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BENNINGTON COUNTY HEAD STARTCOMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT Update 20181876425-63500BENNINGTON COUNTY HEAD START 2018 COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENINTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEWBennington County is located in the Southwestern corner of the state of Vermont, bordering the states of Massachusetts to the south and New York to the west. Although Bennington County is considered a rural area, there are two population concentrations in the towns of Manchester and Bennington, with Bennington’s population ranking sixth highest in the state.Historically, Bennington County has been divided in geography, resources and culture, to an extent, into the Northshire and the Southshire. The towns making up the Northshire include Manchester, Dorset, Sunderland, Arlington, Pawlet and Sandgate. The Southshire consists of the County’s southernmost towns: Shaftsbury, Bennington, Pownal and Woodford. The area served by Bennington County Head Start begins in Pownal and extends north to Dorset. The towns of Readsboro, Searsburg and Stamford are geographically isolated from the rest of Bennington County. Residents of these mountain towns receive social services from nearby North Adams, Massachusetts.Bennington County Head Start has been serving families in Bennington County for nearly fifty years. It is one of the smallest Head Start programs in the state of Vermont, serving 121 preschoolers and forty-eight infants, toddlers and their families. The program works in partnership with the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union to serve approximately ninety-four three and four-year olds through Act 61 State-funded public pre-k. Bennington County Head Start is affiliated with United Children’s Services (UCH) of Bennington County, which serves as Head Start’s grantee organization. We also leverage multiple funding services from the Preschool Development Expansion Grant (PDEG), Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP), Universal Pre-K and our Base Grant to better serve our community. The administrative offices, four pre-k classrooms and two EHS classrooms are in North Bennington across the street from the historic Park McCullough House. The facilities include a restored historical landmark and a new addition built in 2015. The campus is now open from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and can accommodate 68 pre-k children and 16 EHS children between the two buildings. This site offers a full-day/full-year program that includes summer and school vacation care. Bennington County Head Start currently serves children from eight school districts, including: Bennington, Shaftsbury, Pownal, Woodford, North Bennington, Arlington, Manchester and Windham Southwest.Approximately thirteen miles south of North Bennington, the Bennington County Head Start Pownal facility is located next to the Pownal Elementary School and is open from 8:00am until 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. The Pownal School District adopted Act 62 Public Pre-K in 2013. In the 2016-2017 schoolyear, all seventeen students enrolled are part of the pre-k partnership. Fourteen to twenty-four students in the Southshire of Bennington County are placed with two child care partners. One of these centers, Shaftsbury Early Childhood Center, is located in Shaftsbury, just two miles from the North Bennington Head Start facility. The other child care partner site, Forever Friends, is a licensed home-based program in Bennington. These partnership programs operate year-round and their hours of operation vary depending on the needs of the families. In the Fall of 2016, BCHS increased its number of Head Start slots in each of these partner sites, now occupying up to twelve full-time slots at both Forever Friends and Shaftsbury Early Childhood Center.In March of 2017, Bennington County Head Start was awarded an Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grant. The grant allows BCHS to expand by thirty-two infant and toddler slots, and partner with Oak Hill Children’s Center in Pownal and United Counseling Services Infant-Toddler Center for a total of sixteen partnership slots. To accommodate the increased number of classrooms, BCHS is renting an additional facility, the River Road Center, less than a mile down the road from the North Bennington main campus. This new center houses two infant-toddler classrooms with 8 children in each room and one preschool classroom with up to 14 preschoolers. BCHS hopes to find a more centrally-located, accessible center in downtown Bennington to relocate these classrooms as well as expand capacity for preschoolers, infants and toddlers. NORTHSHIRE COLLABORATIONThe Northshire Head Start program is a locally designed collaboration serving the town of Manchester. Head Start works in partnership with the Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU), and the Manchester Elementary-Middle School (MEMS) to provide a comprehensive early education experience for area children and their families.MEMS houses an Early Education program that encompasses a universal pre-K program; special education services to eligible children; and Head Start services. Head Start has a contract with MEMS for up to thirteen slots, so up to 33% of the children served by this program are also enrolled in Head Start. Through this collaboration, children served by Bennington County Head Start receive wrap-around services that include health and developmental screenings, home visits and family supports.DIRECT SERVICES PROVIDEDBennington County Head Start implements the Teaching Strategies Gold curriculum and online planning and assessment system. This system was formerly , now , and aligns with the nine domains of the Head Start Frameworks, and Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS). Children’s progress is assessed three times per school year. Individualized goals are created in collaboration with parents and are based on the results of these assessments. All children enrolled in Bennington County Head Start are also given a developmental screening (DIAL, ESI or ASQSE) within the first forty-five days of entering the program.If it is determined that a child needs