Head Start Monitoring Process for Fiscal Year 2000

ACYF Administration on Children, Youth and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families
	1. Log No. ACYF-IM-HS-00-02	2. Issuance Date: 01/05/00
	3. Originating Office: Head Start Bureau
	4. Key Word: Fiscal Year 2000 Head Start Monitoring

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM [See Attachment at the bottom]

TO: All Head Start and Early Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Head Start Monitoring Process for Fiscal Year 2000

At least once every three years, each Head Start and Early Head Start program receives a comprehensive on-site review by the Administration for Children. These reviews play a vital role in assuring that Head Start programs are providing high quality services. This Information Memorandum discusses the monitoring process for fiscal year (FY) 2000.

Over the past year, the Head Start Bureau has continued the work of revising the monitoring process and the development of a new monitoring instrument called PRISM, the Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring, that will be used by Federal staff to monitor grantees in the future. We plan to begin using the new instrument by October 1, 2000 next fall, the beginning of FY 2001.

This year, the Interim-99+ for Federal Monitoring of Head Start and Early Head Start Grantees (I-99+) will be used to monitor grantees during FY 2000. The I-99+ builds on last year's interim instrument and process and incorporates some additional aspects that will eventually be part of PRISM. The I-99+ process continues to take a more integrated, comprehensive, and outcome-focused approach to ensure compliance with regulations. This approach promotes quality and supports programs in delivering services for children and families in a more holistic manner.

Other key principles from last year that will remain a part of the I-99+ process include:

Reviewers determine how standards are implemented from the context of the "big picture" instead of concentrating on predetermined outcomes and individual standards;
Group interviews are used to elicit information from grantees on their community, organization, management systems and program services;
Reviewers use interviews, observations, documentation review and analysis to validate that agencies have implemented the required systems and services; and
Teams use a consensus-building approach to determine review decisions.

A copy of I-99+ is attached to this memorandum.
The Head Start Performance Standards and other regulations require agencies to implement an array of program services and to establish a set of management systems for supporting these services. When reviewing programs using the I-99+ Framework, reviewers will continue to examine the quality of services, the effectiveness of management systems and the impact of systems on services.

The instrument begins with the Overview of the Interim-99+ Review Process section which provides a detailed description of the instrument and the process. I encourage all of you to read this information. If your program is scheduled for a review this year, a Regional Office staff person will discuss this information with the person from your agency designated to assist in planning the review.

The I-99+ instrument introduces several new parts from PRISM and uses many of the same tools that were introduced last year. Several new interview protocols are included from PRISM:

The Governing Body Interview Protocol is used by reviewers to obtain information on how the governing body exercises their oversight responsibility and ensures their accountability for the Head Start program.

The Policy Council Interview Protocol contains questions concerning program governance and shared decision-making, and is intended for use with Policy council members.

The Family Group Interview Protocol helps reviewers to find out from a group of families what their experience has been in Head Start.
The Child Care Partnerships Interview Protocol is designed to help reviewers interview the director or other lead staff members of agencies that have child care partnerships with Head Start and Early Head Start.
Reviewers use the Community Partnerships Interview Protocol with community partners to gain an understanding of the development and implementation of each partnership.

Many of the tools used last year were not changed, but several were modified based on experience and feedback from fiscal year 1999 reviews. These tools are a part of the I-99+ instrument:

The Management Team Interview Protocol and the procedure for the Entrance Meeting have not been changed. During the Entrance Meeting, staff may deliver a 30-minute presentation to describe: the agency; its organizational structure; and the children, families, and community served by the grantee.
The Staff Group Interview Protocol replaces the Staff Focus Group Protocol used last year. The interview protocol was changed so the questions now focus on how services have been implemented by the program. This information allows reviewers to learn about a grantee's program of services and management systems from the perspective of direct services staff.
The 17 Core Questions were revised for clarity and specificity. The improvements will help reviewers to target certain information when looking at one of the management systems or one area of service from the I-99+ Framework.
The Health and Safety Checklist, the Classroom, Family Child Care, or Socialization Activity Observation Tool, the Home-Based Observation Tool, and the Fiscal Checklist were not changed.

Team leaders will also use a different terminology this year to designate a review decision for each core question. Teams will decide whether the review showed: no findings that require corrective action, findings of problems that require corrective action or findings of substantial problems that require corrective action.

We will strive to ensure that all Head Start and Early Head Start grantees are monitored in a uniform and consistent manner. As always, our goal in monitoring is to encourage programs to strive for excellence.

/S/Helen H. Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Head Start Bureau

Attachment:
Interim-99+ for Federal Monitoring of Head Start and Early Head Grantees