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County reports corrections after Office of Head Start ran review; staff say improvements completed
Summary
Following an Office of Head Start ran review, the county reported a deficiency related to multiple incidents involving prohibited conduct; Contra Costa Head Start submitted a corrective Quality Improvement Plan and staff reported that procedural revisions, training and monitoring changes were completed by the deadline.
At the June 24 meeting county leaders reported a corrective action process the Head Start program undertook after the Office of Head Start issued a Risk Assessment Notification (RAN) and later a monitoring report identifying instances of prohibited conduct in four unusual incidents. The Office of Head Start said the county's 2022 EIR was adequate in most respects but required additional specificity on odor mitigation; separately, Head Start RAN actions flagged multiple incidents.
What the county reported: Head Start Executive Director Marla Stewart and staff outlined the county's corrective steps required by the RAN. County staff identified four root causes and described revisions: - Revised employee Standards of Conduct to explicitly list prohibited behaviors and required all staff to receive and sign the updated policy. - Strengthened interview and reference-check questions to directly screen for risk of prohibited behaviors during hiring. - Revised written procedures to require staff to intervene and report any prohibited behaviors and to apply progressive discipline for failures to stop/report. - Adjusted monthly monitoring and management review to aggregate and review incidents as trends rather than isolated events.
Board action and timeline: The Office of Head Start had required correction by June 4; county staff said they completed the Quality Improvement Plan and supporting documentation by that date and participated in follow-up meetings with OHS on June 9. The county expects receipt of OHS's final review letter within 30'60 days.
Context: Head Start staff also reported program metrics: child enrollment reached 100% of federal slots in May (the first time in recent months), attendance improved to 81%, staff vacancies fell to 9% and food and service levels were reported. The board accepted the monthly update.
Ending note: Supervisors thanked staff and asked for continued follow-up; the board accepted the Head Start monthly update and asked staff to return as required by monitoring and grant rules.