an Individual Education Plan (IEP), the Education and Disabilities manager works closely with parents, teachers and local and state education agencies to provide accommodations and individualization according to their special needs. The goal of the Head Start kindergarten transition process is to work together with the family, teachers and elementary school staff to provide information and resources to make the transition from Head Start to Kindergarten a positive experience for both the parents and the child, and to encourage continuity of services and strategies for success. All Head Start centers offer full-day services. In the Fall of 2015, BCHS extended hours of care at the North Bennington Center from 8am to 4pm to 7:30am to 4:30pm in response to the expressed needs of the families served. The River Road facility is also open 7:30am to 4:30pm. This option was considered for the Pownal Head Start facility as well, however the need was not presented by families with children attending that year. Bennington County Head Start continues to assess the needs of incoming children and their families on an annual basis and will reassess hours of operation accordingly if and when a significant need is identified. Starting in 2011, all Head Start centers began offering full-year services. The Summer Program for preschoolers runs from mid-June to mid-August. Although affiliated with Bennington County Head Start, the Summer Program is tuition-funded. During the summer, the preschool education-based curriculum is more relaxed as children enjoy increased outdoor time and field trips. Summer slots are first offered to children already enrolled in the Head Start school year program. After all children from Head Start who have expressed interest are enrolled and placed in the Summer Program, enrollment is then opened to the community. Early Head Start is a full-day, full-year program.The afternoon portions of the full-day/school year Head Start Program and the Summer Program are tuition-funded. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to apply for child care subsidy through the Bennington County Child Care Association (BCCCA) office. 68580522732000The health manager works with families and medical staff in the community to provide vision and hearing screenings for all the children enrolled in Head Start. Together with education and family service staff, the health manager promotes child and family wellness, including: providing nutrition services, working with family and community to meet nutritional needs, providing education on the importance of good nutrition and regular activity, ensuring that Individual Health Plans are created and followed, insuring healthy hand-washing and teeth-brushing practices, and establishing medical and dental homes for each child. The health manager coordinates the Health Advisory Committee meetings three times each year. The committee is made up of representatives from the local dental and medical fields, Head Start parents and staff and community members. The committee works to share local data and address community health issues as they relate to the families we serve. Each child enrolled in the program receives breakfast and lunch every day, except for children attending half days at the MEMS location, where only breakfast is served. Children enrolled in full-day programs also receive a nutritious snack in the afternoon. All programs participate in either the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), National School Lunch Program, or Bennington Rutland Opportunity Council (BROC) to provide nutritious meals and improve the diets of children ages twelve and under. In the summer of 2017, Bennington County Head Start staff attended training and prepared to launch a new Farm to School initiative into eh 2018-2019. Building on program strengths and strategies already implemented, BCHS centers have enhanced their menus with increased locally-sourced foods, integrated Farm to School information and practices into welcoming activities, and plan to roll out more Farm to School initiatives in the upcoming school year. In the Fall of 2015, health and family service staff began offering a five “Cooking Clubs” for parents and children in order to strengthen the connection between home and school around nutrition. The Cooking Club complemented the new partnership between the North Bennington Head Start Campus and the Friends of Hiland Hall Gardens, through which children venture weekly to the bountiful gardens located on the ground of the historic Park McCullough House to take part in growing, harvesting and consuming local produce. Additionally, parent participants enrolled in WIC can fulfill WIC education requirements by attending the Head Start Cooking Club. The Cooking Club is going strong, alternating between North Bennington and Pownal centers. Aside from the annual Fall Soccer Clinic, Cooking Club is the most highly-attended parent involvement activity offered.The Bennington County Head Start Health and Family Service Staff also offer an “Explorer’s Club” for children and their families. This club runs weekly during the months of October and May giving Head Start children, parents and staff the opportunity to explore local natural resources such as conservation lands and nature trails.In January of 2016, BCHS entered into a contract supported by PDEG Grant funding with Dr. Bob Hemmer, Psy.D., for mental health consultation. Dr. Bob provides one-on-one and small group mental health services to identified children every Monday and Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoons, he is available for parent and staff consultation. Dr. Hemmer completes classroom observations and provides parent and staff mental health trainings for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.Dr. Hemmer will work with a clinical intern throughout the 2018-2019 schoolyear. The intern will receive documented clinical supervision, while providing services at Head Start sites twenty hours each week. The intern will assist in providing training and will provide group therapy for children at partners sites and a Kin Care Support Group for caregivers under Dr. Hemmer’s supervision. In the Fall of 2018, Dr. Hemmer began facilitating the Family Connections training modules for