Last week, the Office of Head Start (OHS) released the Aligned Monitoring System’s on-site review protocols for fiscal year 2016. The protocols have been updated to reflect the new 45 CFR Part 75 and changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards 1305 released on February 10, 2015.

OHS uses the review protocols during separate on-site reviews to assess and gather data on each grantee’s performance in the core areas of:

• Environmental Health and Safety,
• CLASS™,
• Leadership, Governance, and Management Systems,
• Fiscal Integrity/Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA), and
• Comprehensive Services and School Readiness.

Particularly noteworthy is a resource that was not available last year: the Leadership, Governance, and Management Systems Protocol, which assesses each program on how its program develops plans to achieve goals, coordinates and develops program resources, implements program practices and delivers quality services, and identifies areas for ongoing program improvement. We encourage grantees to use each protocol, not just at the time of an upcoming review event but also throughout its grant period, as each protocol provides valuable insight into what OHS is looking for before, during, and after each on-site review.

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog series on our Federal Grants blog that discusses each of the review events in further detail.