Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council Inc

EQUIPPING LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES.

ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM:LIHEAP: THE MONTHLY COSTS REPORT FOR PY22 SHOWS A YEAR-END TOTAL APPLICATION COUNT OF 4,472 WITH A TOTAL CLIENT PAYMENT AMOUNT OF $3,524,126. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 552 APPLICATIONS AND AN INCREASED PAYMENT AMOUNT OF $536,242 FROM THE YEAR-END MONTHLY COST REPORT FROM PY2021. OUR AGENCY HAD AN APPLICATION APPROVAL RATE OF OVER 80%. IN PY22, WE AGAIN RECEIVED FUNDING THROUGH THE UTILITY DISCONNECTION AVOIDANCE PROGRAM (UDAP) TO ASSIST CLIENTS STRUGGLING WITH INCREASED ENERGY COSTS. WESTERN EGYPTIAN RECEIVED CLIENT BENEFITS TOTALING $752,318.20 THROUGH UDAP2. ADDITIONALLY, FUNDING WAS RECEIVED THROUGH THE STATE FOR A SUMMER SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFIT WHICH PROVIDED CURRENT LIHEAP RECIPENTS WITH A $200 CREDIT WHICH WAS PAID DIRECTLY TO THEIR UTILITY VENDOR. OUTREACH OFFICES REMAINED CLOSED TO THE PUBLICE NUT WERE FULLY STAFFED EACH DAY. OUTREACH STAFF WERE ABLE TO ASSIST CLIENT VIA TELEPHONE, EMAIL, FAX, US MAIL AND BY UTILIZING DROP BOXES AT EACH OFFICE. FURNACES: THE PY22 FURNACE VOUCHER PROGRAM WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. THE NEW VOUCHER OPTION MADE THE PROCESS SIMPLER FOR THE AGENCY, CLIENT AND CONTRACTOR. WE WERE ABLE TO REPAIR 11 FURNACES AND REPLACE 26 FURNACES. WE ALSO DID AN ADDITIONAL 3 ASSESSMENTS THAT WERE OTHERWISE RESOLVED. THE TOTAL CLIENT BENEFITS FROM THE FURNACE PROGRAM WERE $122,594.61. PIPP: WE ENDED THE FISCAL YEAR WITH A TOTAL OF 701 ACTIVE PIPP CLIENTS WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 200 CLIENTS FROM THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR. PIPP CLIENTS BEGAIN RECEIVING RECERTIFICATION LETTERS FROM THE STATE AS OF JULY 1 AND LIHEAP STAFF ARE CURRENTLY TAKING APPOINTMENTS NOW TO DO THE RECERTIFICATIONS.

HEAD START PROGRAM: HEAD START PROGRAM: PROVIDES LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT ASSIST CHILDREN TO DEVELOP SOCIALLY, EMOTIONALLY, INTELLECTUALLY AND PHYSICALLY IN A MANNER APPROPRIATE IN AGE AND STAFE DEVELOPMENT. PROVIDES AN INDIVIDUAL APPROACH BY ASSESSING EACH CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT LEVEL AND ALIGNING A CIRRICULUM PLAN AND PROGRESS MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL MAXIMIZE SCHOOL READINESS SUCCESS. ENGAGES IN MUTUALLY RESPECTFUL GOAL-ORIENTED PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES TO PROMOTE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS AND WELL-BEING. PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PROGRAM THAT PROMOTES PREVENTION, EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVENTION AND REFERRAL SERVICES. FACILITATES NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT SUPPORT FAMILIES' STRENGTHS, INTERESTS AND NEEDS. COLLECTS AND ANALYZES OUTCOME DATA TO IMPLEMENT PLANS THAT REFLECT THE DESIRE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRAM PLANNING AND EVALUATION. RESULTS AND KEY BENEFTIS FROM 2021-22: WESTERN EGYPTIAN EOC HEAD START PROGRAM PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WITH LOW-INCOME. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO SERVICE THE TRI-COUNTY AREAS OF MONROE, RANDOLPH AND PERRY COUNTIES IN ILLINOIS WITH FUNDING FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVIES. THE HEAD START PROGRAM PARTICIPATES IN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM. CHILDREN IN FULL-TIME DAY CARE ARE SERVED BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND AFTERNOON SNACK. THERE ARE TWO CLASSROOMS THAT ARE FULL-DAY PART-YEAR. THESE CLASSROOMS ARE OPERATED 146 DAYS IN THE SERVICE YEAR. THE 10 PART-YEAR, PART-DAY CLASSROOMS PROVIDE TRADITIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOS SETTING WITH CLASSROOM IN FOUR HEAD START LOCATIONS FUNDED TO SERVE 166 CHILDREN. THE PART-YEAR CENTERS ARE OPERATED 128 DAYS IN THE SERVICE YEAR. DOOR-TO-DOOR BUS TRANSPORTATION IS PROVIDED FOR ALL CHILDREN IN THE PART-YEAR PROGRAM OPTION. CLASSROOMS HAVE RETURNED TO PRE-COVID19 SCHEDULING.

SENIOR PROGRAMS: PROVIDED NUTRITION, TRANSPORTATION, EMPLOYMENT, REFERREL AND HEALTH SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS OVER 60 YEARS APPROXIMATELY 400 SENIORS WERE SERVED. THE AMOUNT OF SENIORS SERVED WAS AFFECTED DUE TO THE COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS OF NOT ALLOWING SENIORS TO ENTER THE SITES. HOWEVER, THE SITES HAVE REOPENED AND EXPECT NUMBER OF CLIENTS TO INCREASE THE NEXT FY.

WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM:DURING THE PROGRAM YEAR, WEEOC COMPLETED 40 HOMES IN THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM COMPARED TO 28 HOMES THE YEAR BEFORE AND SPEND $556,750.91 COMPLETELY EXHAUSTING ALL OF THE FEDERAL FUNDING WE RECEIVED AND ALLOCATED 78% OF THE HHS GRANT (MATERIAL AND LABOR) AND 96% OF THE STATE GRANT (MATERIAL AND LABOR). WE NOW HAVE CONTRACTORS IN PLACE FOR ALL FACETS OF THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM AND ARE OPTIMISTRIC THAT THOSE GRANTS WILL BE EXHAUSTED AS WELL. THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM HAS EVERYTHING IN PLACE TO CONTINUE PRODUCTION AND FORESEE NO ISSUES WITH EXHAUSTING OUR GRANTS GOING FORWARD.