Head Start Health and Safety Institute 2024
- Start: January 30, 2024 7:30 am
- End: January 31, 2024 4:30 pm
The Head Start Health and Safety Institute is back for 2024! Make sure that your Head Start or Early Head Start program understands current health and safety requirements and best practices by attending the Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 30-31, 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic has officially ended, but health and safety concerns remain for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This year’s Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute will still focus on health, safety, facilities, and transportation requirements, but with a special emphasis on the post-pandemic operating environment. During this exclusive two-day training, you will learn how to better manage risks in these key areas and avoid red flags while complying with important Head Start and Early Head Start requirements. The training will include a detailed discussion of the health and safety requirements found in the Head Start Program Performance Standards as well as best practices from Caring for Our Children Basics. The Health and Safety Institute will also explain how to manage major risks related to facilities, child welfare, and transportation. In addition, you will learn about the current monitoring system and how to prepare for health and safety monitoring.
Make sure that your Head Start or Early Head Start agency is playing it safe (and healthy) by attending this special training. After attending, you will have the information to keep your agency in compliance with important health and safety requirements. Register today and then join your Head Start and Early Head Start colleagues in Charleston, South Carolina, for the Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute on January 30 through 31, 2024.
TOPICS
We have updated the agenda for the Head Start Health and Safety Institute 2024 to address the new post-pandemic environment and to highlight risk management challenges related to facilities, safety, and transportation. When you attend this annual training, you will learn about the most important health and safety issues currently facing Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Over the course of two full-days, you will explore the following topics:
- Complying with health and safety requirements in the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
- Implementing best practices from Caring for Our Children Basics.
- Promoting child welfare and mitigating risks of abuse and maltreatment.
- Successfully managing post-pandemic facilities risks.
- Maintaining safe facilities and avoiding accidents and liability.
- Recognizing potential health and safety red flags.
- Appreciating the importance of mental health and wellness.
- Applying effective health and safety strategies.
- Understanding and mitigating transportation-related risks.
- Complying with the updated Davis-Bacon Act regulations.
- Preparing your program for successful health and safety monitoring.
- Answers to frequently asked health, safety, facilities, and transportation questions.
These are just some of the topics that you will learn about during the Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute. In addition, our expert presenters will be fielding your individual questions. You will have opportunities to ask questions throughout the training.
AGENDA
This year’s Head Start Health and Safety Institute will be held in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Francis Marion Hotel from January 30-31, 2024. (Given these dates, the Institute has a special cancellation deadline, which is 5:00 pm EST on December 22, 2023. Please review our cancellation policy for more details.) The planned agenda for each day (subject to change) is as follows:
Day One (Tuesday, January 30, 2024)
Complete your onsite check-in for the conference and enjoy a light breakfast.
Unfortunately, child welfare remains a key area for findings involving Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This session will discuss how agencies can manage the risks of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment while promoting health and welfare for participating children. Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, will lead the workshop. During this session, you will learn how to implement effective child welfare policies and minimize the risks of abuse and neglect. After attending, you will be able to outline how your organization can manage the risks of child maltreatment and list at least three strategies for preventing maltreatment.
Enjoy a fifteen (15) minute morning coffee break between sessions.
Transportation can involve significant risks. This session goes beyond the Head Start Program Performance Standards to look at organization-wide transportation risks and strategies to minimize your agency's potential exposure. Join Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, as she leads this informative session. Leave this workshop with the confidence you need to make informed decisions about transportation within your agency.
By attending this session, you will:
- Learn about common transportation risks.
- Discover steps your agency can and should take to reduce these risks.
- Be able to identify transportation risks within your agency and list ways to mitigate them.
Take a ninety (90) minute break to sample the Charleston lunch scene. Note: Attendees are "on your own" for lunch.
The COVID-19 pandemic made organizations of all kinds reconsider their facilities and the associated risks. Head Start and Early Head Start agencies were no different. Join Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, for this discussion of managing facilities risks from a past-pandemic perspective. Learn about common facilities related risks, how risks have changed as a result of the pandemic, and ways of managing those risks. After attending this session, you will be able to identify facilities risks and strategies for mitigating them.
Enjoy a fifteen (15) minute break between our afternoon sessions.
When building or renovating Head Start and Early Head Start facilities, agencies must follow the Federal Davis-Bacon Act. Recently, the Department of Labor issued the first comprehensive changes to the Davis-Bacon Act's implementing regulations in forty years! During this session, attorney Brian Tipton will explain these new rules along with the Davis-Bacon Act's fundamental requirements. By attending, you will learn how to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act and avoid mistakes with your next facilities project. Following this session, you will be able to list the major requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the updated Davis-Bacon rules.
The first day of the Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute will adjourn at 4:30 pm on January 30, 2024.
Complete your daily conference check-in while enjoying a light breakfast.
