Governance the Effort
Several things were important in deciding how to govern the partnership efforts. A variety of voices at the table strengthened the chances that the decisions made would be those that would
create a win for all involved. In this initiative two groups were established, the Steering Committee and the Implementation Team.
The Steering Committee was made up of the original agency partners who had come together around the need to create more full-day options, an area child care center director, parents from the Head Start Policy Committee and Council and the grant staff. This group made policy decisions for how the partnerships would be designed, funded and governed. The group also developed a set of guiding principles for their work together.
The charge of the Implementation Team was to work through the logistics of the practical pieces that would be needed in the design of the model, such as the process to assess the interested centers as to their readiness to be a partner. They made recommendations to the Steering Committee for final decisions.
These two groups were viewed as necessary to getting the work done. The first meeting was a joint one to familiarize everyone with the goals of the initiative and the research that had been done to date by the project director around Head Start/child care partnerships. Both met twice per month in the first year. An evaluator worked with them and the staff to evaluate the process and provide continuous feedback.
The Steering Committee was made up of the original agency partners who had come together around the need to create more full-day options, an area child care center director, parents from the Head Start Policy Committee and Council and the grant staff. This group made policy decisions for how the partnerships would be designed, funded and governed. The group also developed a set of guiding principles for their work together.
- Decisions are reached by consensus. The committee will work until all can walk away agreeing to support the decision made by the whole.
- The model created must benefit the children and families served, rather than the partner agencies.
- The families who are both center and Head Start families experience that, as much as possible, as a seamless system of services which enhance their children’s readiness for school.
- The model created us of high quality and is viable and replicable.
The charge of the Implementation Team was to work through the logistics of the practical pieces that would be needed in the design of the model, such as the process to assess the interested centers as to their readiness to be a partner. They made recommendations to the Steering Committee for final decisions.
These two groups were viewed as necessary to getting the work done. The first meeting was a joint one to familiarize everyone with the goals of the initiative and the research that had been done to date by the project director around Head Start/child care partnerships. Both met twice per month in the first year. An evaluator worked with them and the staff to evaluate the process and provide continuous feedback.
