Bradford-Tioga Head Start Inc

TO PROVIDE HEAD START, EARLY HEAD START, AND PRE-K SERVICES.

BRADFORD-TIOGA HEAD START, INC. PROVIDES THREE PRIMARY PROGRAMS: HEAD START, EARLY HEAD START, AND PA PRE-K COUNTS. HEAD START IS A FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDED PROGRAM AND PA PRE-K COUNTS IS A STATE-FUNDED PROGRAM; ALL OF WHICH ARE AT NO COST TO FAMILIES. ALL PROGRAMS PROMOTE SCHOOL READINESS BY ENHANCING THE SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN THROUGH THE PROVISION OF EDUCATIONAL, HEALTH, NUTRITIONAL, SOCIAL, AND OTHER SERVICES TO ENROLLED CHILDREN (AGES 3-5) AND THEIR FAMILIES. EARLY HEAD START (EHS) IS A FEDERAL HOME-BASED PROGRAM OFFERED AT NO COST THAT PROVIDES PARENTING SKILLS DURING PERSONALIZED WEEKLY VISITS. EHS PROVIDES EDUCATION AS WELL AS FREE HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND SOCIAL SERVICES. CONTINUED ON SCH. OTHE PROGRAM CONTINUES TO HAVE NINETEEN (19) CLASSROOMS FOR FEDERAL HEAD START, STATE HEAD START, AND PA PRE-K COUNTS AND SIX (6) SERVICE AREAS FOR EARLY HEAD START.THE 2021-22 PROGRAM YEAR BEGAN WITH ALL BRADFORD-TIOGA HEAD START, INC.'S CLASSROOMS PROVIDING 5.5 TO 5.75 HOURS A DAY, 180 DAYS A YEAR TO CHILDREN. THIS PROVIDED EACH CHILD WITH 990 HOURS OR 1,020 HOURS A YEAR (INCREASED FROM 455 HOURS/YEAR IN THE 2016-17 YEAR). THE HEAD START PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REQUIRE THAT BY AUGUST 2021, 45% OF A PROGRAM'S CLASSROOMS MUST PROVIDE 1,020 HOURS OF PROGRAMMING EACH YEAR. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTINUED THROUGH THE 2021-22 PROGRAM YEAR, AND THE YEAR BEGAN WITH IN-PERSON SERVICES BEING PROVIDED; HOWEVER, ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, THE PROGRAM PIVOTED TO REMOTE SERVICES DUE TO COVID-19 ISSUES. THE PROGRAM DEVELOPED A FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTION PLAN (FIP) THAT WAS DEVELOPED AND APPROVED FOR BOTH FEDERAL HEAD START AND STATE HSSAP AND PA PRE-K PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE FLEXIBILITIES SUCH AS PIVOTING TO REMOTE LEARNING, WHEN NECESSARY. THE FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTION PLAN WAS REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE OFFICE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING. IN HEAD START/PRE-K, 85% OF THE FAMILIES COMPLETED THEIR FAMILY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS. SCHOOL READINESS CONTINUED TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT FOR BRADFORD-TIOGA HEAD START, INC. IN HEAD START AND PA PRE-K COUNTS FOR THE 2021-22 YEAR. AT THE END OF THE YEAR, 93% OF HEAD START/PRE-K CHILDREN MET OR EXCEEDED IN THE SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL AREA AND 91% MET OR EXCEEDED IN APPROACHES TO LEARNING. OVERALL, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT SCHOOL READINESS GAINS IN THE 2021-22 PROGRAM YEAR EVEN THOUGH SOME PROGRAMMING WAS PROVIDED REMOTELY. THE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES THAT CHILDREN ARE SERVED BEST BY IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERACTIONS AND SOCIALIZATIONS. OTHER AREAS TO NOTE FOR MEETING OR EXCEEDING INCLUDE LANGUAGE/LITERACY WAS AT 87%; COGNITION WAS AT 87%. IN THE EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM, THE HIGHEST SCHOOL READINESS ACHIEVEMENT WAS IN THE COGNITIVE AREA WITH 97% OF CHILDREN MEETING OR EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS AND APPROACHES TO LEARNING WAS AT 94%. THE LOWEST TWO AREAS FOR THOSE CHILDREN ENROLLED IN EARLY HEAD START WERE LANGUAGE/LITERACY (87%) AND SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL (83%) WHICH WERE VERY SIMILAR TO THE 2020-21 PROGRAM YEAR. FOR THE 2021-22-YEAR, EARLY HEAD START FAMILY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (FPA) OUTCOMES SHOWED THAT 83% OF FAMILIES COMPLETED THEIR FPA'S. REGARDING HEALTH SERVICES, 92% OF HEAD START/PRE-K CHILDREN AND 84% OF EARLY HEAD START CHILDREN HAD UP-TO-DATE IMMUNIZATIONS. DENTAL CARE IS A PRIMARY AREA OF NEED, AND RECORDS INDICATE THAT 76% OF HEAD START/PRE-K CHILDREN HAD A DENTAL HOME; ONLY 18% OF EARLY HEAD START CHILDREN HAD A DENTAL HOME. DUE TO COVID-19, MANY PROGRAM PROCEDURES WERE UPDATED/CHANGED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF FAMILIES, STAFF, AND