Head Start Performance Standards offer programs considerable latitude in how they work with mental health consultants and limited specific guidance about who should be hired, what these individuals should do, and how to structure the work of the consultants. However, research and practice in the area of mental health consultation have begun to identify consultation approaches that may be more effective in Head Start settings. Administrators can support effective early childhood mental health consultation by establishing the administrative structures, procedures, and policies that reinforce these best practices.
Head Start programs differ in such basic areas as how they employ or work with mental health consultants.
In either case; job descriptions and contracts are both essential documents for implementing, supporting, and evaluating the work of the MHC. Through the job description and the contract, the Head Start program conveys the program’s vision of mental health services that was developed through the strategic planning process. The documents then become a road map for the MHC in creating and implementing ECMHC services that reflect the agency’s vision for mental health in their program services. They can also be useful for communicating the roles and responsibilities of the MHC to program staff who will be partnering with the MHC. The Head Start program can also use the job description or contract to evaluate the degree to which the MHC is providing the types of consultation services that the program intended.