Program Governance &  Operations

Gads Hill Center’s governance structure complies with all Head Start requirements. The current Parent Policy Committee (PPC) will assume the role as the Parent Policy Council. Our program hosts parent meetings monthly for each site and program option, and our parent meetings allow families to be informed of site/agency updates. This past year, our agency constructed a center-based parent committee in which parents discuss Head Start Standards and program changes they wish to advocate for implementation, most often virtually but in-person meetings will resume after the pandemic. Ideas that must be voted on and approved by the Parent Policy Committee (PPC) are then placed on the agenda for the PPC. Our PPC meets the last Thursday of each scheduled month after the sites’ parent meetings and parent committee forums to approve budgets, vote on agency’s policies, review ongoing monitoring tools, and track data on school readiness goals. All parents participating in the governing body and the policy council receive an orientation (within the first 180 days), and training on program policies and procedures, which include family eligibility, respect for all families, and corrective action policies. Requirements of Parent Committees.

 Within the parent committee structure, each classroom/home visiting unit/family child care home unit will have at least one representative on the parent committee. If the site has only one group of children, the site can determine how many parents comprise the parent committee. The sites may determine the best methods to engage families using strategies that are most effective in their community, as long as the program ensures the parent committee carries out the following minimum responsibilities:

● Advise staff in developing and implementing local program policies, activities, and services

to ensure they meet the needs of children and families

● Have a process for communication with the policy council; and

● Within the guidelines established by Chicago Commons and the Policy Council, participate in

the recruitment and screening of Early Head Start and Head Start employees.

GHC has the following systems in place to ensure an active, well-informed board and Parent Policy Council so that they can effectively carry out decision-making responsibilities: Data management process that describes how and when board members receive key reports and program information. The procedure for sharing these reports and information to the board is documented and maintained.  Agency staff persons who are responsible for providing the reports/information include the executive/program director, financial officer, human resources director, or designees. GHC staff also ensures that both the board and PPC members maintain the following well-organized and structured meetings that facilitate the engagement of board members, giving them a sense of accomplishment and strengthening the overall team for the long term. As well as an annual training schedule that ensures board members understand the needs of the program and are equipped with the knowledge necessary for interpreting the various reports, key documents, and data. GHC also supports the Board and PPC members in record-keeping system that stores governing body policies and procedures, meeting minutes, applicable insurances, and evidence of EHS-CCP/EHS-EXP approvals, data sharing reports, and training and technical assistance support.

Designated GHC staff members  will develop procedures for establishing and implementing Policy Committees. These procedures will include the following elements: 

1. Procedures to ensure that a Policy Committee is established as early as possible in the program year.

2. A committee that is comprised of 51% parents of currently enrolled children. 

3.  Procedures for the election of two members of the Policy Council to serve on the MARC Head Start Policy Council. One will serve as a Representative and one will serve as an Alternate.

4.  A regular, planned schedule of meetings. This schedule will provide sufficient opportunity for parents to be informed about the program’s activities and to be included in important decision-making discussions.

5.  Members will be responsible for approval and submission of decisions about agency activities to the agency’s governing body. 

6. Procedures to prohibit conflict of interest 

Both Board and PPC members receive the following reports on a monthly and quarterly basis:

·       Quarterly child outcomes report/school readiness data

·       Program summaries

·       Program and fiscal monitoring reports

·       Monthly fiscal reports, including credit card expenditures and non-federal share reports

·       Monthly USDA meal and snack reports

·       Monthly enrollment and attendance reports

·       Self-assessment report and related improvement plans/areas for enhancement

·       Federal Program Information Report (PIR) data

·       Annual program report

·       Community assessment

·       Annual fiscal audit reports and corrective measures, as applicable

·       Correspondence, as applicable, from HHS/Office of Head Start and DFSS

·       Human resources reports

GHC staff ensures that trainings are provided throughout the program year to support board and parent policy committee (PPC) members in effectively carrying out their responsibilities. Training on the Head Start eligibility rule is provided to newly seated PPC and board members within 90 days of seating. Other training topics provided to the board and PPC include orientation/leadership to collaborative governance; meeting protocol and decorum; eligibility rules; Head Start Program Performance Standards; personnel procedures and expectations; fiscal operations; grant application/budget process; parent activity fund budget; contract scope of services; how to use data for planning and decision making; annual program self-assessment; and the Head Start staff interview and approval process. GHC staff ensure that all members of both the board and PPC do not violate the bylaws for the board specific to criteria that create a conflict of interest for a potential member and thus bar them from joining the board.