Leadership's Role in Developing and Maintaining a Shared Vision

Head Start program administrators play a key role in developing and maintaining a shared vision of mental health services. A leadership team that values mental health promotes a mental health perspective across all program components. This is essential for modeling positive relationships between mental health consultants and staff. It will also create an environment where staff and families understand early childhood mental health in a non-stigmatizing way and how it relates to other aspects of child development.

Administrators can lead the implementation of mental health services by:

• Creating a mental health vision statement through the strategic planning process
• Engaging families, staff, and community members in creating a mental health strategic plan and revising that plan regularly
• Integrating a mental health perspective into program policies and procedures
• Incorporating the mental health vision statement, the mental health strategic plan, and the mental health policies and procedures into new staff orientation
• Providing ongoing staff development on topics related to early childhood mental health
• Creating space and opportunities for staff, families, and mental health consultants to develop relationships
• Modeling positive relationships with the mental health consultant
• Developing community partners who support the program’s vision of mental health services
• Using creative and flexible approaches to expand the resources available for mental health support to children, families, and staff
• Valuing and supporting staff wellness

Activity: How Clear Is My Vision?

The administrator’s vision for mental health services and consultation is important, but the ultimate vision for the program should be something created collaboratively. Knowing your own vision and being able to articulate it will help you to understand how your vision fits with the vision of the program staff and families, and where it may differ. It will also help you identify gaps in your own knowledge or understanding of mental health that might suggest your own areas for professional development or education in the mental health area. Take a few minutes to answer the questions below. You may want to save your answers for use in your strategic planning process.

1. How do you define “mental health”?
2. What does it mean to have a “mental health perspective” in your program?
3. What do you see as your role in your program’s mental health services?
4. What do you hope to accomplish with your program’s mental health services and approach?
5. How do you work to facilitate coordination and collaboration between mental health and other program services, including education, disability, family engagement, and health services?
6. As you reflect on your own understanding of children’s mental health, what do you feel are the gaps in your knowledge? What continuing education or resources might help you to address these gaps?

Last Updated: August 6, 2025