Resources for Head Start Administrators

A strong mental health component of an Head Start program begins with an administrator who has a comprehensive vision for what mental health is. Mental health is more than attending to children who have problem behaviors. There is a continuum of services and supports that need to be in place to support healthy social and emotional development in young children—including supports for staff and families.

Currently, there are more than 40 performance standards that relate to mental health. Head Start administrators make important decisions that affect the quality of their mental health program, including the choice of who to contract with as their mental health consultant.

The products developed by the CECMHC are designed to:

• help HS administrators assess quality of their approach to mental health;
• build their capacity to support and sustain evidence-based strategies in their Head Start programs; and
• provide guidance and resources that can support a continuum of high-quality mental health services and supports to children, families and staff in Head Start programs.

Materials for Head Start Administrators

Materials to Increase Knowledge of Developing, Implementing, and Maintaining ECMHC Services:

• Tutorial: Strengthening Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation in Head Start and Early Head Start Programs
• Tutorial: Developing a Vision and Strategic Planning for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services
• Developing and Implementing a Programwide Vision for Effective Mental Health Consultation (PDF)
• Head Start Performance Standards Related to Mental Health

Materials to Assess Need for ECMHC and Evaluate Services:

• ECMHC Program Needs Assessment Surveys: Teacher Survey | Manager Survey
• Tutorial: Implementing and Evaluating ECMHC Services

Materials to Hire a Consultant:

• Sample Memorandum of Understanding
• Sample Mental Health Contract
• What Works? A Study of Effective Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Programs
• What Works? A Webinar Series on Effective Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Materials to Identify Social-Emotional Screening Tools

• Choose and Use Guide for Finding Social-Emotional Screening Tools

Materials to Identify Social-Emotional Curriculua:

• Choose and Use Guide for Finding Social-Emotional Curricula

Materials to Identify Social-Emotional Programs for Families:

• Choose and Use Guide for Finding Social Emotional Programs for Parents

Materials to Identify Cultural and Linguistic Competence of Programs:

• Cultural and Linguistic Competence Self-Assessment Checklist for Early Head Start and Head Start Program Administrators and Managers
• A Guide to Planning and Implementing Cultural Competence Organizational Self-Assessment
• Tutorial: Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Early Child

Additional Resources

Find additional materials for families in our Library.