Bright Spots: January 2024 Winner

Congratulations to the January Bright Spots Winner – Stephanie Mikulski of Starfish Family Services!

Why was Stephanie Nominated?

Stephanie has taken responsibility for learning Internal Monitoring and its new feature enhancements since it moved to ChildPlus Online in the version 6.4 update. She is not only training others how to use Internal Monitoring. She’s also utilizing the latest enhancements to streamline internal audits across Starfish Family Services (SFS) centers. Stephanie is clearing both the technological and human-related hurdles that come with change.

Identifying the Challenge:

“Programs use ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement to measure program performance, identify areas of concern, make immediate program corrections, and generate reports. These processes are woven throughout the Head Start Act and the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS). Programs use data generated by ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement to help inform their annual self-assessment.”*  

ChildPlus addresses this Performance Standard through the Internal Monitoring module. No agency is perfect, and we always expect to have some findings when conducting internal monitoring. What matters is that those findings are addressed promptly and effectively.

Stephanie noticed a key opportunity arose when completed checklists in Internal Monitoring were handed off for review. She observed that there needed to be a straightforward procedure that all employees could follow, so that every review could be handled the same, from checklist completion to review of any findings.

*Head Start A to Z, 2.0, 2024

Innovative Solution to the Challenge:

Stephanie creatively addressed the challenge of helping everyone at her agency understand the new Internal Monitoring system. She developed “Job Aids,” written and visual guides that outline proper procedures.

More About the “Job Aid”:

Job Aids are created to be simple and basic walkthroughs through different caveats of Internal Monitoring and how to respond to them. Stephanie created various Job Aids for multiple departments, with different steps in the review process. Her Job Aids cover tasks catered to SFS employees, like completing reviews, filtering reports to pull relevant information, and tutorials on locating specific Findings. These Job Aids have successfully promoted clarity and adherence to protocols.

People over Process:

Apart from Job Aids, a procedural solution, Stephanie also exhibits soft skills by listening to what the employees need. She understands that sometimes processes must evolve to better serve her agency’s people. For example, one of the questionnaires used for Internal Monitoring stated that there was an existing procedure that resulted in a Finding, when there was no actual “non-compliance.” After discussing the reason for the discrepancy between what procedure mandated and the reality of how people worked through this particular step, Stephanie said, “We ultimately decided to remove the requirement.” By placing people first, she updated the process to be more in line with the experience at her agency while still adhering to Head Start Performance Standards.

The Final Message:

Starfish Family Services remains committed to refining its processes, adapting to challenges, and ensuring the accuracy of their internal monitoring system. Stephanie, her team, and the departments that work with her are shining reminders that a little bit of optimism and a lot of love for participants can go a long way in striving for excellence in our compliance and data management efforts.

Additional Resources on Internal Monitoring:

Visit the ChildPlus Help Center homepage and download the Internal Monitoring eBook or visit the Learning Library.