3.2.3
Notifying Families of Their Selection
Once a child has been selected for a slot in one of our programs, complete EVERY step of the following process:
- Contact the family by phone
- Send the email from ChildPlus (EL1039); it documents you have notified the family they have been selected and gives them 3 business days to respond (Note: Email populates family names, child’s name, the date they must make contact, site name, and site phone number)
- Send the text from ChildPlus (TX063) (Note: Text populates site name and site phone number)
- In ChildPlus, add an Eligibility Note (e.g., left voice message, sent email and text on 10/01/2024. Family has until 10/04/2024 to accept slot)
- Continue trying to contact them by phone or text for 3 business days.
If the family does not respond:
If you have NOT heard from the family after 3 business days, complete the following steps:
- In ChildPlus, update their enrollment status to “Abandoned” with “Unresponsive” as the reason.
- Add an Eligibility Note stating you abandoned their record due to no response.
- Refer to the SOP Fill Remaining Open Slots to find another child to take the open slot.
If the family declines the slot:
They can choose to remain on the waitlist until another slot becomes available. If they want to remain on the waitlist, complete the following steps:
- Add an Eligibility Note stating per the parent’s/guardian’s request, they would like to remain on the waitlist and why they would like to do so
- Confirm waitlist preferences or update their preferred site and/or class
- Refer to the SOP Fill Remaining Open Slots to find another child to take the open slot.
If they do not want to be waitlisted, complete the following process:
- Make the family aware that declining services constitutes a break in service, which means they will need to be reverified before they can be considered for any future placement in Head Start.
- In ChildPlus, update their enrollment status to “Abandoned” and select the appropriate abandon reason
- Add an Eligibility Note stating you abandoned the family due to the reason they provided (e.g., Spoke to Brandy Creek on 10/01/2024. She declined the slot because they are attending another preschool program)
- Once a child enrollment has been abandoned, refer to the SOP Fill Remaining Open Slots to find another child to take the open slot.
If the family accepts the slot:
- Update their enrollment status in ChildPlus to “Accepted” and enter the date of acceptance
- Schedule an Enrollment Meeting
- Add an Eligibility Note stating they have accepted and the date of the enrollment meeting and/or center tour.