staff of Early Head Start and will continue to provide the modules throughout the 2018-2019 school year. In July 2018 BCHS implemented the Edinburgh Maternal Depression Screener and a protocol for supporting parents identified as high-risk. The screener is completed at registration for any mother who has given birth to a child in the past two years.Head Start also offers resources and referrals for mental health and works closely with Children’s Integrated Services (CIS) through United Counseling Services (UCS) and Sunrise Family Resource Center. CIS staff works with families in their homes in addition to observing the children in the classroom and providing assistance to the Head Start staff. Bennington County Head Start emphasizes the importance of child wellness, mental health and resiliency throughout the year. In the Fall of 2013, Head Start began implementing the Pre-school Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA). Teachers now complete a DECA for each child in the Fall, Winter and Spring. Parents also complete a DECA (through interview with their Family Support Worker) for their child(ren) in the Fall. Teachers evaluate each child’s strengths and needs for improvement and use the data and parent input to form a “DECA Goal” each trimester. Parents are given resources to help further develop their child’s resiliency at home. As other early childhood programs in the area adopt this assessment tool, the hope is to use the data to its full potential when children transition into and out of the program.Family Support Workers (FSWs) work with all Head Start families, as well as the staff from other agencies within the community to assist families in achieving their goals and meeting their family’s unique needs. In addition to being primary contacts for families in crisis, FSWs conduct regular home visits with all Head Start participants throughout the year to re-assess needs and update family goals.Family involvement programs are offered based on parents’ responses to interest surveys and discussions with families throughout the year.To support literacy in the home, the Read to Me program takes place each year. This program is a three-part series that gives parents strategies for reading with their children at home, as well as several books to take home. Families are also encouraged to complete and submit monthly Reading Logs. Each month, children who submit a completed log (ten books) receive a free book to bring home.In the 2017/2018 school year, to better support parents as leaders of their family and their child’s first teacher BCHS have implemented the Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, curriculum. This curriculum includes ten sessions that foster family well-being, advocacy, and school readiness through: early childhood development, literacy, numeracy, bilingualism, health, attendance, civic engagement, leadership and goal setting. In conjunction with the Opening Doors sessions we integrate a cooking club during the nutrition session along with other complementary activities (vision boarding, budgeting, stress reduction, meetings with Parent Teacher Association members from public schools, etc.). Parenting programs offered have been in collaboration with BCCCA, Sunrise Family Resource Center, CIS and Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. Head Start-sponsored workshops offered have included Women’s Gun Safety, Literacy Nights, Managing Challenging Behavior, Let’s Grow Kids advocacy event, What to Do When Your Child Is Sick and more. In October of 2018 BCHS is offering an Oral Health Bash that will offer parent-child activities, healthy snacks and movement while parents receive training on healthy oral health practices and positive sleep practices for young children. Bennington County Head Start continues to host Infant-Toddler Playgroups with funding from Building Bright Futures Regional Council. We specifically reach out to infant and toddlers on our wait list along with infant and toddlers in the community.DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION -- ELIGIBLE CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIESAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.3% of the population is under the age of five years, 2.4% of residents identified as Hispanic/Latino and 2.9% identified as two or more races in the town of Bennington. BCHS enrollment in 2017-2018 reflected higher percentages of Hispanic/Latino (9% for Head Start and 10% for EHS) and children identifying as mixed race (9% for Head Start and 4% of EHS) than census estimates for the town. Most recent data states that 20.8% of children under the age of six years in Bennington County were living below poverty level. When looking at children under the age of six living under 200% of the FPL, the percentage in Bennington County jumps to 43%. The data above highlights the need for services not only for the 431 children experiencing extreme poverty (under 100% Federal Poverty Limit), but also the need to support the additional 473 children under the age of six years living on the brink of poverty (under 200% of the Federal Poverty Limit).Vermont Child Care Subsidy is available to help cover the cost of childcare for working families, families with special health needs, parents attending school, looking for work or families experiencing undue stress. All families receiving subsidy must meet income guidelines, and the amount of the voucher is based on income and hours needed. Some families do not qualify for subsidy vouchers due to a lack of “service need.” For example, if one parent is working but the other parent is unemployed, not in school and does not have a special health need that a physician will endorse, the child would not necessarily qualify for a child care subsidy voucher.While Child Care Financial Assistance Program is a helpful resource for eligible families, another barrier looms: accessibility and community capacity.OTHER CHILD CARE PROGRAMSAccording to Vermont’s Child Development Division, there are 40 licensed child care programs and 33 registered child care homes in Bennington County serving preschool-aged children in August of 2018. The maximum capacity for the licensed programs in Bennington County is 1,447 and 330 spots within the registered homes, which