Review of Enrollments Under the Head Start Program Administered by the Community Renewal Team, Inc.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The objectives of this review were to evaluate the enrollment and attendance levels of the Head Start program administered by the Community Renewal Team, Inc. (CRT) of Hartford, Connecticut, and the effect these levels had on federal funding. This final report points out that CRT's actual Head Start enrollment had a total of 924 students less than its expected enrollment for the period reviewed. We estimate these missed enrollment opportunities had an associated value of about $6.5 million. We also noted that CRT's record keeping and maintenance of program records were inadequate. In addition to the Administration for Children and Families determining a financial adjustment, we recommended that CRT ensure its funded enrollment levels are being met by maintaining and improving recruiting efforts, develop waiting lists at each operating classroom site to ensure vacancies are filled timely, improve its record keeping and maintenance of program records, and comply with special conditions imposed in Head Start grant awards.

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