A FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSING HEAD START CHILD, FAMILY, AND
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OUTCOMES
This chart provides an overview of key Head Start policies and systems for defining,
tracking, and improving program quality and outcomes. This framework will form
the basis for additional Head Start Bureau initiatives to implement provisions
from reauthorization, including the integration of additional Program Performance
Standards and Performance Measures, and the incorporation of the Performance Measures
into local program self-assessment and program monitoring.
HEAD START PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
AND OTHER REGULATIONS
45 CFR Parts 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304 and Guidance, 1305, 1306, and 1308 and
Guidance
"The foundation of a quality, comprehensive, child development
program."
CURRICULUM
"What are the experiences that support children's
learning and development and lead to positive child outcomes?"
- A philosophy shared by the program and the parents,
and a planned, organized, and consistently implemented curriculum, support
child development and education in Early Head Start and Head Start.
- The curriculum is a written plan that addresses the
goals for children's development and learning and includes the children's
experiences, roles of staff and parents, and materials needed to support the
implementation of the curriculum.
- The curriculum is consistent with the Head Start Program
Performance Standards and is based on sound child development principles about
how children grow and learn.
- The Head Start Program Performance Standards require
that qualified staff, in partnership with parents, select and adapt or develop
a curriculum. Staff members also implement and individualize the curriculum
to support each child's learning and developmental progress.
- Staff receive consistent and ongoing training on the
philosophy and appropriate implementation of the curriculum.
AREAS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR CHILDREN - FAMILIES
- PROGRAMS - COMMUNITIES
"How are our children progressing and what
are the changes in families, programs, and communities?"
- The Head Start Program Performance Standards include
the physical, emotional,
social, cognitive, and language areas of children's development and learning.
- Curriculum is the critical mechanism for achieving
Head Start's goal of enhancing the social competence and school readiness
of children. The 1998 reauthorization of the Head Start Act by Congress emphasizes
this goal and mandates several new measures of Head Start quality and performance.
- Each child receives screening for develop-mental, sensory,
and behavioral concerns upon entry to the program.
- Through ongoing child observation and assessment, staff
and parents follow children's progress from arrival at Early Head Start or
Head Start to the time they leave. This information is used to individualize
the curriculum for children and to determine what the outcomes are...what
children accomplish over a period of time as a result of meaningful, cumulative
experiences.
- The Program Performance Standards identify specific
areas where families, because of their enrollment in Early Head Start or Head
Start, are to be involved through the family partnership agreement process
in their children's development and learning; in increasing their own literacy;
and in the governance process.
PROGRAM SELF-ASSESSMENT AND ONGOING MONITORING
"How are we doing?"
- Grantees establish procedures for the ongoing monitoring
of their own operations, as well as those of their delegate agencies, to ensure
effective implementation of all Federal regulations.
- At least once a year, Early Head Start and Head Start
agencies conduct a self- assessment to check how they are doing in meeting
their goals and objectives, and in implementing the Head Start Program Performance
Standards and other regulations.
- The process involves the policy group, governing body,
parents, staff, and the community.
- The results of the self-assessment process influence
the agency's program planning–the continuous improvement process.
FEDERAL ON-SITE SYSTEMS MONITORING
"What is the level of compliance with Head Start regulations?"
- After the first full year of operation, grantees are
monitored every three years.
- A review of whether effective management systems are
supporting the implementation of a comprehensive child development program
leading to positive child outcomes.
- A partnership between Federal and grantee staff to
monitor the progress of Early Head Start and Head Start grantees in implementing
the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
- A team of Federal staff and experts conducts an on-site
review of grantee management systems and program quality through a combination
of focus groups and individual interviews; observations; discussions with
parents, staff, and policy group members; and written program documents.
HEAD START PROGRAM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
"Congress wants to know: How is the Head Start program doing nationally?"
- Head Start's Program Performance Measures were developed
in 1997 as a comprehensive statement of outcomes to guide Federal accountability
and program improvement efforts.
- Based on an extensive consultation and consensus-building
process with Head Start leaders and experts, the F.A.C.E.S. Performance Measures
include a conceptual framework of 5 overarching objectives, a set of measures,
and a related set of performance indicators.
- Five objectives of Head Start are as follows:
- Objective1: Enhance children's growth and development
- Objective 2: Strengthen families as the primary nurturers
of their children
- Objective 3: Provide children with educational, health,
and nutritional services
- Objective 4: Link children and their families to needed
community services
- Objective 5: Ensure well-managed programs that involve
parents in decision-making Head Start Program Performance Measures form
the framework for reporting to Congress on the requirements of the Government
Performance and Results Act and Head Start research efforts.
F.A.C.E.S. FAMILY AND CHILD EXPERIENCES SURVEY
"What are some key outcomes and indicators of Head Start program
quality
and effectiveness?"
- F.A.C.E.S. is a national research study of a representative
sample of 40 Head Start programs to examine the quality and effects of Head
Start on 3,200 preschool children and families.
- F.A.C.E.S. examines the relationship between program
quality and child and family outcomes grounded in the Head Start Program Performance
Standards.
- Research includes direct assessment of children in
Head Start, kindergarten, and first grade as well as teacher, other staff,
and parent interviews and observation of classroom quality.
- Initial F.A.C.E.S. findings show that classroom quality
is good–children are gaining important cognitive and social skills,
program quality is linked to child outcomes, and families are involved and
highly satisfied with Head Start.
- F.A.C.E.S. findings suggest that parental reading to
children is key to their vocabulary knowledge, and is an area where Head Start
programs could do more to encourage regular parent-child reading.
- F.A.C.E.S. does not report outcomes by individual children
or individual programs.
- F.A.C.E.S. does not monitor grantees for compliance
with the Program Performance Standards.
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Last Modified: 04/23/02
