[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 45, Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 45CFR1304.52]



[Page 140-142]

 

                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE

 

CHAPTER XIII--OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

                           AND HUMAN SERVICES

 

PART 1304_PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THE OPERATION OF HEAD 

START PROGRAMS BY GRANTEE AND DELEGATE AGENCIES--Table of Contents

 

                 Subpart D_Program Design and Management

 

Sec. 1304.52  Human resources management.



    (a) Organizational structure. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must 

establish and maintain an organizational structure that supports the 

accomplishment of program objectives. This structure must address the 

major functions and responsibilities assigned to each staff position and 

must provide evidence of adequate mechanisms for staff supervision and 

support.

    (2) At a minimum, grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that the 

following program management functions are formally assigned to and 

adopted by staff within the program:

    (i) Program management (the Early Head Start or Head Start 

director);

    (ii) Management of early childhood development and health services, 

including child development and education; child medical, dental, and 

mental health; child nutrition; and, services for children with 

disabilities; and

    (iii) Management of family and community partnerships, including 

parent activities.

    (b) Staff qualifications--general. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies 

must ensure that staff and consultants have the knowledge, skills, and 

experience they need to perform their assigned functions responsibly.

    (2) In addition, grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that only 

candidates with the qualifications specified in this part and in 45 CFR 

1306.21 are hired.

    (3) Current and former Early Head Start and Head Start parents must 

receive preference for employment vacancies for which they are 

qualified.

    (4) Staff and program consultants must be familiar with the ethnic 

background and heritage of families in the program and must be able to 

serve and effectively communicate, to the extent feasible, with children 

and families with no or limited English proficiency.

    (c) Early Head Start or Head Start director qualifications. The 

Early Head Start or Head Start director must have demonstrated skills 

and abilities in a management capacity relevant to human services 

program management.

    (d) Qualifications of content area experts. Grantee and delegate 

agencies must hire staff or consultants who meet the qualifications 

listed below to provide content area expertise and oversight on an 

ongoing or regularly scheduled basis. Agencies must determine the 

appropriate staffing pattern necessary to provide these functions.

    (1) Education and child development services must be supported by 

staff or consultants with training and experience in areas that include: 

The theories and principles of child growth and development, early 

childhood education, and family support. In addition, staff or 

consultants must meet the qualifications for classroom teachers, as 

specified in section 648A of the Head Start Act and any subsequent 

amendments regarding the qualifications of teachers.

    (2) Health services must be supported by staff or consultants with 

training and experience in public health, nursing, health education, 

maternal and child health, or health administration. In addition, when a 

health procedure must be performed only by a licensed/certified health 

professional, the agency must assure that the requirement is followed.

    (3) Nutrition services must be supported by staff or consultants who 

are registered dietitians or nutritionists.

    (4) Mental health services must be supported by staff or consultants 

who are licensed or certified mental health professionals with 

experience and expertise in serving young children and their families.

    (5) Family and community partnership services must be supported by 

staff or consultants with training and experience in field(s) related to 

social, human, or family services.

    (6) Parent involvement services must be supported by staff or 

consultants



[[Page 141]]



with training, experience, and skills in assisting the parents of young 

children in advocating and decision-making for their families.

    (7) Disabilities services must be supported by staff or consultants 

with training and experience in securing and individualizing needed 

services for children with disabilities.

    (8) Grantee and delegate agencies must secure the regularly 

scheduled or ongoing services of a qualified fiscal officer.

    (e) Home visitor qualifications. Home visitors must have knowledge 

and experience in child development and early childhood education; the 

principles of child health, safety, and nutrition; adult learning 

principles; and family dynamics. They must be skilled in communicating 

with and motivating people. In addition, they must have knowledge of 

community resources and the skills to link families with appropriate 

agencies and services.

    (f) Infant and toddler staff qualifications. Early Head Start and 

Head Start staff working as teachers with infants and toddlers must 

obtain a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential for Infant and 

Toddler Caregivers or an equivalent credential that addresses comparable 

competencies within one year of the effective date of the final rule or, 

thereafter, within one year of hire as a teacher of infants and 

toddlers. In addition, infants and toddler teachers must have the 

training and experience necessary to develop consistent, stable, and 

supportive relationships with very young children. The training must 

develop knowledge of infant and toddler development, safety issues in 

infant and toddler care (e.g., reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death 

Syndrome), and methods for communicating effectively with infants and 

toddlers, their parents, and other staff members.

