Head Start Self-Assessment: Your Foundation for Building Program Excellence

Table of Contents | Introduction | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4

Program Self-Assessment Booklet 1

Management Systems: Program Governance

Core Question to be answered by Self-Assessment team:

How effective is your system of shared governance in supporting the implementation of quality services to children and families?

Purpose:
The objective is to ensure that programs have a policy group and governing body that share responsibility for overseeing the delivery of high quality services to children and families. Parents and community representatives should be empowered to actively participate in the shared decision-making process. (Introduction to 1304.50, p. 158, Head Start Program Performance Standards, hereafter referred to as "Performance Standards".) This booklet will help the Self-Assessment team determine if the program meets Federal Performance Standards relating to Program Governance. Related Performance Standards: 1304.50, including Appendix A; 1304.52 (k).

As you conduct your Self-Assessment of program governance systems, pay close attention to the following:

• Do the governing body, the Policy Council and the staff have a formal structure of shared decision-making which supports the delivery of high quality services to children and families?
• Do the governing body, Policy Council, and program managers work in partnership to lead the Head Start program?
• Do program leaders (governing body, Policy Council, and program managers) embrace the spirit and intent of the Head Start regulations and help to ensure that parents have direct participation in program planning and operations?
• Do governing body members successfully carry out their fiduciary (legal and fiscal) responsibilities and ensure effective and appropriate expenditures of Head Start dollars?
• Is the Policy Council actively involved in informed decision making?

Helpful tools to support data collection in this area follow.

Observe:
The Self-Assessment team member(s) should sit in and observe a meeting of the Policy Council and the governing body. During your observations, look for evidence that members are engaged in informed decision-making and have the opportunity to review and discuss information prior to making a decision to approve or disapprove.

Review:
Ask the Head Start director and/or responsible manager to provide you with access to the following documents:

• Organizational chart
• Grant application
• Written policies or procedures that describe the Head Start program's system for program governance and shared decision-making
• Governing body and Policy Council by-laws
• Evidence of ongoing training for the governing body and Policy Council
• Agendas, minutes, handouts and materials from the governing body, Policy Council, Policy Committee and Parent Committee meetings
• Ongoing monitoring reports
• Important data sources relevant to this area such as the PRISM report, PIR data, Community Assessment, strategic plan or short and long term program goals

Use the checklist below to assist you in your document review:

Does the organizational chart accurately reflect all decision-making bodies?
Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Is there any documentation of ongoing training of governing body and Policy Council members (e.g. memos, invitations, sign-up sheets, training materials)? Does the training plan include orientation to the Performance Standards and support in carrying out roles and responsibilities in relation to the Head Start program?
Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Do governing body members receive training specific to their oversight responsibilities in financial and legal matters?
Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Do minutes and records from governing body and Policy Council meetings provide an accurate account of decisions and establish accountability?
 Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Do the minutes reflect that the governing body and policy groups have the opportunity to review and discuss issues prior to approval?
 Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Do agendas, minutes and records show evidence that the governing body and Policy Council review ongoing monitoring reports, including child outcome data and assessment information, to help determine the direction of program improvement efforts?
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Is there documentation that shows that parent members of the Policy Council or Policy Committee are elected once a year?
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Are all parents encouraged and given an opportunity to participate and serve as Policy Council members?
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Are any parent members of the Policy Council or Policy Committee serving for more than three years? (Check old meeting minutes, membership lists, ask Policy Council members and staff).
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Is there a handbook or letter that explains Head Start parents’ rights and responsibilities?
 Yes    No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Are there written procedures approved by the governing body and Policy Council to help resolve community complaints about the program?
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Are there written procedures to resolve disputes between the governing body and Policy Council?
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Is there documentation that shows that community representatives of the Policy Council or Policy Committee are elected once a year?
 Yes    No  Comment: _________________________________________________

Are any community representatives of the Policy Council or Policy Committee serving for more than three years? (Check old meeting minutes, membership lists, ask Policy Council members and staff).
 Yes   No   Comment: _________________________________________________

Is there evidence that the grant and budgets have been approved and signed by the Policy Council prior to submission to the regional office?
 Yes   No  Comment: _________________________________________________

Interview:

A Self-Assessment team member should speak with at least two members of the governing body and Policy Council.

Questions for the governing body:

How would you describe the role you play in leading and supporting the Head Start program? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Can you describe for us some of the goals and issues facing the Head Start program at this time?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Relevant to your stewardship responsibilities, what types of Head Start financial reports do you routinely review? What is your understanding of the program’s current financial situation? Is it on target, under budget, over budget?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Does the governing body engage in a self-evaluation process to determine their level of effectiveness and ways they can improve?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Is the governing body involved in the annual review and evaluation of the Head Start director? Can you describe that process?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Questions for the Policy Council:

How does the Policy Council participate in the hiring and termination process?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Describe the ways parents are involved at the parent committee level. How regularly do they meet? How are parents supported financially to carry out their activities (i.e., reimbursements)? Are all parents encouraged to participate?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

If your program has both Head Start and Early Head Start, are both represented adequately and proportionately on the Policy Council?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Questions to ask members of the governing body and Policy Council:

Many programs have exceeded Head Start Performance Standards by improving communication between the governing body and the Policy Council by appointing a liaison or providing for cross-membership within the governance structure. How does your program achieve two-way communication between the two groups?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Describe the ways in which the Policy Council receives information on how the program is progressing so that the Policy Council can make decisions that will be of benefit to the program.
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

What specific kinds of documents and reports do you receive to help inform you about the Head Start/Early Head Start program? (Listen for information about financial reports and child outcome data.)
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Questions to ask members of the governing body and Policy Council:

Describe the training and support you have received from Head Start to assist you in your role.
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Describe the governing body’s (or Policy Council’s) involvement in the Head Start grant application process.
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Describe the annual Self-Assessment process. Who is involved in evaluating the program? How are the results reported to the governing body and the Policy Council? How are the results used to make improvements in the program?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Can you provide examples of how child outcome data has been used to plan for changes in the program?
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

How does the program recruit volunteers in the community?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Ask Policy Council and governing body members if the Policy Council and/or Policy Committee develop, review, approve/disapprove program policies and procedures. How do they accomplish this?
________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Incorporating Relevant Data Sources:
Additional observations, document reviews, or interview questions that this team may choose to add:
___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Include any key insights you may have learned from reviewing important data sources such as the PRISM report, PIR data, Community Assessment, strategic plan or short and long term program goals:
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Team Member Summary Worksheet

Summary of Results for Governance

Areas where the program is working well. Provide examples of program strengths or areas where the program exceeds Performance Standards:
________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

Areas where the program needs improvement:
________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

Additional areas of concern:
________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

TEAM LEADER BOOKLET ANALYSIS

Booklet # ____________

Booklet Name: ______________________________________________________________________________

Program Strengths	Data Source
Specific Program Weaknesses and Areas to Strengthen	Data Source