This resource provides guidance on modernizing enrollment processes through technology while maintaining inclusive family communication practices. It also features practical strategies for reducing administrative burden and creating accessible systems for all families.

Explore Head Start Program Performance Standards (the Performance Standards) and considerations for making enrollment and engagement communications and processes more accessible to families.

Revised Performance Standards

Review examples of what’s new in the updated Performance Standards.

Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance, 45 CFR §1302 Subpart A

Determining community strengths, needs, and resources, 45 CRF §1302.11 (b)(1)(v)

• What’s new in community assessment? Programs must identify and use communication methods that are accessible to prospective and enrolled families. These methods must consider the diverse needs and preferences of families.
• Example: Programs should identify the communication methods and modalities available to best engage with prospective and enrolled families in ways the families can access. This may include using social media platforms, text messages, enhanced websites, automated personal phone calls, or dedicated phone lines for program updates.

Recruitment of children, 45 CRF §1302.13

• What’s new in recruitment? Programs are encouraged to use modern technologies to make interactions with families easier and more accessible. This can also reduce the administrative burden for families during recruitment, application, and enrollment processes.
• Example: Program staff use tablets or laptops in coordination with local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offices to streamline the enrollment processes for families.

Enrollment, 45 CRF §1302.15(g)

• What’s new in enrollment for regular improvements? Programs must regularly examine their enrollment process and implement improvements to make it more user-friendly for families.
• Example: To be responsive to different families, the Head Start program enrolls families in several ways, including:
  • Virtually for families who have access to and are comfortable with technology.
  • In person for families who do not have access to technology or who need support and assistance to enroll.

Education and Child Development Program Services, 45 CFR §1302 Subpart C

Parent and family engagement in education and child development services, 45 CFR §1302.34(b)(9)

• What’s new in parent and family engagement? A program must offer opportunities for parents and family members to be involved in the program’s education services. Programs also must implement policies using communication methods that are accessible to prospective and enrolled families, considering their diverse needs and preferences.
• Example: Program staff collaborate with librarians to host story time and literacy activities for children and families in different languages.

Family and Community Engagement Program Services, 45 CFR §1302 Subpart E

Family engagement, 45 CFR §1302.50(a)

• What’s new in family engagement? Programs must identify communication methods that fit the specific preferences and abilities of each family. The choice is based on such factors as language, preferred contact methods, cultural background, and literacy levels. The purpose of this approach is to ensure that communications methods are individualized for families.
• Example: When planning home visits, the home visiting team asks parents of different ages, including elders, about how they prefer to communicate and be engaged.

Strategies for Implementation

Explore the strategies for implementing the updated Performance Standards in your Head Start program.

Community and Family Assessment Considerations

• Collect data to understand the needs of families and their preferred modes of communication (e.g., virtual, electronic, etc.).
• Assess the availability of Wi-Fi, internet, and telecommunication services in the areas where families live and work.
• Note which modes of communication work best for families and for your various purposes.
• Track changes in your community that affect families’ access to technology and related services.

Outreach and Intake Considerations

• Include recruitment strategies that are responsive to diverse families (e.g., families from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, family structures, and adults with disabilities and learning differences). Explore the #GetaHeadStart Recruitment Resources to enhance and strengthen your outreach and intake efforts.
• Consider making forms and materials available in different formats (e.g., paper and virtual) and using inclusive language (e.g., inclusive of family structures).
• Tailor outreach resources so they are accessible to parents with different disabilities and learning differences, including those who are blind, deaf, and hard of hearing or who have low literacy levels.
• Use technology to make forms and materials that are accessible to people with disabilities and learning differences.
• The following options may be helpful for parents who are neurodivergent, have low literacy skills, or who are visually impaired:
  • Multiple meeting times to complete necessary forms.
  • Paperwork provided in advance to give families more time to complete forms.
  • Sitting with parents, reading the questions aloud, and recording responses to lessen the burden or reduce the stress of the process.

Technology Considerations

For communities with good internet connectivity, consider the following:

• Create an online application for your program.
• Use social media and virtual recruitment strategies when families in the community indicate they prefer those modes. Staff can review the Social Media Essentials for Getting Head Start Programs Connected learning module to create social media profiles for the program that are engaging.
• Make mobile devices available for staff to complete the enrollment process.
• Consider providing support through texting as an option to assist parents in completing the enrollment process.

Administrative Burden Considerations

• Examine the enrollment and verification processes and eliminate nonessential information and redundancies, thus streamlining the paperwork to reduce burden and redundancies. 
• Identify any paperwork that can be done at another time during the program year. Family services managers can use the Seasonal Program Planning Tool to plan their tasks and activities over a program year.
• Ask parents and family members how they prefer to work on and complete the application process.
• Communicate information about the specific steps, necessary documentation, and timeline in the verification process.
• Provide clear timelines and frequent touchpoints for submitting necessary documentation.

Professional Development Considerations

• Be sure to communicate why you are adopting specific strategies when training staff to implement any new approach. Share the benefits of the new practices for engaging and retaining families in your program. Encourage new family services staff to learn more about their family services role.
• Track the effectiveness of the changes you implement.
• Make additional changes or improvements when necessary.

Last Updated: November 21, 2024