equals 1,777 for potential infant, toddler and preschool. In Bennington County there are 2,074 children under 5 which puts Bennington County families in difficult situations, competing for few childcare slots. All these programs accept payments from the Vermont State Child Care Subsidy Program; however, the amount of the approved subsidy for each family (a percentage based on income and service need) does not always cover the full cost of what providers charge. Many families have a co-payment. Childcare providers vary in quality as rated by the Vermont STep Ahead Recognition System. Only 14.2% of licensed or registered child care providers in Bennington County (including BCHS centers) receive the highest rating of 5 STARS. Subsidy is also accepted by Legally Exempt providers (of whom there are forty-one). Legally Exempt providers are not required to adhere to state regulations if the provider does not care for more than two families (unlimited children) at one time. The outlook for parents of infants and toddlers is particularly dire. Let’s Grow Kids Vermont reports that 78% of infants and 53% of toddlers in Bennington County are expected to need care and will not have access to high-quality services in 2018. Lack of consistent, high-quality child care not only hurts families trying to return to work or school after the birth of a child, but also makes it harder to recruit foster families for young children. The local Department of Children and Families: Family Services division reports a foster care crisis due to the severe shortage of foster homes in the community. In the past several years, some towns have added their own early education programs to the publicly-funded primary school. These towns include North Bennington, Manchester and Arlington. Bennington’s early education program serves a limited number of preschoolers on-site but is not the only Act 62 Universal Pre-K option for children residing in the Bennington School District. In 2013 the BSD elected to partner with existing, qualified pre-k programs to offer preschool choice to families of eligible four-year olds. Beginning in September 2016, three-year olds are also eligible for universal pre-k, per Vermont legislation passed in 2014. According to data provided by the Early Childhood Education Program for the Southwestern Vermont Supervisory Union, there are currently 391 slots available for the 396 known three and four-year-olds, public pre-k-eligible students in the SVSU. These slots are offered among sixteen community providers, ninety-four of which are provided by Bennington County Head Start. MEMS, Fisher Elementary (Arlington) and the Village School of North Bennington offer universal pre-K programs within the primary school. Shaftsbury, Pownal, Bennington and Woodford have partnerships with Bennington County Head Start or existing child care/ universal pre-K providers to partially fund four-year-old children in their districts attending universal pre-K programs.CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIESAccording to representatives from SVSU, BVSU and BRSU, there were 131 children under the age of five receiving services through Individual Education Plans (IEP) in 2017-2018 (fig.1 below). In the 2016-2017 school year, Bennington County Head Start served thirteen children with formal IEPs. In the 2017-2018 schoolyear, BCHS served fifteen children with formal IEP’s. Although preschool children (ages three to five years) with special needs are served through Individualized Education Plans and supported by the supervisory unions, there is a different avenue of service for children suspected of having disabilities under the age of three years. These children are served by Early Intervention (EI) services, a service supervised by Children’s Integrated Services. EI develops and Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) which can include speech, physical and occupational therapies, school readiness support and family case management. When the child turns three years of age, s/he is evaluated for IEP eligibility. If the child is found to be eligible, an IEP is established and the child is then served by supervisory union staff or contractors. In the fiscal year 2017, Early Intervention of Bennington County received 219 referrals. Of those, BCHS served 23 twenty-two. Children with special needs in the SVSU have a strong educational support system in the Early Childhood Program (ECP). The Head Start education and disabilities manager works closely with the SVSU ECP. Annual contracts are developed to ensure that the delivery of special education services is collaborative and best meets the needs of the programs and families.If a child comes to Bennington County Head Start on an IEP or transitioning from an IFSP to an IEP, a transition meeting is held with the parents, Head Start staff, ECP staff and any other staff from agencies that may be involved with the child.As part of Bennington County Head Start’s partnership with ECP, the following resources have been made available to children with disabilities and their families:Ongoing district-wide screenings that provide information to parents regarding their child’s development, as well as identifying children who are at-risk or suspected to be eligible for special education prehensive developmental evaluations conducted for children referred by the screening team or other sources (parents, physician, preschool, and child care) to determine eligibility status.An integrated preschool program on Division Street in Bennington town for eligible children. Children attend three to four days per week for two and a half to three hours each day. Consultation, training and speech therapy are available for children who may be at-risk for or in need of special education and are enrolled in area preschools/child care/Head Start or Sunrise Family Resource Center.Short-term consultation services to parents and/or preschool/ child care providers regarding behavioral or learning challenges presented by young children.Resource and referral services available within the SVSU for young children and families.Coordination of services with other existing public agencies including community collaboration and networking on various committees serving the needs of young children from birth to age