United Way of Greater Stark County Case Statement of Need
WHAT’S YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE LOOK LIKE?
When I grow up starts today
ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. The more ACEs the greater the risk of harm. Research shows that reducing the risk of ACEs and building upon protective factors reduces the health and economic costs related to ACEs.
Here’s the thing:
Stark County children have more ACEs than children in other communities.
In Ohio, the elimination of ACEs would save more than $10B in health care and related spending, as well as $319M due to lost wages from missed work. The costs of interventions related to ACEs far outweigh modest investments in prevention in early childhood.
HEALTH CARE & RELATED SPENDING
$10 BILLION
LOST WAGES $319 MILLION
This is what we’re driving towards –A Brighter Future.
Our goal is to invest more than $15 million over the next three years through our Brighter Futures Campaign into programming focused on serving families with young children, ages 0-8, who live in the highest poverty neighborhoods.
We envision a community where all children realize their full potential. Every child has great potential. When children experience intense or persistent stress and instability, they lack a strong foundation for learning, health and behavior. Achievement gaps are highest where there are opportunity gaps.
May we explain?
Future Nail Designer
I see challenges with the increase in poverty in our community.
Jeff Talbert, Superintendent of Canton City Schools
When
I grow up starts today. Imagine it.
Everybody talks about the job creators. What about the employee creators? They aren’t born; they are built. Because not every neighborhood has the same resources – access to health, education, jobs, housing, or safety, we work to remove barriers or build bridges.
There are neighborhoods in our community where there are persistent levels of poverty.
Unfortunately, living in poverty prevents far too many from reaching their potential as they contend with toxic stress born out of household instability and family conflict resulting in lower academic achievement and lower levels of resiliency.
Stark County’s childhood poverty rate is 20%, although certain neighborhoods are as high as 81%. The highest rates of poverty are among the youngest in our community. These are the same areas where kindergarten readiness and reading comprehension among third graders is lowest.
Our work is focused on serving families with young children, ages 0-8, who live in poverty. These
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For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.
James Baldwin
children experience significant gaps in opportunities, ultimately leading to gaps in achievement. Our entire community pays for the achievement gap – not only in the cost of interventions, but more importantly their potential as community members is stalled, if not capped.
As a community, we must better support developing children and the adults who care for them, otherwise we all pay for a lack of quality employees, intervention and lack of productivity.
Your investment can unleash the vast potential of a student to launch into a future of success. Our Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Families program is demonstrating impressive early success. Join us for a tour –you’ll be impressed.
So, will you join us in creating a Brighter Future?
Percent of children in poverty
Percent of children (under 18 years) whose income in the past 12 months is below poverty level.
0% - 10%
> 60% - 81% > 20% - 40%
40% - 60%
- 20%
Canal Fulton
Lake Twp.
Marlboro
Lexington Twp.
Alliance
STARK
MASSILON
Meyers Lake
Lawrence Twp. Jackson Twp.
North Canton
Hills & Dales
Canton
East Canton
Canton Twp.
Osnaburg Twp.
Perry Twp.
Massilon
Tuscarawas Twp.
Brewster
Navarre
Sugar Creek Twp.
Beach City Wilmot
Bethlehem Twp. Pike Twp.
East Sparta
Sandy Twp. Waynesburg
Magnolia
Louisville
Nimishillen Twp. Washington Twp.
Paris Twp.
Minerva
Carrollton
Zoo Keeper
Jeff Talbert, Superintendent of Canton City Schools
Together, childhood poverty and ACEs are linked to worse outcomes in nearly every aspect of life from physical, mental and behavioral health to educational attainment to job opportunities and success, as well as reduced quality of life and lifelong earning potential.
