ABOUT THE SERIES

A Unique Learning Experience

Leading & Innovating Together is a deep-dive learning experience in collaboration with highly regarded regional and national subject matter experts to explore key issues across content areas with a unique blend of speaker expertise, learning tracks, and presentation formats.  Curated to meet the broad and diverse needs of the regional HS/EHS community, participants will expand their understanding and application of best practices, widely-accepted management principles, and quality initiatives.  Whether in-person, live-streamed or on-demand content, the series offers convenient, affordable and quality learning experiences that promote breakthrough thinking and collaborative problem-solving for both emerging and seasoned HS/EHS leaders.

Current Schedule and Registration

An overview is provided for each session.  Ready to register?  Click the unique registration link assigned to each individual webinar.   A registration confirmation email will be sent to each attendee.  Some sessions are at no-cost while others may require a fee which will be listed when applicable.  Session descriptions will be updated with the recording link after the original air date has passed.  The schedule is tentative and subject to change - Check the schedule regularly for updates.

A CURATED LEARNING SERIES FOCUSED ON ERSEA

June 10-11, 2024 | Atlanta, GA

2024 ERSEA Summit III: Ensuring ERSEA Plans and Policies Address Immediate, Short, and Long-term Outreach, Recruitment, and Enrollment Successes

H.G. Jones & Associates (HGJA), Region IV Head Start Association (RIVHSA), and the Southeastern Association of Community Action Agencies (SEACAA) are collaborating to create a one-of-a-kind learning experience for regional grantees focused on achieving and maintaining full enrollment.  Working together with federal, state, local, and corporate partners, the collaborative team will promote and deliver a four-part series of Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA) professional development and training events to educate and assist Head Start programs with identifying the root causes of under-enrollment and developing “solution-focused” plans and strategies to reduce and eliminate under-enrollment. The partnership aims to ensure all key stakeholders (funders, parents, staff, and partners) are fulfilling their missions, regulatory obligations, and personal/professional commitments to improve the lives of children and families in poverty.

[A] Learn More and Register

[Event Page] From the real-time agenda to speaker and sponsor listings to an active registration button, our app event page provides users with access to important information.

[Tentative Schedule] Use our tentative schedule at-a-glance as a planning reference.

[Registration + Payment Guidelines] Get details about event registration fees, deadlines, payment options and policies.  Members receive a discount on conference registration.  Consult/download our registration guidelines.

[Register Today] Ready, set, register!  Members receive discounted registration. Advance purchase only; there is no onsite registration.

[Event Venue/Host Hotel] Make reservations at group rate at the host hotel: JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead (3300 Lenox Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326).  Please review hotel policies carefully before booking.  Overflow hotel(s) will be released once the host hotel block is full or expires.

[Event App for Registered Attendees] We are using an online platform called Whova.  Once you have registered for the event, you can download the app to access the event.  All registered participants will receive an e-mail from Whova to download the app prior to the event.

[B] DESCRIPTION:  Head Start leaders and managers know they must provide services to 100 percent of the children and families they are funded to serve. Section 642(g) of the Head Start Act “requires each Head Start agency to enroll 100 percent of its funded enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to identify underserved populations.”  Numerous Head Start programs currently face challenges in meeting and maintaining full enrollment, necessitating more than just the legal requirements and action plans outlined by the Head Start Act and Office of Head Start’s Full Enrollment Initiative. To effectively address this issue, Head Start programs must adopt solution-oriented strategies that leverage the strengths and needs of the community.

Recently, some programs have resorted to a temporary measure of reducing their funded enrollment and focusing on staff retention to mitigate under-enrollment. While this approach may offer short-term relief, it fails to address the long-term impact on low-income children and families, as well as the need to improve staff salaries. It is imperative to adopt a holistic approach to resolve the nationwide under-enrollment problem rather than rely on quick fixes. Also, there is a trend of converting Head Start preschool slots for children aged 3-5 into Early Head Start slots for expectant mothers, infants, and toddlers under three. Unfortunately, both approaches result in a decrease in the number of low-income children and families being served without providing long-term solutions to meet the needs of these families.

