HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-06 Resolution 2026-367Page 1 of 6
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on October 6, 2026 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
RESOLUTION NO. 2026/367
RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ESTABLISHING THE FORMAL
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE FOR THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HEAD START
PROGRAM
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors resolves as follows:
The formal governance structure for the Contra Costa County Head Start program is established
by the Board of Supervisors as follows:
I. GENERAL
This policy of the Board of Supervisors establishes and describes the formal structure of
program governance for the Contra Costa County Head Start program, including the
oversight of quality services for children and families and procedures for making
decisions related to program design and implementation. This policy supersedes Head
Start Agency Governance Policy No. 2023/274, approved by the Board of Supervisors
on July 13, 2023. This policy of the Board of Supervisors, as approved by resolution by
the Board of Supervisors, binds the Board of Supervisors to its legal and fiscal
responsibilities, as set forth herein.
II. REFERENCES
A. Head Start Program Performance Standards (45 CFR 1301.2) (see 45 CFR chapter
XII)
B. Head Start Act section 642(c)(1) (see 42 U.S.C. 9837)
C. Contra Costa County Administrative Bulletins 100 (General), 200 (Budget &
Fiscal), 300 600 (Payroll & Timekeeping), 400 (Personnel), 500 (Property &
Equipment), 600 (Purchasing)
D. Employment & Human Services Department Manual, Memoranda, and
other requirements
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Diane Burgis, Ken Carlson, Candace Andersen, Shanelle Scales-Preston, John Gioia
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III. POLICY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
A. Governing Body. The five members of the Contra Costa County Board of
Supervisors serve as the governing body (“Board”) of the County’s Head Start
Agency (“agency”) which operates the County’s Head Start program
(“Program”).
1. Responsibilities. The Board shall:
a. have legal and fiscal responsibility for administering and overseeing
programs under the Head Start Act, including the safeguarding of Federal
funds;
b. adopt practices that assure active, independent, and informed governance of
the Head Start agency, including practices consistent with Head Start Act
section 642, subsection (d)(1), and fully participate in the development,
planning, and evaluation of the Head Start programs involved;
c. be responsible for ensuring compliance with Federal laws (including
regulations) and applicable State, tribal, and local laws (including
regulations); and
d. be responsible for other activities, including:
(1) selecting delegate agencies and the service areas for such agencies;
(2) establishing procedures and criteria for recruitment, selection, and
enrollment of children;
(3) reviewing all applications for funding and amendments to applications
for funding for programs under the Head Start Act;
(4) establishing procedures and guidelines for accessing and collecting
information described in Head Start Act section 642, subsection (d)(2);
(5) reviewing and approving all major policies of the agency, including:
(a) the annual self-assessment and financial audit;
(b) the agency's progress in carrying out the programmatic and fiscal
provisions in such agency's grant application, including
implementation of corrective actions; and
(c) personnel policies of the agency regarding the hiring, evaluation,
termination, and compensation of agency employees;
(6) developing procedures for how members of the Policy Council are selected,
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consistent with Head Start Act section 642(c), paragraph (2)(B). The Board
adopted bylaws of the Policy Council on April 27, 2021. Any amendments to
the Policy Council bylaws shall be approved by the Board in accordance with
the Head Start Act. The number of members for the Policy Council is
determined by multiplying the total number of Head Start and Early Head Start
slots at each site by 1/60 (one representative for each 60 slots);
(7) approving financial management, accounting, and reporting policies, and
compliance with laws and regulations related to financial statements, including
the:
(a) approval of all major financial expenditures of the agency;
(b) annual approval of the operating budget of the agency;
(c) selection (except when a financial auditor is assigned by the
State under State law or is assigned under local law) of
independent financial auditors who shall report all critical
accounting policies and practices to the governing body; and
(d) monitoring of the agency's actions to correct any audit findings
and of other action necessary to comply with applicable laws
(including regulations) governing financial statement and
accounting practices;
(8) reviewing results from monitoring conducted under Head Start Act section
641A(c), including appropriate follow-up activities;
(9) approving personnel policies and procedures, including policies and procedures
regarding the hiring, evaluation, compensation, and termination of the
Executive Director, Head Start Director, Director of Human Resources, Chief
Fiscal Officer, and any other person in an equivalent position with the agency;
(10) establishing, adopting, and periodically updating written standards of conduct
that establish standards and formal procedures for disclosing, addressing, and
resolving:
(a) any conflict of interest, and any appearance of a conflict of
interest, by members of the Board, officers and employees of the
Head Start agency, and consultants and agents who provide
services or furnish goods to the Head Start agency; and
(b) complaints, including investigations, when appropriate; and
(11) to the extent practicable and appropriate, at the discretion of the Board,
establishing advisory committees to oversee key responsibilities
(12) related to program governance and improvement of the Program involved.
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(13) Each Board member shall visit at least one Head Start center in the Board
member’s district annually.
2. Monthly Report. A monthly report addressing, but not limited to, the topics
specified below will be sent to all members of the Board. The Head Start
Executive Director and the Head Start Director will present the monthly report
at a public meeting to the Board, who will receive and discuss the report and
provide any direction at the meeting.
a. Program financial statements including credit card expenditures;
b. Program information summaries;
c. Program enrollment reports including attendance reports for
children whose care is partially subsidized by another public
entity;
d. Meals and snacks provided through programs of the Department of
Agriculture;
e. Community needs assessment;
f. Communication and guidance from the Head Start Secretary;
g. Program information reports; and
h. Tracking of complaints, including the status of their resolution and
any corrective actions.
