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"Parents need to feel valued before they are going to commit their valuable time"
Head Start programs are democratic in nature. The families served help make the decisions that run the program. The decisions made through this democratic process tend to be good ones because they are made after a wide range of ideas and points of view have been considered. Such decisions are more likely to satisfy the people served and to meet their needs. This in turn breeds even greater enthusiasm and involvement in the process: Plus, when people feel that their opinions have been heard and respected, they have more respect for all the decisions that are made, even the ones they dislike.
This democratic ideal is written into Head Start's Vision Statement for Parent Involvement: all programs must "ensure that parents are involved in policy making and program decisions:"
When parents are involved, the benefits are enormous. The program be comes more responsive to the families it serves. Parents-who in many instances have never before had opportunities to be part of decision-making teams-gain leadership skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Finally, children are better served by a program in which decisions are well made. They are positively affected by the knowledge that their parents have an important role at Head Start. They also stand to benefit as their parents gain skills and confidence through involvement in decision making.
But a democratic Head Start is hard work. First of all, it is hard work for staff. After all, it is easier and faster to just "make a decision" than to develop the decision-making process that includes others: Head Start programs can involve parents as decision-making partners in a variety of ways: on parent committees; in decision-making teams on child development, education, health promotion/disease prevention, and family nutrition; and in program planning. Within each program are many other opportunities for shared decision making, both formal and informal. It takes effort for staff to identify these opportunities, to draw parents into the decision-making process, and to work jointly in making decisions.
A democratic Head Start is hard work for families, too. People busy with children, jobs, and other demands on their time may be tempted to let staff (or a few other parents) carry the burden of decision making. Plus, not all parents choose to participate in decision-making activities, even if they have the time. Some may feel that they have little to contribute. Others may be uncomfortable with the concept of being partners with "professionals." Still others may be put off by previous experiences where they were used to rubber stamp decisions made by others. It takes effort for parents to overcome their reluctance, to help staff identify the ways that they can become more meaningfully involved, and to focus their energy and creativity in this new direction.
Partners in Decision Making can help staff and parents build the skills they need to take on the hard task of working together on decision-making teams. It begins with the essential skill of recognizing the value of involving families in the process, simply because parents need to feel valued before they are going to commit their valuable time. All parents have experience and perspective. However, they may not be aware that these can be useful contributions to a decision-making team: Staff may not recognize this either. Thus, the first step to involving parents as partners in decision making is to ensure that everyone - staff and parents - discovers the real kinds of contributions parents can make.
This guide also helps develop skills in "building" the group: developing ground rules by which the decision-making partnership will operate, undertaking the decision-making process, and evaluating the results. Last but by no means least, the guide develops skills in analyzing the extent to which parents are currently encouraged to participate in the key program and policy decisions which affect their families.
We usually think of each Head Start program's Policy Council as its most visible decision-making body. However, every program has many other formal and informal teams that come together to make decisions. Partners in Decision Making is a technical guide that may be of particular use to programs who want to expand parent participation on these teams. The activities can help both staff and parent members of such teams learn how to work together, develop skills in meaningfully involving parents, and practice processing decisions in a diverse group. In addition to this guide, you may want to explore other guides in this series (for example, Leading Head Start into the Future) for skill-building activities that support teams and shared decision-making efforts.
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