Organizational Leadership

Prior to fiscal year (FY) 2016, all Head Start grantees were required to submit financial reports made for its federal award(s) using standard form (SF) Federal Financial Report 425 (lines 10a, b, and c), detailing the cash transactions in the Payment Management System (PMS), and separate reports to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) detailing the expenditures (lines 10d-o) made for the same award(s).

Created in 1965, Head Start is designed to prepare low-income preschool children for school by providing a comprehensive set of early child development services primarily through community-based organizations.

This Head Start A to Z session offers leaders the opportunity to become familiar with the underlying tenets of Head Start. It affirms the solid foundation on which Head Start was built. During this session, leaders are asked to reflect on the programs for which they provide leadership. Consider the extent to which the core values of Head Start are evidenced in the daily operations.

Learn about the important leadership role of Head Start directors and managers. Explore organizational change models and systems thinking.

Head Start leaders are charged with an enormous task. They help to prepare children for kindergarten and beyond while operating and sustaining a business. Fiscal management is a large part of that task. This two-part session provides a general overview of what Head Start directors need to know and do to oversee fiscal management.

The Office of Community Services has created this guide to better inform grantees, Head Start program staff, and other family service organizations about the definition, necessity, and role of best practices in the nonprofit sector. Although best practices were first used extensively in business, nonprofits continue to recognize the need to adopt best practice methodologies to effectively achieve an organization’s mission, and meet its goals.

The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 requires the Secretary to develop a system of designation renewal that integrates the recommendations of an expert panel.

The Hatch Act restricts political activity of federal, state, and local government employees. The Act also restricts the political activity of employees whose employment is financed in whole or in part by a grant award. Grantees and delegates should be mindful of this policy and avoid any violations of the law with regard to their staff members’ political activities.

Cost allocation was created to ensure that federal funds are used solely for programs and that no other federal funds may be used for any other purpose. Grantees who have more than one funding source will find this information useful for making sure that each program bears its appropriate share of the costs.