District Head Start staff outline eligibility, wait lists and family needs

Head Start leaders told the school board Oct. 1 that Davis School District’s federally funded Head Start and Early Head Start programs maintain full enrollment, operate a points-based selection process and serve families with substantial needs. Heather Linehan, the district’s family services supervisor for Head Start, said the program uses an "IRSE" framework — eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment and attendance — and selects families by eligibility points and documented needs. "We are required to begin the year at a full enrollment and then we maintain a wait list and a 100% enrollment all year," Linehan said.

Nut graf: The district administers Head Start funding and reported specific enrollments and wait-list counts, plus the demographic and need profiles staff collected during registration interviews. Officials said the program prioritizes income-based eligibility, foster status, homelessness (McKinney-Vento), TANF recipients and children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

Head Start enrollment figures presented by Linehan: Early Head Start (prenatal through age 3) has 96 enrolled with a wait list of 82 and serves five foster children and 20 children experiencing homelessness. Head Start (ages 3–5) is funded for 352 slots, with a wait list of 114; of those served, nine are foster children, 68 are experiencing homelessness and 144 receive TANF, and 38 children in the program have IEPs.

Linehan said staff assess family needs during a personal interview and assign selection points for factors such as teen parenthood, single-adult households, chronic health conditions, domestic abuse, parental incarceration and disability. She said program policy requires an enrollment attendance goal of at least 85% and that staff work with families to remove barriers (transportation, education about importance of attendance) before offering slots to wait-listed families.

Linehan and family advocate Jana Acton described self-reported family needs collected at intake: domestic abuse (33 early Head Start; 27 Head Start), single-adult households (about 42% across both programs), parental incarceration (about 23%), substance use concerns (about 16–20%), and mental health concerns (64% early Head Start; 52% Head Start) — figures Linehan said reflected family self-reporting at registration.

Ending: Staff said they will continue active recruitment year-round, keep a wait list and prioritize highest-need families for enrollment. The selection criteria are reviewed annually with staff, the program’s policy council and community input and are voted on each year before being presented to the board.