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Leadership and Governance

This resource collection covers Head Start entities that set program direction, exercise fiscal and legal oversight, and ensure stakeholder input and accountability to the community. These entities include program management, Policy Councils and committees, governing bodies, and Tribal Councils. Leadership and governance are foundational to establishing sound management systems and providing quality services. They are essential to all 12 components of the Management Systems Wheel. Program leadership is also one of the program foundations in the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework.

1301.1 Purpose.

Head Start agencies must establish and maintain a formal program structure that includes a governing body, a Policy Council at the agency level and policy committee at the delegate level, and a parent committee.

1303.10 Purpose.

Grant recipients must observe standards of organization, management, and administration that ensure all program activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Head Start Act.

Parent Activity Funds Narrative

Parent committees are allocated a specific amount from the Parent Activity Fund to develop and implement parent projects and activities. Grantee and delegate agencies will find this information useful when preparing their annual budgets.

Certification of Governance and Leadership Capacity Screening

The governing body must certify that a governance and leadership capacity screening was conducted and a training plan was developed. A certification must be submitted to the Office of Head Start (OHS) in the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) within 75 calendar days of the start of the project period.