2002 Start Smart Second Year Community Report

December 2002 Update

A message from Janet E. Jackson, Incoming President, United Way of
Central Ohio and Arlene Shoemaker, Dewey R. Stokes, Mary Jo Kilroy
Franklin County Commissioners
January, 2003

Start Smart’s Third Year Shows Progress
Three’s a charm for the Start Smart initiative. Half-way through the third year,
Franklin County’s early childhood initiative continues to make progress and
add to its list of accomplishments.

Start Smart is a five-year initiative serving young children and families with a
focus on birth to three in Franklin County. It is led by Franklin County and the
United Way of Central Ohio in partnership with more than 40 local agencies.

A few months ago, you received our annual "Report to the Community 2002."
Since that report was issued, Start Smart has posted additional accomplish-
ments. They are:

• Homes Accreditation: When pre-schools, child care centers and
  homes achieve national accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Family Child Care, it means they maintain the highest quality standards for early care and education. In recent months, 12 new homes began the process of gaining accreditation. To date, 68 Franklin County homes are in the accreditation process.
  
• Center Accreditation: In recent months, 25 new centers began the
  process to gain national accreditation. To date, 177 centers are on
  the path to achieving accreditation.
  –Gaining national accreditation is difficult and demanding on the part
  of the home providers and child care center staffs. It requires many months of self-study and improvement and requires a rigorous examination of practices as well as an on-site assessment. Once a center is accredited, it is a true achievement. Centers and homes are also required to maintain standards and re-submit for accreditation every three years.
  
• Credentialing: Thanks to Start Smart, dozens of child care teachers and directors receive advanced early childhood training and education. Many teachers receive scholarships to attend Columbus State Community College and are completing coursework to earn a CDA (Child Development Associate) national credential. Some are going on to receive an Associate’s Degree in early education. In the last six months, 75 more scholarships were awarded. To date, 368 scholarships have been awarded.
  
• New Spaces for Infants & Toddlers: Franklin County is no different from many other areas in Ohio in that there are too few high quality child care spaces for babies and toddlers. Start Smart is working to increase capacity by recruiting more home providers and helping centers to increase space through new construction, renovation or new equipment.
  –In recent months, 32 new home providers, 20 of which are Somali
  or Latino, have been recruited to provide high quality care in neighborhoods that have the highest need. To date, 106 new home providers have been recruited, creating 212 new spaces.
  –For child care centers, a total of 69 new spaces have been created.
  
• Community Awareness Activities: One objective of Start Smart is to maintain communications with parents, caregivers and opinion leaders about the importance of early learning and quality early care. While Start Smart is a county-wide initiative, special emphasis is placed in four neighborhoods that show a high need for high quality child care. In the third year, community awareness efforts are particularly focused on two of these Franklin County neighborhoods – the Hilltop area and the Northland area. Presentations and direct mail, as well as outreach to libraries, community centers, local schools and early care providers are included in the mix of activities to build awareness in those areas.

Start Smart continues to provide activity tips booklets in English, Spanish
and Somali to families with young children. Parents and caregivers may call 23-SMART to request a free booklet, or visit www.startsmartcolumbus.org for tips and more early childhood information.

Message from Janet E. Jackson, Incoming President
for United Way of Central Ohio:

A recent series in The Columbus Dispatch focused on child care statewide. The stories revealed many areas where regulatory standards for child care providers in centers and homes are minimal at best and are far from highest levels of quality care. The series was informative, thorough and eye-opening for anyone who hasn’t faced the challenge of finding high quality child care.

We are fortunate that Franklin County, the United Way of Central Ohio and more than 40 partner agencies launched Start Smart in an effort to help improve child care and get children ready for kindergarten and success in life. As you can see from the accomplishments listed above, Start Smart is making a difference. The objectives of accreditation, credentialing, capacity and parent education will have long-lasting effects on child care in Franklin County.

