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V. PROGRAM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT
To facilitate program implementation, promote high-quality services, and ensure coordination across all components, Early Head Start programs need a competent, well-trained staff and strong management systems. In the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Early Head Start grant announcement, the Head Start Bureau provides guidelines to promote hiring, training, and retaining program staff members who are skilled and knowledgeable about services for families with infants and toddlers. The Head Start Bureau also requires programs to implement specific management systems and procedures to ensure program oversight and planning to promote continuous improvement. This chapter describes the extent to which the research programs implemented central elements of these standards for developing staff and management systems.
A. STAFF DEVELOPMENT
To operate high-quality Early Head Start programs, grantees must hire and retain competent staff members who are well trained, supervised, and compensated. The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Early Head Start grant announcement emphasize the importance of hiring competent staff; providing supervision and training activities that focus on relationship building and provide opportunities for practice, feedback, and reflection; and rewarding high-quality performance through compensation and opportunities for career advancement. Thus, to measure the extent of implementation in the area of staff development, we examined five aspects of each research program’s staff development activities: (1) supervision, (2) training, (3) staff retention, (4) compensation, and (5) staff morale.1
At the time of our site visits in fall 1997, the research programs had made significant progress in implementing the key elements of staff development that we examined. Across all research programs, staff development was the most fully implemented of the five major program components we assessed; 11 programs had reached full implementation of this component by fall 1997 (Figure V.1). About 75 percent of center-based programs, 63 percent of home-based programs, and 60 percent of mixed-approach programs had fully implemented the staff development component.2
1. Supervision
Supervision and training were the strongest elements of the research programs’ staff development efforts. Twelve research programs had fully implemented these aspects of staff development in fall 1997 (Figure V.2). The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Early Head Start grant announcement mandate that programs implement a system of supervision, training, and mentoring that emphasizes relationship building, employs experiential learning techniques, and provides regular opportunities for feedback on performance. All staff members in fully implemented research programs received regular supervision that included support from other staff members and constructive feedback on their performance. In five research programs, supervision included both individual and group supervision sessions, such as discussion and support groups for home visitors and for teachers in centers. In addition, the feedback provided in these five research programs was based in part on supervisors’ observations of service delivery, either by accompanying staff members on home visits or observing them working directly with children and parents in centers.
[D] |
| Source: Site visits conducted in fall 1997
to 17 Early Head Start research programs. Note: Implementation ratings for staff development represent the average rating across all the dimensions we examined. Programs rated as fully implemented achieved full implementation in most of the dimensions we examined, but did not necessarily achieve full implementation in every dimension (see Figure V.2 for a list of dimensions). |
[D] |
Source: Site visits conducted in fall 1997 to 17 Early Head Start research programs. |
Most of the programs that had not yet fully implemented the staff development component in fall 1997 had undergone significant staff transitions during the previous year. Because these transitions typically involved supervisory staff, new supervision practices and procedures were still in the process of being developed at the time we visited these programs.
2. Training
In addition to strong supervision, staff in most research programs received many opportunities to participate in training on child development and a wide variety of other topics. Twelve research programs had fully implemented staff training requirements in fall 1997. These programs determined their training needs through staff surveys and input from supervisors, technical assistance providers, and program officers, and they planned training based on this needs assessment. They provided intensive preservice training, regular opportunities to participate in in-house training, and opportunities to attend outside training sessions and conferences organized by the Head Start Bureau, technical assistance providers, and other community organizations. Almost all research programs provided opportunities for staff members to obtain a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, and a few provided opportunities for them to obtain other certifications as well. Six research programs provided training that emphasized relationship building and employed experiential learning techniques. Five programs had reached only partial implementation by fall 1997 because they had not provided training to all staff in multiple areas or had not developed a training plan.
3. Staff Retention
The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Early Head Start grant announcement stress the need to develop and maintain secure, continuous relationships between staff, children, and parents and to avoid frequent turnover of key people in children’s lives. Therefore, retaining personnel is an important staff development goal for Early Head Start programs.
Ten research programs reached full implementation in this area (according to the rating scales we developed) by maintaining low staff turnover rates (less than 20 percent) in the year prior to the fall 1997 site visits. Three additional research programs experienced moderate turnover (20 to 29 percent of staff) in the year prior to the site visits. Four research programs experienced high (30 to 39 percent of staff) or very high (more than 39 percent of staff) turnover. Most programs with high turnover had also experienced changes in program leadership during the previous year.
4. Compensation
In addition to retaining staff, the Early Head Start grant announcement emphasizes the importance of adequate staff compensation to promote and reward high-quality performance and professional development. Eight research programs had reached full implementation of this staff compensation mandate in fall 1997 by providing salaries and benefits that program staff considered to be above the average of similar positions in other community agencies. At eight additional research programs, staff considered the salaries and benefits offered to be at the same level, on average, as those of similar community agencies. Salaries and benefits were considered to be low, in comparison to similar community agencies, at only one research program.
