learning and comprehensive services that support children s development and families stability despite the challenges that come with seasonal and mobile work.

• The Administration for Children and Families - OHS in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Region XII Migrant and Seasonal Worker Collaboration Office" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.600.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses.

Apply for HHS 2025 ACF OHS HC R12 0162

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