six.Representation and consultation is provided to the CIS team – serving children with special needs under the age of three.Transition meetings between parents, school personnel and ECP staff to ensure a smooth transition to kindergarten.For students attending the MEMS program, all special education services are delivered within the school. Head Start staff work the school and family to provide additional resources and supports, to support special education referrals, and to ensure smooth transitions for children both entering the program and moving to kindergarten. Head Start staff takes part in developmental screenings and follow-up. Children’s Integrated Services reported 237 referrals were made from January 2017 to June 2017, that is up from 220 referrals made in July 2016 to December 2016. These referrals include services for NFP, EI, ECEFMH, family support, specialized child care and nursing. The following graph depicts the number of referrals for EI in Bennington County from 2014-2017. These numbers are expected to rise because the State of Vermont is now requiring any child who is taken into custody by the Department of Children and Families Family Services to conduct a developmental screening on each child.Count of EI Referrals in Bennington County 2014- 2017NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES During registration prior the beginning of each school year, Bennington County Head Start conducts a Family Needs Assessment (FNA) asking parents to identify supports and agencies with whom they are already working and to rate a list of areas of need as to whether each area is an Urgent Need, a Concern In the Next Three Months, a possible Need By The End of the Year, or Not A Need At All At This Time. The surveys are completed through an interview with family service staff and are used for program planning and home visit preparation.The top four outstanding areas of need identified by Head Start families in 2018 were Oral Health, Employment Services, Individual Counseling, and Transportation. Unlike in years past, Housing and Employment were not in the top three needs identified, despite several families being homeless and unemployed at registration.2018 Family Needs Assessment Results Self-Identified Needs** Areas thought to be highest of need for Head Start families as determined by community members in 2018Notes: Regarding the 2018 Data: This data represents 77 families that have thus far completed the FNA.Oral Health Oral Health has been an urgent area of need for the past several years. The local hospital, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), has opened a new three-chair dental practice. Their providers include the dentist we have worked most closely with in the past, Dr Michael Brady, who closed his school-based practice.? This has changed his accessibility for some of his patients. While it has placed his office further away from our two largest affordable housing developments, it has also expanded his access because he now has front desk staff and afternoon appointments.? During the transition to the new practice he was unavailable for appointments for a little over a month, and he also had hip replacement surgery early in the summer, resulting in families struggling with getting appointments promptly. ??????????? The new clinic at SVMC and the nearby Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Arlington, Battenkill Valley Health Center, are now accepting adults with Medicaid, significantly increasing access to dental care for adults in Bennington County.? Limits to Medicaid dental insurance coverage at $500 annually still often means that extractions are the only affordable treatment.? Even as access has improved attitudes about dental care being unimportant remain entrenched. Many families refuse to seek care until their teeth are painful and remain convinced that they, like their parents before them, will simply lose their teeth relatively early in life.? Despite the efforts of the Bennington Oral Health Coalition and the presence of scientific evidence, the town of Bennington voted against fluoridating its water supply in 2014, but the local Oral Health Coalition continues to supply oral health bags at public events, provide classroom instruction at local elementary schools using volunteers, and advocate for water fluoridation. ??????????? The Family Needs Assessment data echoes local data indicating the need for increased access to oral health services and employment services: 17.87% of SVMC patients living in Bennington County were reported to have had six or more teeth extracted, compared with 15.85% in the state according to the SVMC Community Health Needs Assessment Report 2015. EmploymentFamilies who indicated an urgent need for employment services reflect the reality that Bennington County had the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state in July 2018. Lack of adequate child care, low-to-negative business growth (the local Kmart branch closed its doors in August 2018) and lack of transportation all contribute to the high unemployment rate.FoodMany Head Start families receive 3SquaresVT (SNAP) benefits. However, most families receiving food subsidies report that the amount granted is not enough to support the family’s needs through the entire month. Several families report that their 3Squares last through the third week of the month, but that the last week of the month is often spent visiting local food shelves. According to, How are Vermont’s Young Children and Families? 