Handout 3:
Recording Staff-Family Interactions

Overview
The Head Start Program Performance Standards direct each agency to establish and maintain efficient and effective record-keeping systems to provide accurate and timely information regarding children, families, and staff while ensuring appropriate confidentiality of this information. When recor4ing family information, keep the following points in mind:

• Make sure all recorded entries have a specific purpose (e.g., tracking the family partnership agreement process).
  
  
• Point out the unusual or out of the ordinary.
  
  
• Record details that are normally omitted only if you believe that they might be significant at a later time.
  
  
• Record promptly to keep entries up to date. Do not permit recording responsibilities to build up.
  
  
• Be accurate. Record entries based on your direct experience with the family. Don't let your entries become distorted by discussions you have about the family's situation with co-workers or your supervisor.
  
  Focus on facts, instead of assumptions, feelings, and impressions.
  
  
• Check out the words you use in your entries. Avoid words and labels that give negative images about families, or that describe families from a deficit, rather than a strengths, perspective.
  
  
• Use language that shows you respect the family.
  
  
  
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