Start Smart Continues with Public-Private Funding
Start Smart’s mix of public and private funding continues with support from Franklin County and from many private donors. A recent gift from the County of $250,000 is added to the total public funding (from county and state sources) which equals $2,688,076. From private sources, Start Smart has $3,212,843 committed for ongoing support.

Nine Centers Achieve Accreditation
In recent months, nine local child care centers have completed the accreditation process and are now nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. They are: Briar Rose Children’s Center, Broad Street CMACAO Head Start, Child Guidance CMACAO Head Start, Columbus Speech and Hearing Center, Heaton Road CMACAO Head Start, JCC New Albany Pre-School, Mary Evans Child Development Center, YMCA Hilltop Educare Centre, Eastside Child Care Center. Many more centers and homes continue working to gain accreditation.



2002 Start Smart Second Year Annual Report

Start Smart Completes Second Year
Early Childhood Initiative Led by Franklin County & United Way of Central Ohio Shows Strong Progress

After two years of operation, Start Smart, Franklin County’s focus on early childhood, has already made a difference in the lives of thousands of babies and toddlers, parents and caregivers.

Start Smart is addressing early development through a collaborative partnership of more than 40 local agencies and organizations. Working together, the partners are improving services by:

• Educating and training parents and caregivers,
• Creating more spaces for babies and toddlers in child care centers and homes,
• Improving the quality of early care and education,
• Reviewing health and medical care,
• Advocating for public policy that supports high quality early care and education, and
• Focusing community attention on early childhood.

By design, Start Smart is an ambitious five-year initiative. To achieve a better quality of life for babies and toddlers, the six objectives listed above are addressed simultaneously. This annual report to the community tells the story of our second year and of specific progress made in the six targeted areas.

As we complete another year, it is right to celebrate and report on our accomplishments. But we also realize there is still much to be done to ensure quality early childhood experiences as an enduring element in Franklin County.

With the ongoing dedication of our partners, leaders and funders, Start Smart will continue to set the standards for early childhood policy.



Message from Director Sally Yurchuck

Dear Friends:

Four years ago, United Way’s Education Vision Council learned that in Franklin County, too many children were coming to kindergarten not ready to learn. By the age of five, some youngsters had too few quality learning experiences through reading, music, creative play and consistent, nurturing early care.

Given what we now know about the importance of early education – starting at birth – it is essential that all children have quality interactions that build their capacity to learn.

Start Smart was created to help parents and caregivers provide quality care and education to babies and toddlers.

Our accomplishments in the first and second year are significant. Despite budget challenges, our partners continue to work hard, stay dedicated and most importantly, get results. I am honored to work with our partners, co-chairs, steering and leadership committee members and donors.

As Start Smart enters the third year, our multi-faceted mission moves forward. We anticipate making some refinements to our work. Our funding will continue to come through rigorous development efforts from local foundation support and private philanthropic donations. During Start Smart’s third year
(of a five-year initiative) we will transition to 100 percent private funding. To date, $2.4 million has been raised from public resources and $2.5 million was raised from private resources.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in Start Smart.

Sally Yurchuck
Director

SPOTLIGHT STORY ON ACCREDITATION

ACCREDITATION EXPERIENCES AMAZING PROGRESS

When pre-schools, child care centers and homes are accredited it means they maintain superior levels of care for young children. Accreditation recognizes the quality of staff, physical facilities, learning materials, meals, equipment, and more. Most importantly, accreditation helps parents and caregivers know more about the quality of child care available to them.

Start Smart identified accreditation as critical to helping improve the quality of early care. When Start Smart begin, only about 7 percent of providers in Franklin County had ever completed the challenging and time consuming process to gain national accreditation.

In the past, pre-schools and child care centers and homes have had little incentive to go through a national accreditation process. It requires months of intensive operational reviews, self-study, planning and improvement. Most providers don’t have the time, staff or resources to engage in the demanding improvement process.

Now, in partnership with Action for Children and the Child Development Council of Head Start, Start Smart provides financial rewards and technical assistance to participants working toward accreditation.