2017 report, for two working parents with two children the estimated monthly food cost is $997.00, which further supports the struggle BCHS parents may take on.358602-7775900287020305752500In June 2018, EHS and HS attended the Farm to School (FTS) institute in Shelburne, Vermont. We are the first preschool program to be included in this initiative. While there our team developed a comprehensive Farm to School Action Plan that includes curriculum, local procurement, family and community connections, and outdoor learning spaces. We are going to introduce in the 2018/2019 school year a nutrition-based curriculum and provide students with experiential learning opportunities through farm visits, garden-based learning and composting. The curriculum that will be implemented will also include: taste testing when introducing new foods, hands-on cooking projects twice a month at HS and once a month with our EHS program, connecting more with families through recipes being sent home, newsletters about new foods the students are experiencing, and each HS classroom will do one FTS activity a week. The FTS initiatives will also be seen through the Harvest of the Month curriculum and integration into oral health, cooking club, and parent events.Individual Counseling/Mental Health ServicesWaiting lists for mental health services for children AND adults are weeks- and months-long in Bennington County. SVMC’s most recent Community Assessment reported that 27% of adult SVMC patients living in Bennington County have been told they have a depressive disorder, compared with in 22% in Vermont and 16.10% in New York. Perhaps due to the high Adverse Childhood Effects (ACE’s) associated with generational poverty. Head Start eligible-parents are particularly vulnerable to the lack of supports. According to the Vermont Agency of Human Services: Department of Mental Health, most clients served in Vermont lived in households earning under $30,000 annually. Mental Health continues to be an area of need for young children and their families. In the Fiscal Year 2016, the Early Childhood and Family Mental Health (ECFMH) program received forty referrals. Additionally, thirty-one referrals for Family Support were received by the Children’s Integrated Services Team. The referrals would have been even higher had Dr. Bob Hemmer not been serving the thirteen (fifteen in 2018-2018) children we referred to him at Bennington County Head Start. TransportationWith all of Bennington County Head Start’s centers being located outside of downtown Bennington, it remains difficult for families to transport their children. With only a limited public transportation bus line, transportation in general continues to be a high need in the community.Bennington County Head Start currently provides transportation services for a limited number of children. Limited by bus capacity, state regulations of the maximum amount of time a child can spend on the commute to school and a lack of funding, transportation is only offered to the North Bennington Head Start site. At enrollment, children with a high need for transportation are typically placed at the North Bennington location. The children offered bus services are then selected by severity of need and geographic location. Sometimes a child lives too far away from others for the Transportation Coordinator to be able to fit the stop into her forty-five-minute route. In August 2015, there were thirty-four requests for Head Start bus transportation, however only twenty-five slots were available. In 2017, through the Dose and Duration funds BCHS was able to purchase an additional bus which allowed for us to transport 22 more children to our BCHS location.Some children qualify for transportation services by Green Mountain Express (GMX) a local non-profit transportation agency that utilizes busses and vans, or M&P Transportation services, a private agency that contracts with Department of Children: Family Services. Head Start encourages parents to take advantage of community resources, though availability is limited. To qualify for alternate paid transportation (M&P or Green Mountain Express) the family must be involved with an approved by DCF Family Services, receive Special Health Needs child care subsidy (signed by a physician) or receive Family Support (temporary and limited) child care subsidy.In addition to struggling with transportation of their children to school, many families struggle with transportation to and from work and appointments. Increasing reports of suspended licenses and uninsured vehicles illustrate this crisis. Many parents reported that their driver’s licenses are suspended due to unpaid fines. A handful have never held a driver’s license. When the need is identified, Family Service Staff are quick to refer parents with unpaid fines to the Centers for Restorative Justice, which offers the opportunity for individuals to create a repayment plan through budget payments and/or community service. This program is limited in scope but seems to be the only resource available for families struggling to regain their license. Family Spending/BudgetingMany families cited the need to improve, build or repair their credit throughout the FNA Interviews. In the Fall of 2017, the Family Service staff attended an Agency of Human Services-sponsored training on budgeting. As a result, the FSW’s gained resources such as budgeting workbooks and tip sheets to help coach families setting budgeting goals through the year. BCHS Family Service Staff continue to refer families Bennignton-Rutland Opportunity Council, and highlight the monthly offerings of “Savvy Spending Solutions,” a workshop for parents interested in improving their spending and saving habits. The staff also highlight financial fitness as part of the parenting curriculum. Family/Parenting/ Behavior SupportMany Head Start families emphasized a need for more support around parenting and behaviors in young children. In response to this need BCHS implemented the Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors parenting curriculum to further support our families and their children.2017 saw an increase in child abuse investigations in Bennington County, which ranked fifth highest out of thirteen counties for numbers of reports accepted for intervention and third highest out of thirteen counties in numbers of cases opened for ongoing services.Unique Child Victims in Vermont 2005-2017Recognizing the increase in open Department of Children and Families (DCF) Family Services cases, as well as increases in children in foster care, BCHS continues to nurture close, collaborative relationships with the local DCF: Family Services department. Children in State’s custody take priority for enrollment and in 2017, BCHS/EHS served twelve children in foster care.Mental Health continues to be an area of need for young children and their families. In the Fiscal Year 2016, the Early Childhood and Family Mental Health (ECFMH) program received forty referrals. Additionally, thirty-one referrals for Family Support were received