Head Start Program Enhancement Report 2020

Program Enhancement Report STRATEGIC PLANNING

Self Assessment and Community Assessment

ACTION PLAN

Program Year 2019 - 2020

5 YEAR GOALS

Program Year 2018 - 2019

WHOLE FAMILY

SCHOOL READINESS

How Are WE Impacting

Families and School Readiness?

Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) uses the Whole Family Approach to support children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start and their families. Through the Whole Family Approach, children receive the support they need to become emotionally, physically and cognitively ready to succeed in school and beyond. At the same time, adults in the family receive support to improve the overall family situation. We know that when the adults in a family do well the children do well and vice-versa.

We focus on three primary areas: • Family Well-Being

This includes family health and wellness, parenting skills

and the cognitive development of children.

• Economic Stability

This includes income and asset building, employment,

education and skill-building, and safe and stable housing

for the whole family.

• Social Connections

This includes leadership development for adults,

relationship skills development for adults and children,

and civic engagement and community involvement for adults.

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Whole Family Theory of Change

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WHOLE FAMILY

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

Assumptions about

Social Connections Families who are active in their community and engaged in their own well-being are less isolated, and more likely to have access to supportive services and resources, Developing strong social connections for families involves the development of leadership skills, the development of healthy relationship skills, and providing opportunities for families to engage in community projects.

Using a Whole Family Approach, Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) works with the grown up members of each Head Start family to build leadership skills, to improve relationship skills and to develop skills that lead to civic engagement. We believe that adults who have greater confidence in themselves will be more likely to embrace leadership roles. This can help them change their life outcomes, expand their goals and develop a more fulfilling life. We also believe that strong relationship skills are best achieved through one-onone mentoring and training opportunities focusing on strengthening communication skills, listening skills, and establishing mutual respect with others. Finally, we believe that when adults have strong leadership and relationship skills they are more likely to advocate for themselves and their families. Through civic engagement, they can also advocate for their neighborhood and community more effectively.

From the data collected around these areas of social connection, we found that families with ongoing supports were the most successful at finding the types of resources needed to improve their indivdiual and family circumstances.

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16.43%

increase in relationship skills

21.23% increase in stable support systems

25.34% increase in finding services

Overall, families showed the following gains in the area of Social Connections.

Social Connections: Families who are active in their community and engaged in their own wellbeing will be less isolated, more likely to have access to supportive services, and resources that give them opportunities to thrive.

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WHOLE FAMILY FAMILY WELL-BEING

Assumptions about

Family Well-Being Family well-being is vital to thriving communities. Families who are able to make informed decision about their own health, manage their basic needs, and tackle pressing human and community issues are better equipped to lead happy, healthy lives. A range of factors can affect family well-being, and investments in families contribute significantly to the social, psychological, and economic development of our community.

Family well-being is influenced by several factors including the promotions of cognitive development: in the children, a family’s overall health and wellness, and the ability of parents to successfully support and guide their children.

Cognitive Development Young children and students who receive consistent routines, exposure to a broad continuum of experiences, caring supervision, skill building practice, and comprehensive opportunities for their individual development have the greatest chance at healthy, age-appropriate cognitive development.

Parents are coached to look for and expect these interventions for their children.

The program has systems in place to measure child progress on multiple outcomes. Children in center-based classrooms are evaluated in multiple areas including approaches to learning, social/emotional, physical, language & literacy, math, creative arts, science and social studies. Evaluations of children in home-based programs include approaches to learning, social/ emotional, physical, communication, language & literacy and general cognition.

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The Early Head Start (EHS) child assessment tool is able to indicate progress of individual or groups or children and to designate their developmental progress as age expected, below age expected, or above age expected.

Children in the HS classroom-based setting made gains on all areas of development. However, the current child assessment tool does not indicate whether or not children are at level, above level, or below level for their age. It also does not indicate whether the percent gains shown are due to progression of age or the services received by children.

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Whole Family Family well-being

How Whole Family Impacts

Health & Well-Being Through the Whole Family Approach, CMCA Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) programs promote and educate adults and children on the elements of good health. We provide opportunities for children to practice and implement healthy habits during their normal class day, and we provide special family events where adults and children both learn about healthy habits and practice them.. Through this education, adults and children establish connections with trusted care providers, learn to manage their own health, and learn care for their families with greater confidence.

Women and Infant Relief Fund The Women and Infant Relief Fund (WIRF) provides prenatal education and support to expectant mothers and support and crisis intervention to newly delivered mothers and their babies.

Of the EHS families that accessed WIRF: •

77.5% were in the 0-100% income category,

•

17.5% were categorically homeless,

•

2.5% were over income, and 2.5% were unknown.

All HS families accessing WIRF were in the 0-100% income category.

Of the prenatal families who accessed WIRF: • 71.43% were in the 0-100% income category, and • 28.57% were categorically homeless.

Most WIRF recipients were one-time criss interventions with 89.2% of the cases falling into this category. Of these, 44.8 were participants from Boone County.

Distribution of WIRF Support 8

Only 10.8% of WIRF recipients used the program multiple times. Of those receiving multiple WIRF distributions, 71.4% were participants from Boone County.

