Office of Head Start

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a federal sub-agency within HHS that administers grant funding for child welfare, child care, Head Start, community development, and family support programs. ACF funds exclusively through grants rather than federal procurement contracts.

ACF has obligated $240.69 billion in combined federal grant dollars across 8,185 awards since 1997, with grant-making activity accelerating sharply over the past two years. The agency issued 104 awards in 2022, 242 in 2023, 778 in 2024, 606 in 2025, and 286 so far in 2026. The most recent recorded award date is September 2026. Across the portfolio, 1,817 distinct recipients have received funding.

Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented by both award count and federal dollars. The top five recipients by award count hold 3 percent of recent awards; the top five by federal dollars hold only 1 percent of recent federal dollars obligated. Community Development Institute Head Start leads by award count with 30 awards totaling $471.6 million in federal dollars, while Scus Head Start Programs Inc. leads by federal dollars with 9 awards worth $476.9 million. The remaining top recipients—Municipio De Bayamon ($450.9 million, 7 awards), Innovative Network Of Knowledge ($328.6 million, 7 awards), and Acelero Inc. ($253.1 million, 7 awards)—operate in the same narrow band. The long tail of 1,812 recipients absorbs the overwhelming majority of awards and federal funding, reflecting ACF's decentralized grant model serving Head Start providers, community action agencies, child welfare organizations, and local development entities across the country.

Grant assistance awards are dominated by Project Grants, which account for 8,099 awards (99 percent of the portfolio). Formula Grants represent 1 percent (45 awards), while Block Grants and Cooperative Agreements together comprise less than 1 percent (24 and 17 awards respectively).

No recent federal contract opportunities or grant opportunities are recorded against ACF in the source data provided.