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Module 4 

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Practicing Professionalism

Programs are only as good as the individuals who staff them
Head Start Advisory Council on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers

Outcomes
As a result of completing this module, participants will be able to:

• Define professionalism in their work with and on behalf of families;
  
  
• Maintain staff roles and boundaries when working with families;
  
  
• Follow the program confidentiality policy concerning private information about children, families, and other staff members;
  
  
• Describe their role as a mandated reporter of suspected child abuse/neglect; and
  
  
• Document and maintain necessary and required records.
  

Key Concepts
Key concepts of Module 4 that serve as a knowledge base for the skills needed for professional practices include:

• Professionalism. Professionalism is reflected in both deed and appearance. Professionalism refers to practicing the knowledge, standards, and skills of a particular profession or job.
  
  
• Confidentiality. Confidentiality means safeguarding written and verbal information about families to ensure their rights to privacy. If families understand what information will be kept strictly confidential (unless they authorize its release in writing) and what information will be shared, and with whom (to provide assistance), they will be more open and honest in their responses to requests for needed personal information.
  
  
• Professional Roles and Boundaries. The essence of professional boundaries is the ability to clarify and maintain reasonable limits in relationships with families. Head Start staff must show that they care about family members but, at the same time, not become overly or inappropriately involved with them.
  
  
• Mandated Reporting. Mandated reporters are those who, in their professional capacity, are required by state, local, and tribal law to report suspected child maltreatment to the designated child protection agency. Head Start programs must have a plan for responding to suspected child abuse or neglect that complies with applicable state, local, and tribal law. In addition, programs must provide training to all parents, staff, consultants, and volunteers that includes methods for identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
  

• Record-Keeping. The Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to establish and maintain efficient and effective record- keeping systems that provide accurate and timely information regarding all enrolled children, their families, and the services they receive. The records document the way the families develop and change during their time with Head Start.

Background Information
Family partnerships require Head Start staff to practice professionalism, following all program policies or regulations and upholding all professional responsibilities. Because even the most experienced and knowledgeable staff member is likely to struggle with professionalism at times, this module examines the key components of professional behaviors.

Professionalism
As members of a Head Start team, it is critical for staff to be regarded as, and to see themselves as, professionals. Professionalism refers to the knowledge, skills, practices, values, and ethics of a particular discipline.

Head Start requires all Head Start staff, consultants, and volunteers to live up to certain standards, regardless of their personal values or beliefs. For Head Start staff, the written statements regulating conduct include the Performance Standards, Information Memoranda, Standards of Conduct, and Program Policies. Together, these materials outline how each program is run and how staff will respond to children, families, and the community.

Head Start staff must always practice professionalism by safeguarding the confidentiality of families, understanding professional roles, establishing boundaries with staff and families, following the mandated reporting policy, maintaining accurate record-keeping systems, and documenting all interactions.

• Confidentiality

  The word confidentiality comes from the words "confidence" and "ability." When these words are combined with privacy, ethics, and trust, the concept of confidentiality is born. Confidentiality can be defined as safeguarding information received in confidence from a family member or co-worker and disclosing information only to professionals for the benefit of the family. The Head Start Program Performance Standards state that all staff, consultants. and volunteers must follow their program's written confidentiality policy concerning information about children, families, and other staff members.

  Staff members gather important information about the family through records conversations, home visits, or family conferences. During these formal and informal activities, family members often provide details of family life. While having more information about the family allows staff to respond appropriately. staff should not pry deeper into a family's personal affairs than is necessary. Keeping information strictly confidential encourages the family to be open and honest as it engages in a partnership with staff.

  The Head Start Program Performance Standards encourage strong communication, cooperation, and information sharing among agencies to improve the delivery of services to children and families. While most of the family information a staff person gathers should not be shared with others, it may be essential to disclose objective information to other professionals. Sharing pertinent information with other Head Start staff or partner within the community ensures that the programs are working together as a team to support the family. However, information sharing must be in accordance with the program's confidentiality policy. The team must be careful to respect the family's privacy and avoid talking about personal incidents in a family's life that could be termed "gossip." When information is shared with other professionals within the program or other agencies, the obligation of confidentiality binds all involved.

  There are seldom clearly defined, foolproof ways to guarantee confidentiality when working with families. Staff need to understand the guiding principles related to ensuring confidentiality. They must follow the program confidentiality policy concerning information about children, families, and other staff members, and make careful decisions on a family- by-family, day-by-day basis.
  
  

• Roles and Boundaries

  To support families throughout their time in Head Start, staff must be ready to assume many roles. These roles may include:
  
  

  • Advocate: representing the family to obtain community services;
    
    
  • Collaborator: working with the numerous supports and resources available within and outside the Head Start community to secure appropriate services for families;
    
    
  • Consultant: responding to family requests for information to promote family success;
    
    
  • Facilitator: making it easier for families to acquire the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to accomplish their goals;
    
    
  • Mediator: helping the family work through problems that arise among family members or between the family and the community service system;
    
    
  • Mobilizer: motivating the family, key players, and community service providers into action;
    
    
  • Partner: supporting all plans and agreements by completing assigned tasks or by helping family members complete tasks assigned to them;
    
    
  • Record-keeper: establishing and maintaining accurate records about children and families;
    
    
  • Supporter: being accessible to the family when barriers to achieving goals surface; and
    
    
  • Teacher: helping families identify and develop the skills needed to achieve their goals.
    
