Early Learning Coalition of Pinnellas County Inc.

“The finance committee and management will review and accept the form 990. The board of directors will also approve the form.”

“The organization has a conflict of interest policy in place. The staff and the members of the board of directors are required to sign the form annually. In the event that an action taken by the board presents a conflict of interest for a board member, the board member must disclose their conflict to the board of directors and abstain from the vote. Additionally, the board member is required to complete form 8b "memorandum of voting conflict for county, municipal, and other public officers".”

“The salaries of the executive and key employees are reviewed and benchmarked against those of other early learning coalitions, like-sized area not for profits and relevant public salary surveys. Ceo salary is determined and approved by the executive committee of the board of directors.”

“The organization's governing documents are made available upon request.”

“The organization received additional arpa provider stabilization funding to support private early learning/child care providers that were licensed/registered, certified, regulated by or before march 11, 2021 or that are providing early learning/child care services on the date of application, to assist them in remaining open during the covid-19 crisis. Providers must have remained open and operational, except for temporary closures due to public health, financial hardship, or other reasons related to the covid-19 public health emergency. The base sub grants were based on the provider enrollment at the time of the application, with a minimum of 12,000 per provider. Base sub grants were calculated depending on the age of enrollments. Providers also received additional funding per school readiness child enrolled at the time of the application. In addition, providers received supplemental bonuses calculated as percentages of their base sub grant according to certain criteria. Furthermore, to support childcare providers and the early learning workforce in florida during the covid 19 state of emergency as declared by the president of the united states and the governor of florida, the organization received funding for the arp act build a world class workforce and strengthen adult child interaction initiatives. High quality adult child interactions create an environment where children can thrive. These positive interactions are the cornerstone of quality in early care and education and the classroom assessment scoring system (class) for program assessment, which measures these high quality interactions around ten dimensions, was expended during the year. The organization-prioritized investments that will build the knowledge and skills that drive high quality adult child interactions. These investments extend from the newest teacher to the most experienced teacher and the childcare program director. The organization's focus continues with training the current workforce, building training, and coaching capacity to ensure that efforts to upskill florida's early care and education workforce will be sustained long after these one time investments have been expended.”

“The school readiness (sr) program is part of the state's early childhood education and provides the elements necessary to children for school, including health screenings/referrals and an appropriate educational program. The services are provided on a full day, full-year, and full- choice basis to the extent possible to enable parents to work and be financially self-sufficient. The delivery of sr programs is comprised of childcare providers and school-based sites operated by public and nonpublic schools the school readiness program has three specific eligibility requirements: 1) parent(s)/guardian(s) must be working or participating in an educational activity such as attending college or trade school at least 20 hours per week. 2) gross income must be at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level for family size. 3) families must pay a copayment for childcare based on income and family size. In addition, as part of the covid- 19 crisis emergency funding assistance for early learning child care providers, the coalition received arpa stabilization and arpa stabilization build a world class workforce initiatives funding to support the early learning child care providers and early learning educators. The program is funded primarily by the federal child care and development fund block grant and the organization has complied with the earmarks and restrictions of the sr grant.”

“The voluntary prekindergarten education program (vpk) prepares early learners for success in kindergarten and beyond. Vpk helps build a strong foundation for school using educational material corresponding to various stages in a child's development. To be eligible, children must live in florida and be 4 years old on or before september 1 of the current school year. The program is designed to enhance each child's ability to make age appropriate progress in the development of language and cognitive capabilities through education in basic skills. The delivery system for the vpk program is comprised of private childcare centers and schools, public schools, and specialized instructional services providers. Parents can choose for the child the school year program that includes 540 instructional hours or the summer program that includes 300 instructional hours. The program is funded primarily with the state general revenue funding and the organization has complied with the earmarks and restrictions of the vpk grant.”