3. Conflict of Interest. Members of the Board hold their position as a result
of public election. Under Head Start Act section 642(c)(1)(D), members
of the Board are authorized to serve as members of the governing body of
the agency. Members receive compensation in their capacity as elected
members of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and do not
receive any additional compensation as members of the governing body of
the agency. Members of the Board must not have a financial conflict of
interest with the Program, including with the delegate agency. Board
members must report to the Program all their immediate family members
who are employed by the County or by the delegate agency, and the
County will report such information to the Head Start Secretary.
4. Training. The Board will receive annual training, including, at a
minimum, governance training. Appropriate training and technical
assistance shall be provided to the members of the Board to ensure the
Board members understand the information the members receive and can
effectively oversee and participate in the programs of the Head Start
agency. New Board members who take office after the annual training
for that year will receive the annual training within three months after
taking office. This training shall be in addition to all existing training
requirements for elected officials as required under state law.
B. Head Start Oversight Committee. The Head Start Oversight Committee is
established, as authorized by 45 CFR 1301.2(c). The Head Start Oversight
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Committee is an advisory committee of the Board of Supervisors. The Committee is
comprised of two members of the Board, appointed annually by the Board. The
Committee shall meet six (6) times per calendar year, or more frequently as
necessary. The Committee will make recommendations to the Board on key
responsibilities related to program governance and improvement of the Head Start
Program. The Board does not delegate to the Committee any of the Board’s legal
and fiscal responsibilities under the Head Start Act or Head Start Performance
Standards.
C. Head Start Executive Director. The Board designates the Employment & Human
Services Department Director as the Head Start Executive Director (“Executive
Director”). No Head Start funds will be utilized to pay any part of the incumbent’s
salary. The Board does not delegate to the Executive Director any of the Board’s legal
and fiscal responsibilities under the Head Start Act or Head Start Performance
Standards. All duties and responsibilities assigned to the Executive Director do not
replace the administrative responsibilities of the Board. The Executive Director has the
following duties:
1. To carry out and implement the programmatic and fiscal obligations of the
Head Start grant, as directed by the Board;
2. To access and collect information necessary for the Monthly Report (see
above) and present the Monthly Report to the Board;
3. To hire, evaluate, and terminate Program employees, including the Head
Start Director, in accordance with the applicable Memoranda of
Understanding, the Personnel Management Regulations, and the Salary
Regulations, all of which were adopted by the Contra Costa County Board
of Supervisors;
4. To implement, consistent with this policy and the Head Start Act, the
selection of members of the Policy Council at each site, by multiplying the
total number of Head Start and Early Head Start slots at each site by 1/60
(one representative for each 60 slots). The Board shall ensure that Policy
Council members are selected as outlined in Head Start Act section 642(c)
(1)(E)(iv)(5)(VII);
5. To recommend, subject to Board approval, actions to correct audit findings
pertaining to financial statement and accounting practices and to monitor
Program operations to cure the audit findings; and
6. To ensure compliance with all other Head Start Act and Program
Performance Standards requirements not otherwise explicitly identified in
this policy.
D. Policy Council. The Policy Council is elected by the parents of the children currently
enrolled in the Program and is comprised of parents of children currently enrolled in
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the Program, including the delegate agency, and members at large of the community
served by the Program, including parents of children formerly enrolled in the
Program. The majority of the Policy Council membership must be comprised of
parents of children currently enrolled in the Program. The Policy Council is
responsible for the direction of the Program, including Program design and operation,
and long- and short-term planning goals and objectives, taking into account the annual
communitywide strategic planning and needs assessment and self-assessment.
1. Responsibilities. The Policy Council will approve and submit to the Board
decisions about the following:
a. Activities to support the active involvement of parents in supporting
program operations, including policies to ensure that the County is
responsive to community and parent needs;
b. Program recruitment, selection, and enrollment priorities;
c. Applications for funding and amendments to applications for funding
for programs, prior to the submission of the funding applications;
d. Budget planning for program expenditures, including policies for
reimbursement and participation in Policy Council activities;
e. Policy Council bylaws. The Board adopted the bylaws of the Policy
Council on April 27, 2021. Any amendments to the Policy Council
bylaws shall be approved by the Board in accordance with the Head
Start Act;
f. Program personnel policies and decisions regarding the employment of
program staff, consistent with Head Start Act section
642(c)(1)(E)(iv)(iX), including standards of conduct for program staff,
contractors, and volunteers, and criteria for the employment and
dismissal of program staff; and
g. Developing procedures for how Policy Council members are elected;
and
h. Recommendations on the selection of delegate agencies and the service
areas for such agencies.
2. Conflict of Interest. Members of the Policy Council must not have a conflict
of interest with the County, including any delegate agency, and must not
receive compensation for serving on the Policy Council or for providing
services to the County.
3. Training. Appropriate training and technical assistance shall be provided to the
members of the Policy Council to ensure the members understand the
information the members receive and can effectively oversee and participate in
the programs of the Head Start agency. This training shall be in addition to all
existing training requirements for advisory body officials as required under
state law.
October 6, 2026ctober 6, 2026