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Community Child Care Early Head Start Head Start PEEK Child Care Information Services Employer Services Locations Contact Us Home |
Oustanding Federal ReviewThe nine member federal team determined that the SUMCD programs are operating in full compliance with all federal laws and regulations. Head Start (for ages 3-5) and Early Head Start (pregnant women and infants and toddlers) programs provide comprehensive early childhood development and family support services to enhance growth and development of young children which will lead to greater success in school and later life. Both of these programs are directed at families with young children living at or below the poverty line. The programs are 80% federally funded with 20% local support towards program operations. In Snyder, Union, and Mifflin counties 377 children/families are enrolled in Head Start and 114 children/families or pregnant women are enrolled in Early Head Start. The team noted several outstanding areas. First, SUMCD demonstrated exemplary best practices in its inclusion of children with disabilities. Sharon Koppel, executive director, explains, “For more than 10 years we have collaborated with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit and the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit to provide services to children with disabilities within our Head Start and Child Care programs. Our positive and cooperative relationship has provided high quality early childhood education and early intervention services to hundreds of children and has also been upheld as a model within the state.” At least 10% of the children served in Head Start and Early Head Start must have identified disabilities. SUMCD serves over 25% with disabilities. The partnership between SUMCD and the Intermediate Units means that federal and state dollars are used efficiently so there is no duplication of services and no concerns over who serves which children. All eligible children receive the maximum services possible, coordinated with professional staff from both programs, and provided in their Head Start or Child Care classroom. A second outstanding finding was the high quality of relationships between SUMCD and its many community partners. Head Start and Early Head Start programs are expected to work closely with all medical and human service providers. The federal team noted that in addition to these typical community partners in the community, SUMCD has also developed partnerships with Susquehanna University and Evangelical Community Hospital. Almost 30 community partners met with federal team members during their on-site evaluation review. Participants indicated that SUMCD provides strong progressive leadership in how services are provided to children and families. Changes over the past several years have included a greater focus on social emotional development of children to prevent future mental health problems and the increased education focus of dental providers. Interviews with Head Start and Early Head Start families identified the frequent referrals to community agencies by SUMCD staff as they help families learn to help themselves to reach out of poverty. The third area of commendation was for SUMCD’s development and broad use of a web-based child and family data system. This system tracks service delivery and regulation compliance, and provides effective ways to monitor and report on services allowing timely decision making to ensure high quality programs. During the on-site evaluation review team members observed classes, rode Head Start buses, attended several family day events, participated in several home visits and conducted group interviews with families. The team visited all 10 service delivery sites plus several office locations to talk with staff. An important part of the evaluation was the review of randomly selected children/family files and staff personnel files. Ms. Koppel reports that the federal reviews are very thorough and intense during both the week of the review and the weeks leading up to the review. “We are always relieved when the review is finished and we are especially pleased that the team observed and documented what we felt was true, that we have excellent Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Snyder, Union, and Mifflin counties.” For more information about either program visit the SUMCD webpage at www.sumcd.org or call 570-966-2845 in Snyder and Union counties, 717-242-3032 in Mifflin County. |
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