The shared decision making between parents and staff is mandatory for Head Start programs. Every month, each site will have a parent committee meeting which may include planning for lesson plans, field trips, upcoming parent education activities, parent child activities and more.
Every month, the Head Start program holds a Policy Council meeting with parent representatives elected from each site to work in partnership with staff and board members to make suggestions and express ideas for program improvements, budgets, staff hires and activities for family and community involvement. Staff develop policies and procedures so that Policy Council members can review, and approve or disapprove. The Council is comprised of at least 51% current Head Start parents and 49% past parents and community representatives.