An Overview of FY2016 Leadership, Governance and Management Systems Protocol

The Office of Head Start (OHS) first released the FY2016 monitoring protocol in September 2015. This new protocol, called the Leadership, Governance and Management Systems Protocol (LGMS), seeks to understand how programs are managed, and how that management supports the program’s provision of high quality services and a safe and healthy learning environment for children and families.

The LGMS Protocol is structured by four Key Performance Areas (KPAs). We’ll go over these KPAs in detail in the next four blogs – but for now this is just an overview of how the LGMS is structured overall and what is expected of a Head Start program in order to meet its requirements for sound management. Even if you aren’t scheduled for a monitoring visit in 2016, you should be able to answer the types of questions outlined in the LGMS protocol.

Keep in mind that this Protocol will not replace any existing monitoring events, such as Comprehensive Services and School Readiness or Environmental Health and Safety.

What are the Four Key Performance Areas?

1. PLAN
Developing program planning to achieve an end result of high quality comprehensive services to children and families in healthy and safe environments..
2. DEVELOP
Developing and organizing program resources.
3. IMPLEMENT
Implementing program practices and deliver quality services.
4. EVALUATE
Identifying areas to stimulate ongoing program improvement.

How Does OHS Define Leadership?

For purposes of the LGMS Protocol, leadership refers specifically to the Head Start Director and/or the Executive Director, the governing body and the Policy Council. Leadership roles can obviously change within these groups, but there are clear expectations that each person has a shared understanding of how these specific groups work together to lead the program.

Who is Interviewed for each KPA?

How are KPAs Assessed?

Again, we’ll be discussing specifics of the Key Performance Areas in the following four blogs. However, we should understand what process OHS uses to assess each KPA – enter Compliance Measures and Targeted Questions.

Compliance Measures are defined as specific statements that focuses on one or more Federal regulations that are critical to effective leadership, used to assess the level of program performance. Each KPA is composed of one ore more compliance measures.

Targeted Questions – Provide guidance to ensure there is a standard method for evidence collection. Each compliance measure includes several targeted questions.

Overall, the LGMS Protocol is designed to provide Head Start programs with an opportunity to showcase how their leadership and staff engage each KPA to create an effective form of management. Stay tuned as we go more in depth on the main components of each Key Performance Areas.