Description:
The Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring
(PRISM) is both the instrument and the process used
by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families
to monitor Head Start programs to ensure compliance
with program performance standards and other applicable
regulations. The PRISM instruments are based on 17 Core
Questions—9 that focus on program services and
8 that focus on management systems. The PRISM review
team uses a variety of methods to learn about a program.
The team members interview staff, parents, community
partners, and Policy Council and governing body members,
individually and in groups. They observe classrooms
and family child care settings, and conduct home visits.
They also complete fiscal, health and safety, and bus
ride checklists. PRISM review decisions are done through
consensus about the program quality.
Uses of Information: The
assessment is intended to help Head Start programs identify
areas that need improvements in order to continue to
provide high-quality comprehensive services that meet
Head Start performance standards and other regulations.
The exact remedies are left to the program.
Reliability: Not described.
Validity: Not described.
Method of Scoring: Throughout
the review visit, the PRISM review team, guided by the
federal team leader, holds formal and informal briefings
with grantee staff to report on information team members
witnessed, heard, and read. During these briefings,
the grantee staff members are able to provide input
on the findings. At the end of the review, the review
team holds an exit meeting and summarizes its findings
in three areas—Child Development and Health Services,
Family and Community Partnerships, and Program Design
and Management. The review team will meet to share and
analyze information collected during the visit. The
team will work toward building consensus on issues related
to the Core Questions. The review team members will
then draft a three-part report—one for each area—that
summarizes the program’s strengths and areas of
concerns, reviews decisions by Core Questions, and lists
findings requiring corrective action. The team leader,
after consulting with other Regional Office staff, will
use the draft report to prepare the Official Report.
Interpretability: No information.
Training Support: The
Head Start publication, Partnership for Quality: A Grantee
Guide to PRISM 2002 discusses what PRISM is and the
PRISM review process, and provides suggestions on what
programs can do to prepare for the review.
Adaptations/Special Instructions
for Individuals with Disabilities: Not applicable.
The PRISM review criteria include evaluation of areas
related to services for children with disabilities.
Report Preparation Support:
Not applicable.
References:
PRISM: Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring
of Head Start and Early Head Start Grantees—All
Instruments.
PRISM: Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring
of Head Start and Early Head Start Grantees—Partnerships
for Quality: A Grantee Guide to PRISM 2002. |