5. Staff Morale
The final aspect of staff development that we examined was staff morale. Although staff morale is not specifically addressed in the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards or the Early Head Start grant announcement, we included it in the rating scale because it is an important measure of the extent to which the programs were able to create a supportive environment that enables staff to perform and develop. We rated programs as fully implemented in this area if staff morale was high or very high in fall 1997.
In fall 1997, no research programs reported low morale among Early Head Start staff. Based on staff reports during site visits and in the staff surveys, staff morale appeared to be high in eight research programs and average in nine research programs. Personnel at a few research programs described periods of low staff morale during the year prior to our site visits. However, in each of these situations, changes in leadership or other aspects of the research program had occurred, which had improved staff morale prior to our visits.
B. MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Early Head Start programs need strong management systems to ensure smooth coordination among all program components and high-quality service delivery. The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards require a system of shared program governance in which parents participate in decision making, as well as management systems that ensure careful program planning and community involvement. To assess the extent of implementation of each research program’s management component, we examined four key aspects of the programs’ management systems: (1) establishment of an active Policy Council; (2) development of goals, objectives, and plans; (3) program self-assessment; and (4) community needs assessment.3 Seven research programs reached full implementation of these program management requirements in fall 1997 (Figure V.3). Six additional research programs achieved a moderate level of implementation in this area, because some aspects of their management systems that we assessed were not yet fully implemented.
[D] |
| Source: Site visits conducted in fall 1997
to 17 Early Head Start research programs. Note: Implementation ratings for management systems represent the average rating across all the dimensions we examined. Programs rated as fully implemented achieved full implementation in most of the dimensions we examined, but did not necessarily achieve full implementation in every dimension (see Figure V.4 for a list of dimensions). |
1. Policy Council
The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to establish Policy Councils charged with developing and approving key program policies and procedures. The standards further mandate that Policy Councils include both parents and community members, with at least 51 percent of the membership made up of parents of currently enrolled children. We rated programs as fully implemented in this area if they had established a Policy Council that met regularly and was involved in program decision making.
In fall 1997, eight research programs had reached full implementation of these Policy Council requirements (Figure V.4). Three additional programs had achieved moderate levels of implementation in this area. These three research programs had established Policy Councils that met regularly, but the councils were not significantly involved in program decision making. Five research programs had achieved only low levels of implementation in the area because, while Policy Councils had been established, they did not meet regularly. One research program was still in the process of forming its Policy Council in fall 1997.
2. Goals, Objectives, and Plans
To ensure careful and inclusive planning, the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to develop multiyear goals, short-term objectives, and written plans for implementing services in each program area. Furthermore, these goals, objectives, and plans must be developed in consultation with programs’ Policy Councils, advisory groups, staff, parents, and other community members.
[D] |
| Source: Site visits conducted in fall 1997 to 17 Early Head Start research programs. |
Seven research programs had fully implemented these requirements in fall 1997. Four additional research programs had achieved moderate implementation in this area. These programs had developed goals, objectives, and plans but needed to update them. Four research programs had developed goals, objectives, and plans but had only partially implemented them, and two research programs had not yet developed written goals and plans.
3. Program Self-Assessment
To promote continuous improvement, the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards also require programs to conduct an annual self-assessment of their progress toward meeting program goals and objectives and their compliance with the performance standards. In addition to staff members, this self-assessment must involve Policy Council members, parents, and other community members.
In fall 1997, six research programs had fully implemented these requirements by conducting a self-assessment in the previous year. A seventh research program had conducted an informal selfassessment, but the results had not been documented in program records. Four research programs planned to conduct self-assessments but had not yet done so at the time of our visits. Six research programs had not conducted self-assessments and had not yet planned to do so.
4. Community Needs Assessment
To promote program planning that takes into account community needs and resources, the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to conduct an assessment of community strengths, needs, and resources at least once every three years. Almost all research programs reached full implementation in this area in fall 1997. Fifteen research programs had completed a community needs assessment within the previous three years. The Early Head Start grant announcement required that initial grant proposals include a community needs assessment, so almost all research programs had completed this task in 1995 when they developed their initial grant proposals.
1Appendix B contains a detailed description of the rating criteria we developed for each of these dimensions of staff development activities.(back)
2See Volume I for greater details on programs’ staff development activities.(back)
3Appendix B contains a detailed description of the rating criteria we developed for each of these dimensions of program management activities. We recognize other aspects of management systems exist that we were not able to evaluate.(back)
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