We know that participation in prevention programs leads to better outcomes for young children and their families. Accomplishments early in life cultivate success in later life: increasing kindergarten readiness leads to better third-grade reading scores, which in turn leads to better eighth-grade math scores, which in turn leads to higher graduation rates, and postsecondary education leads to future employees. Stronger skills and relationships protect
against the risk of ACEs and improves the resiliency of those who do face adversity. These skills lead to stronger employees, families, and community members. To shore up future generations, we need to invest early in cost-effective strategies. That’s what our Brighter Futures Campaign is all about.
In 2022, 48% of Ohio students entered kindergarten on track. Stark County averages 47%, however that ranges
anywhere from 27% to 73% per district.
In 2022, 68% of Ohio students achieved third- grade proficiency; while Stark County averages 67%, the range by district is anywhere from 33% to 84%.
Our goal is to have students across the county on track with the State average, if not performing better. Early childhood learning experiences shape children into the adults they become.
WE
FOCUS ON 3 PRINCIPLES RECOMMENDED TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
(Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2021). Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families, 2021 Update. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu)
1. REDUCE SOURCES OF STRESS
2. STRENGTHEN CORE SKILLS (healthy development, executive function, and self-regulation)
3. SUPPORT RESPONSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
We invest in evidence-based programs to reduce the incidence or impact of ACEs on children in poverty. We do this by building protective factors and reducing risk factors. Protective factors largely fall into building core skills, supporting responsive relationships or reducing sources of stress and are built through the following strategies:
• EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION & HOME VISITING PROGRAMS
• PARENT/CAREGIVER SKILLS TRAINING
• MENTORING OR AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS WITH A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPONENT
• SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION
• IMMEDIATE ECONOMIC SUPPORTS THAT IMPROVE HOUSEHOLD STABILITY & REDUCE STRESS OF THE ADULTS THAT CARE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
A Child’s Dream for a Brighter Future: Matt Kreitzer’s Story
Growing up my family consisted of myself, my mother, my brother, my sister, and my stepfather. My biological father was never involved in my life. Neither of my parents worked, so we were dependent on public assistance to survive. My stepfather was an abusive alcoholic and, as a result, domestic violence and substance abuse issues were things I experienced or witnessed on a regular basis. Being beaten or kicked yourself, or watching your siblings and mother being hit and choked, are not things you can forget and just move on with your day; particularly when you are a child, and you don’t understand why things have to be this way.
I remember moving around quite a bit as a child, I had always thought it was because my parents liked to live in different places, but later I realized it was due to being evicted. I remember sharing bath water with my siblings because my mother had to heat it in pans on the electric stove because we had our gas shut off. Or staying huddled in one room with blankets hung on the doors to keep heat in that room because we were heating it with a kerosene heater. I was grateful for the child support my biological father paid every month. He paid $25 for me and $25 for my brother. There were many times that the child support gave us food to stretch to the beginning of the month when the next
assistance check would come in. I remember the Minerva Police Department giving us coats, hats, and gloves one winter and I was so happy to have the warmth. We often would have to turn to others for assistance with utilities, food, clothing, and rent.
My earliest memory of school as a child was coming in from recess and, as all of us kids were filing in, the teacher pulled me aside. The teacher got down on one knee and began to wipe dirt from my face. As she did this, she was berating me about being dirty, about having dirty clothes and asking me if I want to be like my parents and “be on welfare my whole life.” I don’t remember everything she said but I remember how it made me feel, I felt an extreme amount of shame and helplessness. I remember thinking, it’s not my fault my parents don’t work. I turned 50 this year and every time I think of this incident, I can remember those feelings. You feel a lot of different emotions growing up in povertyshame, fear, anxiety, helplessness, and anger.
MISSION:
United Way of Greater Stark County builds our community’s capacity to alleviate the impact of poverty and empower families to unleash their potential.
With more than a 100-year legacy of serving this community, we have evolved from a fundraising organization that funded many worthy causes to a community problem-solver that mobilizes partners to lessen the impact of poverty on the current generation in order to address the root causes of poverty for the next. We lead change by supporting evidence based practices targeting prevention, disparities, and equity.
VISION:
We envision a community where all children realize their full potential.