As a result, 162 pre-schools, centers and homes, more than 25 percent of providers, are engaged in the process of accreditation. And the amazing news is that, because of the accreditation efforts of these providers, more than 10,000 children in Franklin County are receiving improved early education services.



SPOTLIGHT STORY ON CAPACITY

HOME PROVIDERS INCREASE
CAPACITY FOR INFANT & TODDLER CARE


Each year, thousands of parents in Franklin County experience the life-changing event of having a baby. Among the joys and challenges faced by many parents of infants, is the ability to find quality child care.

Franklin County is deficient in the number of spaces available for infant and toddler care. This is consistent with national figures. A 2001 report by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation concluded that, "of all child care services, care for infants and toddler is the most scarce, expensive, and disappointing from a quality perspective."

Part of the mission of Start Smart is to help boost the number of available infant and toddler spaces through new construction, renovations and new equipment. During the second year of Start Smart, emphasis was placed on increasing the numbers of home providers who offer infant and toddler care.

As partners with Start Smart, the YMCA and Action for Children lead efforts to increase home-based child care spaces through recruitment of new providers, or enhancing the capability of existing providers to add infants and toddlers.

During Start Smart’s first full year, 48 new home spaces were created in four high-need areas in Franklin County. In the second year, 46 new home providers were recruited and trained and 92 new home spaces were created in the high-need areas. A total of 140 new home spaces have been created.



SPOTLIGHT STORY ON CREDENTIALING & TRAINING

COURSEWORK HELPS TEACHERS
GAIN EXPERIENCE & EARN CREDENTIALS

Thousands of babies and toddlers in Franklin County spend time each week under the care of pre-school and child care center teachers and home care providers. To help teachers and center directors with advanced early childhood training and education, Start Smart provides scholarships for teachers and home care providers, as well as retreat sessions for center directors.

During Start Smart’s second year dozens of early childhood teachers attended classes at Columbus State to increase their knowledge and experience with caring for very young children. Start Smart provided nearly 275 scholarships to 126 teachers. Most teachers are pursuing coursework to earn an associate’s degree or a Child Development Associate (CDA) national credential.

In addition to completing coursework, students also experience an on-site visit and evaluation before receiving a CDA. More than 300 courses have been completed by funded participants this year.

In addition, around 47 child care center directors have participated in retreat sessions that provide advanced training in managing early childhood programs.



SPOTLIGHT STORY ON TRANSLATION

COMIENZO INTELIGENTE
BILLOWGA WANAAGSAN
START SMART
ACTIVITY TIPS BOOKLETS ARE WELL RECEIVED IN THREE LANGUAGES


Start Smart’s community awareness objective added translated materials to outreach efforts during the initiative’s second year. A booklet of activity tips for babies and toddlers was developed in English, and is now available in Spanish and Somali.

The number of Somali and Spanish-speaking families has grown in Franklin County. Several organizations that serve these communities have already distributed several hundred of the translated booklets.

The English version of the activity tips booklet continues to be a popular item among organizations that serve young children. To date, almost 12,000 booklets have been given to families of newborns and toddlers. The booklets are distributed through various agencies including the Columbus Health Department, Help Me Grow of Franklin County, the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, Children’s Hospital and the YMCA. People may also call 614-23-SMART to request the activity tips.

In addition to the booklets, Start Smart also has a terrific Web site at www.startsmartcolumbus.org. The Web site has activity tips in English and Spanish, as well as a calendar of events suitable for families with young children and links to helpful parenting information. This year, a directory of early childhood services was added to the Web site. The directory can be easily downloaded and printed.

Start Smart continues to receive positive feedback from parents and caregivers about the Web site and activity tips booklets. Home-based child care providers tell us they use the Web site as a resource for early learning ideas. Parent educators tell us they use the booklets to help new parents understand the importance of early education. And parents have told us they use the calendar of events to find out about events that are appropriate for young children.

The first-year achievements outlined in this report, measured by fiscal year, reflect activity only for the five-month period from February 1 to June 30, 2001. The early part of the fiscal year, which began July 1, 2000, was spent in securing financing and finalizing plans.