by the Children’s Integrated Services Team. The referrals would have been even higher had Dr. Bob Hemmer not been serving the thirteen (fifteen in 2018-2018) children we referred to him at Bennington County Head Start. Housing and HomelessnessThe need for additional housing supports is reinforced by the number of requests for emergency housing made to the Vermont 2-1-1 program. In June of 2017- June 2018 560 calls were made regarding housing and those constituted the highest volume of calls made to 2-1-1 from Bennington County up from 409 calls the previous year. In January of 2018 during a one-day count 1291 Vermont’s experienced homelessness which was an increase of 66 people statewide and of the 1291, 120 were from Bennington County. Of the 120 people that reported to be homeless in Bennington County, twenty-four of them were households with children. Thirty-two (increase of 21 from 2017 data) of the homeless people in Bennington County also reported themselves as suffering from a serious mental illness, underscoring the need not only for housing but also mental health supports (refer to fig. 2 and fig. 3.)866458447135300Fig. 2739775-63500497949712642Figure 3. Out of 130 people experiencing homelessness on the one-day count in January 2018, 91 of them were experiencing a chronic health condition.00Figure 3. Out of 130 people experiencing homelessness on the one-day count in January 2018, 91 of them were experiencing a chronic health condition.Fig. 3Homelessness isn’t the only problem under the housing “umbrella.” Between the months of June 2017 and June 2018 Vermont 2-1-1 logged 667 calls from people with concerns about basic needs such as food, utilities, and housing/shelter (560 of the 667 calls) that is an increase of 185 calls from the year before. 211Vermont’s, Refer Web Report also states for the year June 2017 to June 2018 the top unmet needs for Vermonters were homeless motel vouchers followed by low income/subsidized rental housing. 104521025717500551815421005000Affordable housing is a challenge for all parts of Bennington County, as evidenced by the percentage of renters paying greater than thirty percent in rental costs, leaving fewer funds to cover transportation, medical, utility and food costs. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priority, “over 13,000 low-income households in Vermont use federal rental assistance to rent modest housing at an affordable cost; at least 59% have extremely low incomes.” This furthers underscores that not only is Bennington County struggling but Vermont families are struggling with housing. 3524257937 AddictionOpiate addiction is an increasing concern in Bennington County. According to a VTDigger article:“State officials and health advocates are questioning the findings of a recent federal report that says Vermont has the nation's highest rate of new mothers who are opioid-dependent.The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says nearly 5 percent of women who were hospitalized in Vermont to give birth in 2014 had opioid use disorder. That's far above the national average of 0.65 percent.But the study's authors acknowledge limitations, both in the amount of data collected and in the possible reasons for state-by-state variations.The Vermont Health Department countered the CDC report with data showing a recent drop in the number of babies exposed to opioids. And when infants are exposed, officials say it's often because a mother is receiving medically supervised addiction treatment.”Regardless of whether Vermont is indeed the most prevalent in the nation, the problem of opiate addiction and children born to opiate-addicted or -treated mothers is a significant problem. Resources for parents suffering opiate addiction and seeking help are inconsistent; daily trips to the daily-dose treatment center in Brattleboro, Vermont is a challenge, (particularly for individuals without transportation or needing to commute over the mountain in winter months), there are limited physicians with the ability to prescribe medication assistance, and a promised treatment center taking the place of Designated Agency grant-funded supports does not have start date. BCHS staff continue to monitor this issue and to be part of the discussion around how to support afflicted children and families. In 2015-2016, the Family Services department of BCHS attended trainings on working with families affected by opiate addiction in the hopes of better understanding the needs of our families. In 2018, United Counseling Services added Nasal Narcan (an antidote to opiate overdose) to each of its site’s First Aid Kits. All staff are now receiving training in recognizing overdose and administering the Narcan. Substance abuse and its continued correlation in increasing the number of young children in custody continues to be an issue in the state of Vermont. According to the DCF Family and Services Division 2017 Annual Progress and Service Report the primary driver for this increase in children in custody is the use of heroin. The following table shows children who are in out-of-home care in MUNITY RESOURCESThe families served by Bennington County Head Start benefit from the priority the State of Vermont has placed on the wellbeing of young children. Nearly all children living in poverty have health insurance available to them. Children are not allowed to enter public school in Vermont unless they have been immunized or have an exemption stating immunizations were declined based on medical, moral, or religious reason. The Agency of Human Services measurements for social health include a significant emphasis on early health indicators. 