(a) Limitations. (1) Costs to develop and administer a program cannot be excessive or exceed 15 percent of the total approved program costs. Allowable costs to develop and administer a Head Start program cannot exceed 15 percent of the total approved program costs, which includes both federal costs and non-federal match, unless the responsible HHS official grants a waiver under paragraph (b) of this section that approves a higher percentage in order to carry out the purposes of the Act.

(2) To assess total program costs and determine whether a grant recipient meets this requirement, the grant recipient must:

(i) Determine the costs to develop and administer its program, including the local costs of necessary resources;

(ii) Categorize total costs as development and administrative or program costs;

(iii) Identify and allocate the portion of dual benefits costs that are for development and administration;

(iv) Identify and allocate the portion of indirect costs that are for development and administration versus program costs; and,

(v) Delineate all development and administrative costs in the grant application and calculate the percentage of total approved costs allocated to development and administration.

(b) Waivers. (1) The responsible HHS official may grant a waiver for each budget period if a delay or disruption to program services is caused by circumstances beyond the agency's control, or if an agency is unable to administer the program within the 15 percent limitation and if the agency can demonstrate efforts to reduce its development and administrative costs.

(2) If at any time within the grant funding cycle, a grant recipient estimates development and administration costs will exceed 15 percent of total approved costs, it must submit a waiver request to the responsible HHS official that explains why costs exceed the limit, that indicates the time period the waiver will cover, and that describes what the grant recipient will do to reduce its development and administrative costs to comply with the 15 percent limit after the waiver period.