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Head Start Monitoring Support

The Head Start Act requires that Head Start programs be subject to a comprehensive on-site review every 3 years and that newly established programs be reviewed after the first year in operation. Head Start Monitoring Reviews are conducted to ensure that the highest quality Head Start and Early Head Start programs are being offered to children in compliance with government standards. The Federal agency responsible for oversight of Head Start is the Office of Head Start (OHS). OHS works in partnership with two Government contractors, Danya International, Inc., and The Lewin Group, in administering the Head Start Monitoring Program.

The FY 2010 Office of Head Start Monitoring Protocol contains a series of compliance questions covering all program content areas and management systems. Each compliance question is directly linked to a regulation; therefore, any review activity, including interviews, observations, and document reviews, relates to clearly defined Head Start Program Performance Standards. These standards are the foundation of the Head Start program and are designed to ensure the successful implementation of Head Start goals and objectives.

The Head Start Review process begins with the assignment of a Review Team Leader who assembles a review team with the specific expertise required for thorough review. The team is randomly selected from a database of Reviewers who have been qualified by Danya International.

As Head Start Monitoring Support contractors,
Danya is responsible for:

  • Recruiting, verifying, and assessing performance of all Head Start Monitoring Reviewers
  • Scheduling all Head Start Monitoring Reviews and collecting documentation for the pre- review preparation
  • Building the monitoring review teams and coordinating logistics for the on-site monitoring reviews
  • Developing and communicating Reviewer policy and guidance updates to review team stakeholders
  • Analyzing and producing the monitoring review reports
  • Maintaining the Head Start Gateway Web site and review team support Help Desk
  • Providing information systems to support the program and its interface with the Lewin Group

The Lewin Group is responsible for:

  • Training Head Start Monitoring Reviewers

Mobile Audit is responsible for:

  • Providing a Help Desk for all OHS Monitoring users
  • Creating and maintaining the OHS Monitoring Software, used to document review findings
  • Generating monitoring review reports from the OHS Monitoring Software