Eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance (ERSEA) are some of the most important activities performed by Head Start program staff. ERSEA governs how you determine eligibility, enroll children, track attendance, and more.

To meet the unique needs and strengths of families in your community, you must be intentional in developing ERSEA policies and processes. Explore the considerations below as you reflect, plan, and implement ERSEA activities. Use the questions to identify your program’s current strengths and areas for growth.

Community Assessment

The community assessment provides a starting point for Head Start programs to understand community strengths and identify gaps in services to mobilize necessary resources. When used with other program data, the community assessment informs program planning. It also ensures that programs can prioritize enrollment for those families who can most benefit from Head Start programs.

Questions for Consideration

• What changes have occurred in your community during the past year that may affect your ERSEA strategies?
• How can your program best understand the history and family experiences in the communities you serve?
• How do you include families in the community assessment process?
• Do families see themselves reflected in the community assessment? Do they agree with the results?
• How can you ensure data collected are from reliable sources that reflect the current needs and strengths of families in the community?
• How do you ensure that community assessment data are disaggregated, so your program can best understand the people in your community?

Outreach and Recruitment

Recruiting involves reaching out to families in your program’s service area and prioritizing families in your community that need Head Start services most. The process is systematic and year-round. Because each family is unique, Head Start programs must be strategic, thoughtful, and creative in their recruitment planning efforts. Programs can successfully reach all eligible families by tailoring their processes.

Questions for Consideration

• How do your outreach and recruitment approaches and materials show sensitivity and respect for all families in your community?
• How do you incorporate father and male caregiver engagement in your recruitment strategies?
• How does your recruitment process include families across the geographic areas you serve?
• How do you tailor recruitment strategies for different populations?
• What are families’ first impressions of your program and staff? How do you show a commitment to honoring the culture and languages of families and children, starting from the first interaction you have with a family?
• How does your recruitment process include families of children with disabilities?
• How do you adapt your outreach strategies to where families live and most frequently go in the community?
• What community partnerships do you prioritize to ensure outreach to families who need program services the most?
• How does your program use social media and virtual recruitment strategies when those kinds of strategies are more convenient for families?
• How do you reach communities with little or weak Wi-Fi access?

Eligibility Verification

Head Start eligibility requirements describe how to prioritize and enroll those children and families most in need of program services. The requirements also show how to identify the program option that best meets those needs.

Questions for Consideration

• What practices do staff use to ensure that the eligibility verification process is culturally and linguistically responsive and respectful to families of all backgrounds?
• What professional development does staff receive to conduct culturally and linguistically responsive eligibility interviews with families?
• Are application forms and materials available in multiple languages and formats (e.g., paper and digital? Do the forms and application materials provide space for information gathering from all parents and family structures?
• Does the application process work for people with different disabilities and learning differences?
• How do you work with families when they do not have the requested verification documentation? For example, is your program flexible when serving families experiencing homelessness who may need additional time to submit documentation?
• How do you work with families who may feel hesitant or fearful of a process requiring them to share personal information?
• How do you support families who may be navigating the payment process for child care subsidies?

Selection

Community assessment data inform selection policies and procedures for enrollment. With careful planning and preparation, programs have the data they need to develop and implement effective selection criteria. Families, staff, and community members then guide the development of these policies and procedures to identify and enroll the children and families who will benefit most from Head Start services.

Questions for Consideration

• How do you use community assessment data to determine your selection criteria?
• What professional development do staff receive to ensure a fair and ethical selection process for families who are most in need of services?
• How do you prioritize the selection of children in foster care, families experiencing homelessness, and families who receive public assistance — all of whom are categorically eligible for Head Start services? The Office of Head Start recognizes the following as public assistance:
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• How do you fairly identify and select families from the list?
• How do you promote transparency and keep families updated during the selection process?
• How can you support families even if they are not selected for your program? How can you ensure a warm hand-off to other programs or partners in your community?
• What are your processes for identifying strengths or areas of growth in your current selection processes? How can you use selection data to improve future selection processes and demonstrate continuous quality improvement?
• How do you communicate your selection criteria to families so they can help with program outreach and recruitment?

Intake and Enrollment

Programs can offer families multiple options to complete the intake and enrollment process, including flexibility around location, time of day, and virtual or in-person interactions. Thoughtful planning allows programs to fill vacancies as soon as possible and ensure families who can benefit most from Head Start services are enrolled.

Questions for Consideration

• How does your program use the intake and enrollment process to start building positive, goal-oriented relationships with families based on respect and trust?
• How does the program create a welcoming, comfortable, and safe space (physically and psychologically) for all families, both virtually and in person?
• How do staff practice enrollment interviews that are nonjudgmental, strengths-based, and trauma-informed?
• What processes does your program have to enroll families who speak a language that program staff do not know? How do staff work with families to complete enrollment paperwork in ways that respect a family’s culture, home language, and unique strengths?
• How do staff respect variations in families’ cultures, experiences, expectations, and child-rearing beliefs and practices?

Attendance

Consistent attendance is essential for children to benefit from their Head Start experience and for future school success. Engaging families in conversations about their children’s attendance sets children and families up for school success later.

Questions for Consideration

• How do you partner with families to support regular attendance for children?
• How does your program create the time and opportunity for families to share what they think is important about attendance? How can your program strengthen its approaches to these conversations?
• How does your program engage families in their understanding of how children learn, why play is important, and how attendance and participation directly affect their success in later school years?
• How are you supporting all staff to understand the importance of attendance? How are you helping staff share that information with families?
• How do staff practice nonjudgmental, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approaches in conversations with families about their child’s attendance?
• How are staff supported to avoid making assumptions about children’s attendance patterns without fully understanding child and family circumstances?
• How does your program address attendance concerns while continuing to support families who may be facing complex challenges?
• How do staff support families whose current life experiences may affect attendance in the program, such as homelessness, health conditions, unstable transportation, and other challenging circumstances?
• How are staff mindful and respectful of activities (e.g., ceremonial, religious) that affect or reduce families’ attendance in the program?
• How do Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs design services to support attendance for children and families?
• How does your transportation system ensure that eligible children and families have access to your program, if applicable?

Last Updated: August 14, 2025