Annual ReportFY11-12

Smart Start in Motion!

Robert Furr, Current Board Chair

Jane Meyer, Executive Director

This past year, Smart Start board members, community partners, parents of young children, staff and advocates swung into motion with our fi rst Teddy Bear Breakfast that was attended by 250 children and families. While families were shopping at the silent auction, children were immersed in the “world” of bears. They listened to a story about Corduroy, marched to a teddy bear parade, sang and danced to music led by Dr. Thomas Moore, renowned child advocate. Of course, our little bears ate breakfast along with their families and viewed the Charlotte School of Ballet’s colorful dance performance.

This event and other fundraising initiatives were in response to four consecutive years of drastic budget cuts. In addition to fundraising, Mecklenburg constituents rallied behind Smart Start as advocacy efforts increased by contacting and educating our local legislators on the importance of early care and education, writing letters, emails, and making phone calls and a coordinated Social Media Campaign was utilized through Facebook and Twitter.

Due to these efforts, Smart Start was able to continue funding effective programs that enhance the lives of Mecklenburg County’s children and their families, by offering family support to at-risk children, making sure children are healthy, providing high quality child care, and convening leaders in the community to develop strategies and determine gaps in services.

We are grateful to both our funders and our community partners who helped us achieve the Smart Start mission of serving young children and families in making sure they enter school healthy and ready to succeed. Please take a few moments to review the annual report and learn of our achieve-ments. Together, let’s stay in Motion on behalf of young children in our county.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Furr Jane W. MeyerSmart Start Board Chair Executive Director

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Barbara Rein, Program Evaluator

Catherine Etters, Chief Financial Offi cer

Rahel Gashaw, Senior Accountant

Lee Henderson, Senior Program Manager

Eunice Murray, Staff Accountant

Jennifer Taylor, Public Education Manager

Sheryl White, Partnership Coordinator

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Dianne Alexander, GPS Coordinator

Rosemary Bernauer, Accountant/Program Assistant

right Start…Parent for Life works with parents with a childhood history of foster care services. 95% of participating parents main-tained stable housing with no periods of homelessness.

safe Journey, a school-based teen parent education program, reported 85% of active participants demonstrated an increase toward a more supportive, nurturing family relationship.

smart Start Healthy Families Mecklenburg, a child abuse prevention program, stated that 98% of mothers with children enrolled for at least 6 months show positive parent-child interaction.

many families lack the necessary resources to optimally raise their young children. Adolescents, adults with limited English, fi rst-time parents and former childhood foster parents often need support and information to better prepare their children for school success.

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100% of YMCA Parents as Teachers families who participated in 75% of their personal visits reported that the program helped them be their child’s best fi rst teacher.

86% of families

participating in Raising a Reader

for the fi rst time report increasing the number of

times they read with their child.

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Smart Start of Mecklenburg County’s Board of Directors voted to redesign their Board structure. The alternate structure meets NCPC’s guidelines which mandate a Board of no less than 15, with representation from government, services, and the business com-munity. The new structure allows Partner-ships to choose members that best represent their local area with the least amount of

confl icts. The Board voted to reduce mem-bers from 30 to 20. We want to thank our members that are rotating off the Board for their dedication, support and service:

Nathan Clark, Timika Shafeek-Horton, Glen-da Bernhardt, Pastor Jonathan Coppedge-Henley, Nancy Crown, Randall Darnell, Paul Garafola, Hilda Gurdian, Mike Harrell, Lois

Kilkka, Elizabeth Peterson-Vita, Peter Safi r, Allison Schweizer, Kelley Smith, David Snider, and Phelps Sprinkle.

We want to welcome new members:

Barbara Cantisano, Bess Caughran, Chelsea Heath, Sherry Hinton, Pearlynn Houck, and Dawn Peebles

Jonathan Coppedge-Henley, First United Methodist Church

Nancy Crown, Bank of AmericaDarrell Cunningham, Dept. of Social

ServicesRandall Darnell, NC Employment Secu-

rity CommissionPaul Garafola, Parent Rep.Hilda Gurdian, La Noticia Mike Harrell, Beacon PartnersAngela Jones, Levine Children’s Hos-

pitalJared Keaton, Head StartLois Kilkka, Charlotte Mecklenburg

Library

Paul Koehnke, Central Piedmont Community College

Wynn Mabry, Mecklenburg County Health Department

LaWana Mayfi eld, City of CharlotteElizabeth Peterson-Vita, Mecklenburg Area Mental HealthJanice Price, First United Methodist CDCJennifer Roberts, Mecklenburg County Com-

missionerPeter Safi r, Mecklenburg County Govern-

mentAllison Schweizer, Parent Rep.Kelley Smith, Parent Rep.David Snider, Foundation for the CarolinasPhelps Sprinkle, Topics Education

