June 11, 2003
TO: Steering Committee Members
Early Success – Right from the Start
FROM: Karen Schneider, Director
RE: Minutes of the June 11, 2003 Steering Committee Meeting
Attendance:
Karen Schneider, Betsy Cope, Julie Vanhala, Becky Fath, Sherry Marks, Darcy Lokers, Trish McHugh, Theresa Wanstead, LouAnn Gregory, Tom Hogensen, Diana Bongard, Joyce Harmsen, Denise Robinson, Linda Myers, Becky Johnson, Myia Williams, Leona Moreno, Bridget Cordes, Mary Mike Winkelmann, Cindy Bay-Barron
Welcome: from Chair Myers.
Marks shared a success story on a child she has home visited since the beginning of the program. The child’s speech was poor and parents showed some concern. They did not, however, want to refer child to speech therapy, so Marks offered suggestions in how working daily with child may improve speech development. Today child is speaking very well and normal for his age group.
Wanstead watched a mother of four children achieve success in finding a home and a job through her involvement with the family and the community wrap-around team.
Grants:
Schneider submitted for and received funds for two grants.
Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan has awarded the Mecosta-Osceola ISD’s Early Success program funds in the amount of $5,000 to provide parenting classes for grandparents in Mecosta and Osceola counties. Classes are free and include childcare, lunch/dinner, and all materials. The classes are fun, informative, and interactive and will help support grandparents as they raise or help to raise their grandchildren. The first session has just been completed and two more sessions will be scheduled in late summer and fall.
The Early Success program has also been awarded a food safety mini-grant from Michigan State University’s National Food Safety & Toxicology Center (www.foodsafe.msu.edu). In Mecosta and Osceola Counties, an average of 29 food borne illness incidents are reported per year. This does not include what could be a huge number of incidences that go unreported. The Family Fun Night food safety activities will tackle food borne illness awareness and prevention while putting fun in the forefront. Families and children will get to visit with “Thelma the Thermometer”, “Father Time”, and “Bacteria Buster” at Family Fun Night. Support materials and items such at cutting mats, refrigerator thermometers, storage containers, anti-bacterial wipes, and Lysol spray to use at home to help support a safe environment for food preparation, handling, and storage will be handed out to families.
Projects in Progress:
Even Start is a program designed to support family literacy for children to age 8, parents with no GED or high school diploma, and teens who are not attending school. Schneider attended a Technical Assistant’s Workshop for Even Start grant writing recently and concluded there was not enough time to properly submit for the current nine-month grant application. Even Start’s one-year grant will be applied for prior to their February, 2004 deadline.
The handout, Focus on Infants & Toddlers, was made available. This handout included an article by Jacqueline A. Wood, Early Childhood Consultant for the Michigan Department of Education entitled, Responsive Caregiver Interactions: A Critical Aspect of Quality Care. This article defines the importance of supporting providers through home visits. Copies are available upon request.
Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP):
Schneider passed out an ACTION ALERT regarding cuts in MSRP. The article urges you to contact State legislators “to support funding for Michigan School Readiness Programs (MSRP) at the amount proposed by Governor Granholm and passed by the House of Representatives”. “MSRP would be cut $8 million, from $12.25 to $4.25 million. This would reduce services from 3,712 children down to 1,287, a loss of 2,425 kids.”
A tentative schedule for 2003/2004 trainings offered by Early Success includes: Speech and Language Development in Young Children, Emotional Development in Children, Natural Environments, Sensory Integration in the Young Child, Stress Busters, Loving Literacy-Integrating Literacy into Everyday Activities; Make-It Take-It Activities for Fine Motor Development; Healthy Boundaries; Autism, and Gross Motor Activities for Young Children. This calendar will be available on our website soon www.moisd./ASAP-PIE.
Evaluation:
The Statewide Evaluation of the ASAP-PIE Program, Report 2 was made available to meeting attendees. The report suggest that ASAP-PIE is
- “changing situations for some children whose parents are increasingly interacting in ways that support children’s social-emotional and cognitive development;
- making early remedial interventions available for more children with identified developmental delays or health problems; and
- creating new linkages between services, connecting 0-5 services to schools, and using a collaborative structure to move toward a community system of care.”
The report listed several recommendations including:
- A planning period to include a planning grant, characteristics of children, community investment in services for 0-5, local and state collaboration, a unified State name for all participants to increase public awareness, and proportioned funding with an adjustment for poverty level is also advised.
- Name “branding” of all programs statewide for quicker recognition and awareness.
- Proportional funding across the state reflective of poverty levels
A complete report can be emailed/snail-mailed to you upon request.
The Parent as Teachers year-end reports indicates a 27% dropout rate (child aging out of program, moving out of area, parent no longer interested, etc.).
A handout of the local evaluation conducted by Ferris State University (FSU) was reviewed. This evaluation consisted of a survey sent out to approximately 10,000 families within the Mecosta-Osceola school district. Only 960 surveys were returned, with the following information gathered:
- Of the 960 respondents, 584 have heard about the Early Success – Right from the Start program = 61%
- Of the 960 respondents, 243 have children under the age of 5 – 25%
- Of this 243, only 80 are involved in Early Success – Right from the Start = 30%
- Of this 243, 122 have children involved in other early childhood programs – 50%
- Of the 80 involved in Early Success – Right from the Start, 46 are also involved in other early childhood programs = 58%
The Steering Committee’s Executive Board made a decision that the local evaluation was not meeting the expected standards and the contract for those services have been terminated. There will be a local evaluation of the program conducted through a workgroup to achieve the measures necessary to provide adequate feedback about Early Success.
Meeting Schedule for 2003/2004: The schedule is posted on the website. The meeting agendas will also be posted one week prior to the meeting date.
Fond Farewells: We wish the best to our staff that is leaving us this year. You will be missed.
- Leona Moreno, Coordinator at Morley Stanwood, is retiring effective June 30, 2003
- Sherry Marks, Coordinator at Chippewa-Hills will be teaching kindergarten at Barryton Elementary School
- Lisa Stanley, Office Assistant at Chippewa-Hills, will be working in the media center at Chippewa-Hills High School
- Natalie Blunt, Office Assistant at Big Rapids, is seeking a degree to work in the special education field
Reminders:
- Staff will be taking the summer off and events will begin again September 1, 2003
- Selection for the Executive Board will take place at our September 10, 2003 meeting.
Other Items:
Myers stated that Kindergarten enrollment in the Morley Stanwood school district has increased greatly due in part to Early Success – Right from the Start and the early referral to PPI. Marks agreed that this was also true in the Chippewa-Hills district.
Adjournment: 9:15 a.m.
Respectfully submitted
Original signed, Karen Schneider
Director, Early Success – Right from the Start
Next meeting: Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Distribution via e-mail
Copies of handouts available on request