Increases made toward meeting basic needs

28.08%

20.55%

Increase in acquiring healthy, nourishing foods.

Increase in acquiring needed mental health supports.

17.81% Increase in family safety.

33.56% Increase in family physical health.

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WHOLE FAMILY FAMILY WELL-BEING

The Positive Impact of Head Start on Parenting Skills Healthy, positive parenting skills are the foundation of a healthy parent/child relationships. Involvment in in Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) programming has been shown to positivly impact parenting skills. Central Missouri Community Action provides several learning opportunities for parents and children focused on developing healthy parent/child relationships. These include classes around relationship skills and communications skills . We also educate parents about healthy child development and create opportunities for them to practice supporting this development in their child.

overall increase in parenting skills for parents with children in Head Start classrooms and those receiving Home Based Services.

During the 2018-19 program year, positive gains in parenting skills were reflected on the Self-Sufficiency Matrix (SSM), with the largest increases occurring in families receiving Home Based Services (1.92%) and those whose children attend Head Start in the classroom (2.33%).

Early Head Start and Head Start families who participated in the Eat Healthy, Stay Active! program (EHSA) also showed greater gains in parenting skills on the SSM. EHS gains were 46.67% and HS gains were 22.2%.

Famileis who did not participate in the EHSA showed lower gains with EHS families only showing a 20.63% gain and HS families showing a 3.64% gain.

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Early Head Start families that participated in baby showers offered through Women and Infant Relief Fund (WIRF) program had higher gains (41.67%) in parenting skills on the SSM than nonparticipants (24.14%).

Head Start families attending WIRF baby showers showed more moderate gains (25%) in Parenting Skills on the SSM than did non-participants (22.57%).

A strong correlation between children with good attendance at school and gains in parenting skills was also noted during the 2018-19 school year. We found that children who regularly attend classes were likely to have parents who scored higher on the SSM. There was a 35% gain in parenting skills for parents of EHS children and a 66.3% gain for parent of HS children. Lower gains were made by parents whose children did not have high attendance rates. In this category, parents of EHS children had a 0% increase in parenting skills and parents of HS kids only showed a 50% gain in parenting skills.

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WHOLE FAMILY

ECONOMIC STABILITY

Assumptions about

Economic stability The foundation for economic stability lies in a family or adult’s ability to find living wage jobs and affordable, quality housing.

These two things provide a base of stability to support the wellbeing of an individual and their family.

Living Wage Jobs To attain living wage jobs, individuals must have the necessary trade skills or education to meet the demands of today’s employers.

To address this need we: Analyze member circumstances and skill sets to help establish career goals.

Work with individuals to identify education and vocational opportunities that match their career goals.

Support their enrollment and ongoing attendance/ engagement in skills building programs.

Coach members to overcome barriers.

Quality, Affordable Housing When housing is a concern for a family in Head Start, we connect them to resources to help them find safe and stable housing. We also educate them on ways to advocate for the addition of more affordable housing options in their community.

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Income & Asset Building: To ensure that families develop a foundation for improved self-sustainability our HS and EHS providers coach members on strategies to increase income and increase assets. They also connect families with learning opportunities that build their financial goal setting skills and help them remain accountable to meeting the goals they set.

38.35%

25.34%

increase in income for families.

increase in financial skills management.

30.82%

25.34%

increase in setting & achieving goals.

increase in finding affordable, safe housing.

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SCHOOL READINESS

A WHOLE FAMILY APPROACH

How Does the Whole Family Approach impact

Child Outcomes & readiness for school?

CMCA’s School Readiness Goals focus on ten key areas of child development and measure the percentage of kindergarteneligible children who are currently “school ready”. This is a more reliable predictor of school readiness than child assessments alone. Third quarter results from our 2018-19 service year indicate adequate progress toward reaching school readiness goals for kindergarten-eligible children.

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Early Head Start Percentages Showing Improved Skills

96.8%

97.6%

98.4%

99%

Communication & Language

General Cognitive Skills

Approaches to Learning

Physical Development

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PROGRAM INFORMATION REPORT

Program Information Report

Family Supports Because we use the Whole Family Approach to support every member of a family, CMCA helps family members connect with services to support needs not addressed through the Head Start program itself. More than fifty percent of the adults whose children were enrolled in Head Start Services in 2018-19 received at least one additional service to address a specific need.The most

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The most commonly accessed services included: Parenting Education | Health Education | Crisis Intervention

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PROGRAM INFORMATION REPORT

Program Information Report

Supporting Children with Special needs Identifying young children with unique developmental needs, ensuring they receive appropriate and timely services, and helping families navigate eligibility guidelines are key ways that Head Start provides inclusive services for children with special needs and their families. Staff work with families and other care providers to build a foundation for effective development of infants, toddlers, and young children with special needs.

During our 2018-19 year, 13.3% of children in Early Head Start were identified as having special needs while 10.86% in Head Start were identified as having special needs.

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Of the Early Head Start (EHS) children who failed the first social/emotional screening, 48% again failed the second screening as of May 1, 2019. Of the EHS children who failed both social/emotional screenings it was found that 33.3% had disabilities.

