Bright Spots Winner: Lakes and Prairies CAP Management Team

Enrolling children in Head Start is a complex process, requiring multiple steps and careful coordination. Kristin Phillip’s team at Lakes & Prairies CAP recognized that communication gaps were causing delays, so they found a simple yet powerful solution—turning a To-Do List into a Team-Do List.

To streamline enrollment, they created a To-Do List using Application Statuses that allow management staff to track each step of the process with clarity and efficiency.

• First, Enrollment Manager Tiffany McKinnon completes intakes and updates the child’s status to indicate that immunization verification is needed.
• Next, Health Manager Patty Lopez pulls up the To-Do List to check which children need immunizations. If immunizations are required for enrollment, the status is updated accordingly. If all immunizations are complete, the status changes to signal that the child is ready for income verification.
• Finally, nutrition manager Anna Johnson uses the To-Do List to identify children who need income verification, completing the enrollment process.

By using this system, the team eliminated communication barriers and ensured that no step was overlooked. Anna highlighted the most important effect of these improvements: “In our state, kids can’t enter our programs without immunizations. So, this (To-Do List) helps to make sure there are no delays in getting children enrolled.” Through collaborative efforts, this team at Lakes and Prairies CAP ensures every child has the opportunity to begin their Head Start journey.