FY11-12 Board Offi cers

Robert Furr, Chair, NC Cooperative Extension ServiceNathan Clark, Vice-Chair Glenda Woolf, Treasurer, Woolf TaxKelly Stewart, Secretary, The Federal Reserve BankTimika Shafeek-Horton, Past Chair,

Duke Energy Corp.

Glenda Bernhardt, Junior LeagueStephanie Civers, Stephanie’s Sheltering Arms Day CareAnn Clark, Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Schools

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92% of students at CPCC

who took contextualized

developmental courses

passed with a C

or better.

Over 780 children received child care subsidies each

month, enabling them to enroll in 4 and 5 star early

care and education programs.

95% of children enrolled at Central Avenue Bilingual Preschool exhibited progress toward school readiness.

Nearly 70% of preschool-age children and babies in Mecklenburg County live in families where all care givers work outside the home. Therefore, over 79% of Smart Start’s funding is invested in Early Care & Education, including subsidy.

• Bank of America• Black Forest Books & Toys• Cardinal Lane Book Fairs• Children & Family Services Center• Civic Plus

• First United Methodist CDC• Foundation for the Carolinas• Starbucks Coffee• SunTrust Bank• Thompson Child & Family Focus

Please Note: Private donors are not listed.

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96% of classrooms participating in the Infant-

Toddler Quality Initiative received customized

intervention allowing them to increase program

quality as measured by Pre-Post Assessments.

100% of child care centers and family child care

homes in Star Guard: Quality Maintenance Initiative

increased or maintained their star rating after receiv-

ing group training, customized technical assistance,

98% of child care administrators participating in Directors’ Leadership

Academy achieved at least four goals from their action plan.

99% of child care facilities that worked with a Child Care Health Consultant

would recommend the program to other child care professionals. Partici-

pating child care centers and family child care homes created improvement

goals and received on-site training, consultation and educational materials

to assist them in making positive changes in their programs.

classroom materials/equipment and college coursework.

FAMILY SUPPORT Nurse-Family Partnership Raising a Reader Resource and Referral Right Start-Parent for Life Safe Journey’s Parents as Teachers Smart Start Healthy Families MecklenburgSupport for Homeless Families with Preschool ChildrenThe Incredible YearsYMCA Parents as Teachers

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HEALTH Polliwog Project Presbyterian Hospital Early Childhood Intervention

EARLY CARE & EDUCATION Central Avenue Bilingual Preschool Child Care Health Consultants Child Care Subsidy Director’s Leadership Academy Early Childhood Teacher Education Easter Seals UCP Children’s Center Healthy Futures Starting in the Kitchen Infant Toddler Quality Initiative Lakewood Preschool Cooperative North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K)Reach for the StarsSmart Start Education Award & Textbook SupportSmart Start Rewarding ExcellenceSmart Start Success @ Online LearningStar Guard: Quality Maintenance InitiativeThe Learning CollaborativeThompson Child Development Center

OTHER Parent and Community EducationProgram Evaluation/Management

Poor health can hinder a young child’s growth, educa-tion and development, thereby preventing them from achieving their full potential when they enter school. Smart Start funds programs to reduce health risks, identify children with unmet health concerns, and help young children obtain the services they need to be successful.

303 infants and children were referred to Children’s Developmental Services or the Health Department from Presbyterian Hospital’s Early Intervention Specialist.

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PtiaSidys

91% of children enrolled in the Polliwog Project who received behavioral support, including a DECA-C Assessment, shared an increase in protective factors and a decrease in behavioral concerns.

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Child Care Subsidy$5,278,069 (40.5%)

Administration$531,772 (4.1%)

Other$374,320 (2.9%)

Family Support$1,491,732 (11.4%)

Health & Safety

$552,688 (4.2%)

Non-Traditional Child Care Subsidy

$1,048,782 (8.0%)

Early Care &Education

$3,770,280 (28.9%)

Fiscal Year 2011-2012Expenditures