This double session will present an overview of health and safety requirements for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Attorney Brian Tipton will explain the key health and safety requirements found in the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Real world examples will be used to illustrate the rules. This opening session will set the stage for the rest of the Institute. After attending this workshop, you will be able to identify and outline the Head Start and Early Head Start health and safety standards.
Enjoy a fifteen (15) minute coffee break between the morning sessions.
The detailed exploration of health and safety rules continues. This double session will present an overview of health and safety requirements for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Attorney Brian Tipton will explain the key health and safety requirements found in the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Real world examples will be used to illustrate the rules. This opening session will set the stage for the rest of the Institute. After attending this workshop, you will be able to identify and outline the Head Start and Early Head Start health and safety standards.
Take a ninety (90) minute break to sample the Charleston lunch scene. Note: Attendees are "on your own" for lunch.
The Head Start and Early Head Start health and safety standards also incorporate the best practices found in Caring for Our Children Basics. This session will discuss the key best practices from Caring for Our Children Basics. Special attention will be given to areas that have changed as a result of the pandemic. The session will also emphasize potential problem areas (and solutions). After attending this workshop, you will be able to identify the best practices in Caring for Our Children Basics that your program should follow and how to implement them.
Enjoy a fifteen (15) minute break between our afternoon sessions.
The Office of Head Start frequently updates the monitoring system and protocols for Head Start and Early Head Start agencies. Make sure that you are on top of current monitoring practices. Attorney Brian Tipton will explain the monitoring process and 2024 program year protocol for facilities, health, and safety. During this session, you will learn what to expect and how to prepare for health and safety monitoring. After attending, you will be able to identify high-risk areas and outline the current monitoring process.
The Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute will adjourn at 4:30 pm on January 31, 2024.
The Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute 2024 will give you the knowledge needed to help your agency comply with the current health, safety, facilities, and transportation requirements for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. You will also learn how to navigate the post-pandemic safety environment. After attending the Institute, you will be able to:
- Outline health and safety requirements for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
- Identify common Head Start health and safety issues.
- Identify current (post-pandemic) facilities risks and ways to minimize them.
- Describe at least three strategies for preventing child maltreatment.
- Identify the best practices found in Caring for Our Children Basics.
- List the requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and implementing regulations.
- Outline common transportation risks and mitigation strategies.
- Identify the elements of the current Office of Head Start monitoring system.
AUDIENCE AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
All members of the Head Start and Early Head Start community, whether in governance, management, or front-line roles, will benefit from attending the 2024 edition of the Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute. Attendees can earn up to 14 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit in the field of specialized knowledge. (However, please remember that state boards of accountancy have the final authority on acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.) The experience level for this training is overview. No advance preparation and no prerequisites are required for attendance.
SPEAKERS
Melanie Lockwood Herman, Esq., has served as Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center since 1996 and has held senior management positions in the nonprofit sector since 1987. Melanie is the principal author of more than 20 books on various risk management topics; Melanie’s most recent book was published in Fall 2017: “World-Class Risk Management for Nonprofits.” She is an eleven-time member of The NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50.” In one NPT announcement Melanie was described as “one of the most prolific writers and lecturers on the topic of nonprofit risk,” and “the architect of the risk plans of some of the nation’s largest’ nonprofits.”
Melanie earned a BA in Urban Affairs from American University (Washington, DC), and a JD from George Mason University School of Law (Arlington, VA). She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and currently serves on three national nonprofit boards (American Foundation for the Blind, Camp Fire, and the National Human Services Assembly).
R. Brian Tipton, Esq., is a practicing attorney with more than two decades' worth of experience working with nonprofits, governmental units, and other grant-funded organizations across the United States. Currently, Brian is Managing Director with Tipton KPCL in metro Atlanta, where he heads the firm's tax-exempt and grant-funded solutions practice. He is a summa cum laude graduate of both the Louisiana State University and the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. Brian regularly represents Head Start agencies and other grant-funded entities of all types in the areas of regulatory compliance, audits, funding source disputes, administrative appeals, and litigation. Brian also consults with organizations on governance, human resources, programmatic, and corporate matters, and develops and presents training programs for nonprofits and grant-funded organizations.
The Annual Head Start Health and Safety Institute 2024 will be held in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Francis Marion Hotel. The conference hotel is a Charleston landmark located in the heart of the historic city on Marion Square. Rooms are available for special conference rates starting at $162 per night (plus tax), which is less than the government per diem. These special conference rates are available for January 29 (check-in) through February 1 (check-out), and may be offered for additional nights subject to hotel availability. Hotel reservations can be made by calling 1-877-756-2121 (toll free) or 1-843-722-0600 (local). Please ask for the special rate for the “Kirk Private Client Law” group to receive the discounted rates. The hotel reservation deadline is 5:00 pm EST on December 29, 2023 (or until the block is full). Because of the limited number of rooms available, we advise making your reservations as soon as possible.
Please note that the cancellation deadline for the conference is 5:00 p.m. EST on December 22, 2023.