CHILDREN. THE PROGRAM PURCHASED MANY IT DEVICES INCLUDING LAPTOPS, IPADS, AND CHROMEBOOKS IN ORDER FOR STAFF AND FAMILIES TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE WHEN THE PROGRAM PIVOTED TO REMOTE PROGRAMMING. MANY MEETINGS WERE HELD VIRTUALLY, WHICH INCLUDED POLICY COUNCIL, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, STAFF, MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISOR/COORDINATOR, STAFF WELLNESS, EARLY EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES, SAFETY, COVID TEAM, AND MANY OTHERS. THE PROGRAM COLLECTED AND TRACKED MUCH COVID-19 DATA DURING THE 2021-22 YEAR TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION OF THE TYPES OF SERVICES THAT WERE PROVIDED AND THE IMPACT ON THE PROGRAM, FAMILIES, AND STAFF.THE PROGRAM NOW EMPLOYS APPROXIMATELY 105 STAFF WHEN ALL POSITIONS ARE FILLED. STAFF TURNOVER CONTINUES TO REMAIN LOW FOR THE PROGRAM JUST AVERAGING AROUND 1.28% EACH YEAR. ALL INJURIES AND/OR ACCIDENTS INDICATED MOST STAFF INCIDENTS WERE MINOR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. CHILD TURNOVER FOR EARLY HEAD START WAS AT 2%, WHICH REMAINED THE SAME WHEN COMPARED TO 2020-21, AND HEAD START/PRE-K WAS AT 2% FOR THE PROGRAM YEAR.STAFF WELLNESS IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT THAT CONTINUES IN THE PROGRAM. BRADFORD-TIOGA HEAD START, INC. PROVIDES FLU SHOTS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS TO ALL STAFF, A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER INCORPORATES WELLNESS AS WELL AS SAFETY TIPS, THE MEDICAL INSURANCE PROGRAM PROVIDES WELLNESS COACHES, AND AN EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP) IS OFFERED THROUGH THE EMPLOYEE INSURANCE PLAN. IN THE 2021-22 PROGRAM YEAR, EMPLOYEES WERE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A STEPS CHALLENGE PROGRAM WHICH ENCOURAGED EACH PARTICIPANT TO WALK 10,000 STEPS A DAY. PRIZES WERE PROVIDED FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. A WATER CHALLENGE PROGRAM WAS ALSO OFFERED WHERE STAFF WERE ENCOURAGED TO DRINK AT LEAST 64 FLUID OUNCES OF WATER A DAY, AND PRIZES WERE PROVIDED. HEALTHY SNACKS AND MEALS WERE ENCOURAGED, AND THE PROGRAM CONTINUES TO PROVIDE EDUCATION AND TRAININGS TO SUPPORT THE OUTCOMES OF THE 2018 EMPLOYEES' HEALTH RISK APPRAISALS WHICH INDICATED THE TOP AREAS OF FOCUS ARE HYPERTENSION/PRE-HYPERTENSION 82%; BORDERLINE/HIGH CHOLESTEROL 68%; OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY 67%; DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS 35%, AND FREQUENT STRESS 32%. THE EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER PROVIDES A WELLNESS TOPIC ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND THE WELLNESS TEAM PROVIDES OUTREACH OF ITEMS TO STAFF FOR THOSE MONTHLY TOPICS. AS AN EXAMPLE, A "SUMMER KIT" WAS PROVIDED WHICH INCLUDED SUNSCREEN, LIP BALM, BEACH BAG AND SUN TENT. A STAFF SATISFACTION SURVEY IS CONDUCTED EVERY THREE YEARS AND THE MOST RECENT SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN MAY 2021. THE OUTCOMES INDICATED THAT STAFF ARE VERY SATISFIED WITH THEIR EMPLOYMENT WITH BRADFORD-TIOGA HEAD START, INC. TWENTY-THREE OUT OF TWENTY-FOUR AREAS THAT WERE SURVEYED, INCLUDING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, TRAINING, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND OVERALL JOB SATISFACTION, WERE RATED AT LEAST AT A 90% AGREE/STRONGLY AGREE SATISFACTION LEVEL, AND THE ONE AREA TO STRENGTHEN INCLUDES COMPETITIVE PAY (OUTCOME OF 60 % AGREED/STRONGLY AGREED). EIGHTY-ONE (81) OUT OF 103 STAFF PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY. THE PROGRAM PARTICIPATES IN SALARY/BENEFIT SURVEYS TO HAVE COMPARABLE DATA AND CONTINUES TO IDENTIFY IF ANY SALARY PAY SCALES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR UPDATES.THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REMAINS SOLID. THE DIRECTOR WHO HAS FULFILLED THE HEAD START PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARD REQUIREMENT OF BEING A LICENSED ATTORNEY HAS RESIGNED FROM THIS ROLE DUE TO SOME HEALTH ISSUES; HOWEVER, A NEW DIRECTOR WHO IS A LICENSED ATTORNEY JOINED THE BOARD IN AUGUST 2021. THE CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON REMAINED STABLE FOR THE 2021-22 YEAR; THE BOARD IS CURRENTLY AT A 10-MEMBER COMPOSITION.