Head Start officials report improved enrollment, submit corrective plan after monitoring findings

Contra Costa County Head Start staff told supervisors that enrollment and attendance have rebounded and that the program has submitted a Quality Improvement Plan after a federal review identified deficiencies related to staff conduct in a small number of incidents.

Enrollment and monitoring Head Start officials reported that the program has met or exceeded 97% enrollment for consecutive months and that May attendance was about 81%. They noted that Head Start needs six consecutive months at the qualifying enrollment level to lose a chronic under‑enrollment designation.

On May 1 the Office of Head Start (OHS) issued a monitoring report identifying a deficiency tied to multiple self‑reported unusual incidents involving alleged staff conduct. County staff said the incidents were investigated promptly, affected staff were removed from contact while investigations proceeded, and the county submitted a corrective Quality Improvement Plan with procedural revisions, additional training, stronger standards of conduct and revised hiring/reference‑check questions.

Budget and grant updates Staff reported FY allocations from the California Department of Education and the California Department of Social Services for multiple child‑care and Head Start programs. Head Start staff said the federal Head Start grant for FY 2024–25 has been awarded and that some state child‑care allocations matched budget estimates; equipment and construction items that will not be spent this fiscal year (for example, an estimated $1.3 million construction item and $700,000 of equipment purchases) can be proposed for carryforward to the next fiscal year.

Board action and next steps The board unanimously accepted the monthly Head Start report. Staff said they will continue to work with OHS and state partners; the submitted corrective plan aims to address root causes (standards of conduct, interview and reference checks, and incident‑reporting procedures) and OHS carried out a follow‑up review in mid‑June.

What was not changed No personnel actions or contract changes were approved in this briefing; the board received the report and accepted the staff update.

Context and why it matters Head Start programs provide early‑childhood education and family supports for low‑income children. The county emphasized that the corrective actions were designed to shore up safeguards and that the program remains focused on safety and quality while continuing outreach to enroll eligible children.