Of the Head Start (HS) children who failed the first social/emotional screening, 45.9% again failed the second screening given on May 1, 2019. Of the HS children who failed both social/emotional screenings, 11.7% were diagnosed with disabilities.

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PROGRAM INFORMATION REPORT

Program Information Report

Student Health Indicators The overall health indicators for children in both Head Start and Early Head Start during the 2018-19 school year were outstanding. Both groups scored above 90% in areas of having health insurance, having a medical home and having up-to-date immunizations.

Health Indicators 99.26% 98.59% 94.32% 97.89% 97.80% 98.59%

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Last year, more than fifty percent of the children in Head Start received dental exams since the last time we assessed them. Of that group, only five percent needed treatment.One hundred percent of those needing treatment received treatment.

Children in both Head Start and Early Head Start scored well in being medically up-to-date and on receiving followup care when needed.

Fewer children needed special supports or follow up care overall.

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SELF ASSESSMENT ACTION PLAN

Self assessment Action Plan

Family Well Being & Wellness Through the Whole Family Approach, CMCA Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) programs promote and educate adults and children on the elements of good health. We provide opportunities to practice and implement what is learned during the normal class time and at special family events. Through this education, family members and children establish connections with trusted care providers, learn to manage their own health, and learn care for their families with greater confidence.

After a self-assessment, members of the Central Missouri Community Action Head Start team developed a list of areas where additional supports and training are needed to support both staff and families so that children can thrive. Impacted areas include:

Family Well-Being: •

Health and Wellness

•

Cognitive Development

•

Parenting Skills

Social Connections •

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Relationship Skills

Steps to Improved Health & Wellness Provide supports for families to help children develop self-regulation at home.

Provide supports for classrooms to help children develop selfregulation in the classroom.

Develop relationships with mental health community resources to improve referral process for families.

Provide training for staff to equip them to lead families in productive goal development.

Develop a process to collect family data that accounts for family composition changes, and foster status on the pre/post SSM.

Health & Wellness

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SELF ASSESSMENT ACTION PLAN

Self assessment Action Plan

Family Well Being & Cognitive development Steps to improve cognitive development outcomes are outlined to the right. Additional strategies to reach these goals are listed here: • Staff training on definition of “other” ethnicity and goal categories in C+.

• Success coach and home visitor training in career resiliency and on-the-job training opportunities, subsidized employment.

• Train coaches on C+ data entry.

• HELP 0-3 trainings for those that do not pass reliability test.

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Steps to Improve Cognitive Development Connect families to education and career resources appropriate for that family, such as career training vs. traditional education.

Success coaches and home visitors will work with Community Organizers to identify career resiliency and on-the-job resources.

Partner with MO Job Centers to take advantage of short-term job retention and job readiness workshops.

Ensure CELN child outcomes are collected from Columbia Public Schools.

Investigate and research which family member’s information needs to be collected. (ex: mom education and dad career/job skills?)

Create a HELP 0-3 reliability test and train an administrator.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

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SELF ASSESSMENT ACTION PLAN

Self assessment Action Plan

Family Well Being & Parenting skills Improving parenting skills means better outcomes for the whole family. The steps identified on th next page will allow us to improve in this area.

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Steps to Improve Parenting Skills Improve consistency in documentation on notes on the SSM, especially if below the prevention line.

Develop protected data time for Family Success Coaches, lower their caseloads, and provide data entry assistance.

Adjust the number of home visits and contacts required per family for each Famly Success Coach.

Provide private space for sites located in Family Services Centers to facilitate relationships development among staff & families.

Incorporate parenting intervention strategies and work on staff retention.

PARENTING SKILLS

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5 YEAR GOAL UPDATES

Because of our commitment to providing top-quality, early childhood education and family support, the Central Missouri Community Action Head Start team has mapped out goals that we hope to meet within a five year timeframe.

GOALS:

1.

Central Missouri Community Action Early Childhood Program will devise & implement effective learning environments.

Goal 1 - Objective #1: The program is committed to retaining high quality, qualified staff. The program’s annual turnover rate will be 25% or less.

nt Toward EHS Go e c als r Pe

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ward HS G ent To oal c r s Pe

Year Goals Goal 1 - Objective #2: Over the course of 5 years, child outcomes in each of the developmental domains will increase by 20%.

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5 YEAR GOAL UPDATES

Goal 1 - Objective #3: The program will have safe, quality, healthy environments. Environmental assessments* conducted annually will have at least a 90% compliance rate.

2.

Central Missouri Community Action Early Childhood Program will promote practices to build resiliency & support family well-being leading to the success of the child and family.

Goal 2 - Objective #1: The program is committed to providing resources & referrals to assist families in meeting their basic needs. Family Assessments will indicate positive gains of 2 points per program year.

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Year Goals Goal 2 - Objective #2: The program promotes family goal setting. Family Assessments will indicate positive gains of 2 point per program year.

24.42%

10.22%

of families made gains on the Self Sufficiency Matrix (SSM).

of families had losses on the Self Sufficiency Matrix (SSM).

68.36% of families remained static on the Self Sufficiency Matrix (SSM).

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