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Interim director outlines steps to bring Burke County Early Head Start into compliance; board accepts monthly report
Summary
An interim Early Head Start director told the board the program is underenrolled and working with the Office of Head Start and external consultants to address data, staffing and compliance; the board voted unanimously to receive the report.
Miss Reed, serving as interim director for the Burke County Early Head Start program, told the board on Jan. 21 that the program is underenrolled and is working to resolve data and compliance issues required by the Office of Head Start.
Why it matters: Early Head Start receives federal funding and must meet Office of Head Start performance and reporting requirements. Miss Reed said funded enrollment is 94 while actual enrollment was 89 for the reporting period; daily attendance was 82 and a wait list counted 13 families who will be re-evaluated to confirm eligibility.
Key points from the presentation: Miss Reed said she is “reaching out” to Office of Head Start and to partners such as Babies Can’t Wait for information on referrals, and she summarized the program’s health and service metrics: 81 percent of health checks up to date, immunizations 100 percent, three pregnant women in the program, and 33 children scheduled to transition to Head Start. She reported no health incidents for the month and said two children will be newly classified with disabilities next month after enrollment paperwork is finalized.
Miss Reed told the board the program’s in-kind reporting needs correction—some donated books were not previously counted—and she will correct the in-kind totals. She said a required “clean-up” submission to the Office of Head Start will be prepared and that the governing body (the board president) and policy-council president must sign the report before it is uploaded to HSCPS.
Board action and follow-up: The board voted unanimously to receive the monthly Early Head Start report. Miss Reed said she will secure required signatures and return with updated numbers next month. She also said the district will identify a consultant to provide training for the governing body and policy council before the next required submission, possibly in May.
Context: Miss Reed described changes at the program and said the Office of Head Start is holding the program responsible for correcting deficiencies. She emphasized internal steps—data review, family follow-up on the wait list, consultant support and better in-kind accounting—to meet federal requirements.
