Governance, Leadership, and Oversight Capacity Screener and Certification

The governing body of each Head Start grantee must complete this or another governance and leadership capacity screening within 60 days of the start of their five-year project period. The governing body also must confirm that the screening was conducted and a training plan was developed. The screener certification must be submitted to the Office of Head Start (OHS) in the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) within 75 calendar days of the start of the project period.

The capacity screener supports organizations in building capacity and fulfilling all Head Start program governance requirements. It also helps programs to identify their successes and where they need to make changes for quality improvement. See Governance, Leadership, and Oversight Capacity Screener.

The certification form may be used to fulfill the OHS certification requirement that a governance and leadership capacity screening was conducted and, using the results, a training plan was developed. The signatures on this form verify that an agency has completed a screening of each site where children receive Head Start and Early Head Start services, consistent with the terms and conditions of the Notice of Award (NOA). See Certification of Governance and Leadership Capacity Screening.