First Steps Kent

Filing Period

Oct 1, 2011 to Sep 30, 2012

Signed

Jul 29, 2013

Return Version

2011v1.5

Gross Receipts

$1,504,208

Major Activities

Activity 2

Welcome home baby is available to all first-time parents and parents 25 and younger in kent county. It consists of an initial visit in the hospital and a home visit from a maternal child nurse. Included in the visit is a maternal child assessment conducted by an rn and parent education about early childhood development, community resources to meet family needs, and the importance of reading, talking, singing, and playing with their child from birth. The nurse then helps the parents access community programs that best meet their needs. (see schedule o) the program was phased in at the area's three birthing hospitals from 2010 -2011. In the evaluation of calendar year 2012: of 4,337 eligible births, hospital liaisons made 3,366 visits or 78%; 71% (2,388) of those accepting home vists at the hospital completed them; home visits were provided for 1,868 families, and; of 3,400 referrals to partner agencies, 64% of families served in 2012 reported taking their newborn to their primary care provider within the first 5 days of life (meeting the academy of pediatrics standard).

Activity 3

Early learning communities (elc) supplement the learning environment and experiences of young children in two urban neighborhoods by increasing the early childhood languauge and literacy skills of their caregivers. Primarily serving unlicensed in-home providers serving the most vulnerable children, the program includes in-home coaching for unlicensed providers as well as language and literacy enriched play & learn groups where certified teachers model appropriate child-adult relationships and behaviors as well as demonstrate activities that build children's skills for success in kindergarten. (see schedule o) elc play & learn groups served nearly 1,000 adults and over 1,500 children. Over 500 parents, providers, and early childhood educators attended elc workshops. 28 providers and parents received over 250 elc or bright beginnings sponsored home visits in fiscal year 2012. These participants are from the two low-income neighborhoods targeted. 74% of participating parents and providers are people of color. Overall all caregivers and elc educators indicate that they are highly satisfied with both the quality and utility of the elc program. When asked, nearly all note that they "like and appreciate everything" or that there is "nothing that i do not like." the variety of activities modeled, the field trips, and take home materials are the most often cited as particularly helpful. On average, more than half of caregivers report high levels of supportive attitudes, knowledge, and skill in four key areas - kindergarten/preschool readiness, early literacy practices, read aloud frequency, and adult- children interaction. The majority of providers report gains in knowledge and use of information to build and improve the quality of their childcare business. More than three-quarters of providers express high levels of interaction with other providers and place high value on the information exchanged. Nearly all have recommended elc to other providers. More than half indicate high levels of knowledge about quality improvement strategies. Observation of the childcare home literacy environment shows significant improvements in literacy enrichment and family/group interaction. Caregivers rate the children in their care as knowing more letters and words than similar children not involved in elc. In addition, stakeholders assert that elc children have stronger interest in books, have better writing skills, and ask more questions in a typical day than non-elc peers. Literacy benefits are coupled with higher ratings of child development milestones known to be important predictors of kindergarten readiness. These include - fine motor, try new things, understand feelings, get along with others and adult interaction.

Filer

EIN

27-0640886