    
  While Head Start staff must assume many roles and demonstrate the ability to empathize with, and care about family members, they cannot become overly or inappropriately involved. For example, the worker should not take sides in marital conflicts, or volunteer to baby sit when parents need a babysitter. Instead, the worker should guide parents in resolving such issues. The essence of establishing professional boundaries is the ability to clarify and maintain reasonable job boundaries. Professional boundaries also apply to the relationship between Head Start staff and staff from other agencies. For example, a Head Start worker must not become inappropriately involved in work he or she is not responsible for.

  Head Start agencies can help staff maintain their appropriate roles and boundaries by establishing and implementing written personnel policies and guidelines. These guidelines can include: 1) developing accurate job descriptions that outline appropriate roles and responsibilities; 2) providing training and other professional development opportunities; and 3) establishing appropriate penalties for violating the standards of conduct.
  
  

• Mandated Reporting
  
  

  Mandated reporters are those who, in their professional capacity, are required by state, local, and tribal law to report suspected child maltreatment to the designated child protection agency. When a problem requiring outside intervention is detected and reported, it is not an accusation of wrongdoing. Rather, it is a request for the designated agency to look more deeply into a family's situation.

  All Head Start agencies must have written procedures for identifying and responding to suspected or known child abuse and neglect, whether it occurs inside or outside of the program. In addition, programs must provide training to all staff, parents, consultants, and volunteers that includes methods for identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect that comply with applicable state, local, and tribal laws.

  The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect recommends that written program policies support the following practices:
  
  

  • Cooperate fully with the child protection agencies;
    
    
  • Make every effort to keep children who are allegedly abused or neglected in the program. The child's participation in Head Start may be essential to helping the family overcome abuse or neglect;
    
    
  • Provide an orientation for parents on: 1) the identification and prevention of child abuse and neglect, and the need to provide protection for abused and neglected children; and 2) program policy for responding to suspected or known child abuse and neglect.
    
    
  • Designate a staff member to be responsible for establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with the agencies responsible under law for receiving child maltreatment reports; and
    
    
  • Provide staff training on identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
    
    
• Record-Keeping

  The Head Start Performance Standards require that each agency establish and maintain efficient and effective record-keeping systems that provide accurate and timely information regarding children, families, and staff, while ensuring appropriate confidentiality. While there are many strategies for recording family information, the decision to document information in a particular way is be determined by each local program. Records 'help to document staff-family interactions, pertinent background information on the family, ongoing plans, and/or services a family receives. The records, therefore, provide a chronicle of a family's time in Head Start. Ideally, when a family leaves Head Start, the records should tell a story about the family from the time of enrollment to the last staff-family interaction. It is important to remember that each family has the right to review all recorded information.

  Records must be up-to-date, clear, accurate, and objective. Many times, staff find it difficult to write precise and specific records. Therefore, it is important to help staff develop the skills to express themselves clearly and specifically in writing.

  It is also important to encourage families to record and retain their own stories, including their achievements and accomplishments. One example of family documentation is the family storybook. The family storybook is a collection of materials gathered by family members and Head Start staff. It is a living document of the family's aspirations, hopes, challenges, strengths, and achievements. The family storybook is owned by the family and lives with the family.

  Programs are encouraged to design methods or tools for record-keeping that support the Head Start Program Performance Standards and document the building of family partnerships, the needs of the program, and the needs of families served.

 

 

 

 

Next Steps: Ideas to Extended Practice

Follow-up training strategies to reinforce the concepts and skills taught in Module 4 are presented below. After completing Module 4, review the strategies with staff and help them choose at least one to work on individually or as part of a team.

• Building Professional Practices

  Ask Head Start staff to choose one or more of the professional areas in handout 1 and work with the coach, trainer, or supervisor to complete the assignments on handout 7. Have staff share the results with other staff.
  
  

• Learning More about Child Protection

  Have staff visit an agency in the community that is known and respected for its efforts in child protection. Supervisors and other community experts can help staff identify such an agency. Staff should meet with the agency's coordinator or supervisor to learn how the agency serves referred children and their families. At the meeting, staff should raise issues related to mandatory reporting, record-keeping, confidentiality, and roles and boundaries. After the meeting, ask staff to share what they learned with co-workers.
  
  

• Celebrating the Family Story

  Ask staff to plan and offer a workshop for families on creating family storybooks. Have families bring materials they have developed or are proud of, such as pictures, children's art, family stories, and other information that signals their accomplishments. The workshop should include a celebration of the families' strengths, as evident in the material they choose to bring.
  
  
  

  HANDOUTS	ACTIVITIES
  Handout 1	Activity 1
  Handout 2	Activity 2
  Handout 3	Activity 3
  Handout 4	Activity 4
  Handout 5
  Handout 6
  Handout 7
  Handout 8