[C] Target Audience:  This 2-day ERSEA Summit for decision-makers is the second of a series of four (4) events at the regional level designed to strengthen leaders and manager's knowledge and skills in the area of ERSEA.  Special emphasis will be placed on the unique roles governing bodies, executive agency-level staff, and program-level directors and managers play in designing ERSEA systems, processes, plans, policies, procedures, and workflows to meet and maintain full enrollment in Head Start.  Emerging and seasoned professionals of varying specialties will benefit from this unique learning experience. This training will benefit Head Start leaders' (board, policy council, executives, finance, human resources, and information technology) ERSEA oversight, management, and accountability and managers' (directors, coordinators, and managers) operations, strategy, and performance.  We are encouraging Head Start teams to come together to better understand “how to” carry out the requirements outlined in the Head Start Act, Final Rule on Head Start Eligibility, Part 1302.10-18 of the performance standards, and other applicable federal, state, and local regulations.  It is the ideal management retreat experience, and grantees are encouraged to register as an organizational team: Chief Executive Officer or Executive Director, Board and Policy Council Chair/Members, Head Start Director, Finance Director, Human Resource Director, Information Technology Director, Operations and Program Coordinator, Content Area Managers, Supervisors as well as others who hold a position of responsibility and accountability in ERSEA.

[D] Learning Outcomes: At the conclusion of the ERSEA Summit, participants will understand the following:

• Analyzing ERSEA National, Regional, State, and Local Data to better understand the root causes of outreach, recruitment, and enrollment challenges.
• Understanding ERSEA systems and the importance of a team approach to meet regulatory and programmatic requirements.
• Understanding of creating strategy action items within an ERSEA system plan.
• Understanding how to develop winning strategies to reduce and eliminate under-enrollment.
• Developing new strategies and solutions to meet and maintain full enrollment.
• Understanding how to use the community assessment and critical data to create effective outreach and recruitment plans.
• Understanding how professional development plans are created for all tiers of ERSEA teams.
• Understanding how to create and ensure quality assurance measurements for outreach, recruitment, and enrolment with accurate data.
• Understanding the resources available at the national, regional, state, and local levels to support Head Start programs to meet and maintain full enrollment.

[E] Presenters:

• H.G. Jones & Associates Staff, Consultants, and Corporate Partners
• Office of Head Start (OHS) Representatives
• National Head Start Association (NHSA) Representatives
• Region IV Head Start Association Representatives
• Southeastern Association of Community Action Agencies Representative
• State Collaboration Office Representatives

[F] Mark Your Calendar for the Complete ERSEA Summit Series: The ERSEA for Decision Makers Summits is a four-part series of professional development and training events focusing on Head Start agency leaders (board, policy council, executives, finance, human resources, and information technology) and program management (directors, coordinators, and managers) to strengthen ERSEA oversight, management, and accountability. Below are the series of events:

1. Past Event(s)

• September 27-28, 2023: (Series I) Helping Decision Makers Explore Solutions to Critical Issues Impacting Head Start Enrollment
• February 29 – March 1, 2024: (Series II) Analyzing Current Trends and Critical Data Needed to Develop Winning Outreach, Recruitment, and Enrollment Strategies

2. Upcoming Event(s)

• June 10-11, 2024: (Series III) Ensuring ERSEA Plans and Policies Address Immediate, Short, and Long-term Outreach, Recruitment, and Enrollment Successes
• September 16-17, 2024: (Series IV) Developing Sound Human Capital and Infrastructures to Effectively Control, Monitor, and Evaluate the Effectiveness of ERSEA Solutions

On-Demand Access to Previous Seminars

Summer/Fall 2022

Summer/Fall 2021

Summer/Fall 2020