    (g) Classroom staffing and home visitors. (1) Grantee and delegate 

agencies must meet the requirements of 45 CFR 1306.20 regarding 

classroom staffing.

    (2) When a majority of children speak the same language, at least 

one classroom staff member or home visitor interacting regularly with 

the children must speak their language.

    (3) For center-based programs, the class size requirements specified 

in 45 CFR 1306.32 must be maintained through the provision of 

substitutes when regular classroom staff are absent.

    (4) Grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that each teacher 

working exclusively with infants and toddlers has responsibility for no 

more than four infants and toddlers and that no more than eight infants 

and toddlers are placed in any one group. However, if State, Tribal or 

local regulations specify staff:child ratios and group sizes more 

stringent than this requirement, the State, Tribal or local regulations 

must apply.

    (5) Staff must supervise the outdoor and indoor play areas in such a 

way that children's safety can be easily monitored and ensured.

    (h) Standards of conduct. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must 

ensure that all staff, consultants, and volunteers abide by the 

program's standards of conduct. These standards must specify that:

    (i) They will respect and promote the unique identity of each child 

and family and refrain from stereotyping on the basis of gender, race, 

ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability;

    (ii) They will follow program confidentiality policies concerning 

information about children, families, and other staff members;

    (iii) No child will be left alone or unsupervised while under their 

care; and

    (iv) They will use positive methods of child guidance and will not 

engage in corporal punishment, emotional or physical abuse, or 

humiliation. In addition, they will not employ methods of discipline 

that involve isolation, the use of food as punishment or reward, or the 

denial of basic needs.

    (2) Grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that all employees 

engaged in the award and administration of contracts or other financial 

awards sign statements that they will not solicit or accept personal 

gratuities, favors, or anything of significant monetary value from 

contractors or potential contractors.

    (3) Personnel policies and procedures must include provision for 

appropriate



[[Page 142]]



penalties for violating the standards of conduct.

    (i) Staff performance appraisals. Grantee and delegate agencies 

must, at a minimum, perform annual performance reviews of each Early 

Head Start and Head Start staff member and use the results of these 

reviews to identify staff training and professional development needs, 

modify staff performance agreements, as necessary, and assist each staff 

member in improving his or her skills and professional competencies.

    (j) Staff and volunteer health. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies 

must assure that each staff member has an initial health examination 

(that includes screening for tuberculosis) and a periodic re-examination 

(as recommended by their health care provider or as mandated by State, 

Tribal, or local laws) so as to assure that they do not, because of 

communicable diseases, pose a significant risk to the health or safety 

of others in the Early Head Start or Head Start program that cannot be 

eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. This requirement must 

be implemented consistent with the requirements of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

    (2) Regular volunteers must be screened for tuberculosis in 

accordance with State, Tribal or local laws. In the absence of State, 

Tribal or local law, the Health Services Advisory Committee must be 

consulted regarding the need for such screenings (see 45 CFR 1304.3(20) 

for a definition of volunteer).

    (3) Grantee and delegate agencies must make mental health and 

wellness information available to staff with concerns that may affect 

their job performance.

    (k) Training and development. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must 

provide an orientation to all new staff, consultants, and volunteers 

that includes, at a minimum, the goals and underlying philosophy of 

Early Head Start and/or Head Start and the ways in which they are 

implemented by the program.

    (2) Grantee and delegate agencies must establish and implement a 

structured approach to staff training and development, attaching 

academic credit whenever possible. This system should be designed to 

help build relationships among staff and to assist staff in acquiring or 

increasing the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill their job 

responsibilities, in accordance with the requirements of 45 CFR 1306.23.

    (3) At a minimum, this system must include ongoing opportunities for 

staff to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to implement the 

content of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. This program 

must also include:

    (i) Methods for identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect 

that comply with applicable State and local laws using, so far as 

possible, a helpful rather than a punitive attitude toward abusing or 

neglecting parents and other caretakers; and

    (ii) Methods for planning for successful child and family 

transitions to and from the Early Head Start or Head Start program.

    (4) Grantee and delegate agencies must provide training or 

orientation to Early Head Start and Head Start governing body members. 

Agencies must also provide orientation and ongoing training to Early 

Head Start and Head Start Policy Council and Policy Committee members to 

enable them to carry out their program governance responsibilities 

effectively.



(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 

0970-0148 for paragraph (j))



[61 FR 57210, Nov. 5, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 2314, Jan. 15, 1998]