11,335 households benefit from Vermont Department of Health WIC services which include hemoglobin levels, one-year-old lead levels, height and weight monitoring, nutrition education, and healthy food packages.Building Bright Futures (BBF), formerly Success-by-Six, is a program designed to strengthen and promote quality services for all young children through collaboration and coordination among programs. BBF aims to assure that all Vermont children are healthy and successful by improving the quality, affordability and accessibility of services for families with children under the age of six in the areas of health, early care and education. As a public/private partnership, BBF links community-based planning and program development with a state-level council charged with creating an integrated system of services.BBF activities in the Bennington County area have included literacy programs and the funding of parent activities and professional development opportunities.Bennington County is well served by Sunrise Family Resource Center, a parent-child center. Sunrise takes a family-centered approach to early childhood success. Its activities include early care and education services, home-based services, playgroups, parent education and support groups, drop-in resource and referral services, involvement in a wide range of community teams dealing with young children, adolescents, substance abuse, domestic violence, Reach Up Services, and Parents as Teachers.Vermont Child Care Subsidy is managed locally by the Bennington County Child Care Association (BCCCA). This agency also handles child care referrals and is a resource for parents and providers alike. BCCCA works with center and home providers to improve the quality of child care through regular professional development opportunities and by sponsoring an annual conference.UCS offers a myriad of programs to the community. Through the counseling and mental health component there are individual, family and group sessions, substance abuse services and Employee Assistance Programs for businesses in Bennington County. In 2016, UCS and Southern Vermont Medical Center opened the Hawthorne Center, an intense outpatient opioid treatment program. Many incoming Head Start parents report participating in Hawthorne Center services. UCS Emergency Services and Family Emergency Services are both crisis-driven programs and provide immediate assistance to individuals and families. Services for individuals who have developmental disabilities and services for children in the community are also integral parts of UCS.BROC is the community action agency for Bennington County and provides community services and outreach. They offer programs for food and nutrition, fuel and utilities, weatherization, housing and homeless assistance and transportation assistance.GMX operates a public bus system in and around Bennington and Manchester, as well as individual demand response and other coordinated transit services serving seniors and people with disabilities.The Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services (GBICS) is a group dedicated to serving people in need in Bennington County. The Council manages an emergency food and fuel fund, twice weekly free medical clinic (Mondays for women), monthly free pet clinic, the Bennington Oral Health Coalition and a food shelf which operates Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Saturdays.The Bennington County Coalition for the Homeless (BCCH) serves families and individuals who are homeless and in transition. BCH operates a drop-in, “wet” shelter in Bennington, family sheltering, emergency shelter for adults, family housing for families in recovery, and group living for individuals in Bennington. As part of participation in one of BCH’s programs, people receive budget counseling and assistance in finding and maintaining employment, housing counseling, advocacy, and assistance with referrals. The Good Shepherd drop-in shelter is limited to six beds, is open from 4pm to 8am and provides showers and food.Turning Point Club of Bennington is an active organization devoted to supporting individuals in their journey to recovery from alcohol, drug and gambling addictions. Located on Main Street in downtown Bennington, the program is easily accessible and offers various programs and support groups such as: AA, Narcotics Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous, AL anon, and Women’s Self-Esteem Recovery Group. Turning Point Club also distributes and provides community training around the use of nasal Narcan – the antidote to opioid overdose.The Tutorial Center, located in downtown Bennington with satellite locations including Manchester, offers adult literacy programs, a supportive General Education Diploma program and flexible schedules to accommodate adult learners. NEXT STEPSBased on the community needs and scope of Head Start services, Bennington County Head Start has committed to the following five-year strategic priorities: Improve accessibility to programming to those we serve.The Community Assessment shows there is a large population of age and income- eligible children and families in downtown Bennington. Most children and families served by Bennington County Head Start reside in the town of Bennington, despite our largest center’s North Bennington location. Public transportation and transportation alternatives in our community are limited. We have made great strides in addressing this need by consolidating our North Bennington and Shaftsbury centers to one North Bennington campus and by extending hours of care, however a center in town would serve those living there while alleviating the need for transportation services.2016 Update: BCHS submitted a Duration Grant application in the late Spring of 2016. Included in the application were requests for funds to purchase and operate an additional school bus, as Green Mountain and School’s Out transportation services have fulfilled their capacity and now have a waitlist. Recent BCHS applications and the current waitlist also reflect the increased need for services for children living between the 130 and 200% FPL. Using varied funding sources, BCHS strives to continue increasing socio-economic diversity among families served, while ensuring that those income-eligible children’s needs are met.2017 Update: Through Dose and Duration funds BCHS was able to purchase an additional bus to better support the families we serve in Bennington County and alleviate the transportation needs in our community. While not a downtown location, the new center and the EHS-CCP grant has allowed us to increase capacity for infant and toddler care in our community, which has been one of our long-time goals.2018 Update: Early Head Start services were rolled out throughout 2017-2018, offering increased community capacity for thirty-two infant and toddler slots. In May of 2018, Bennington County Head Start/Early Head Start met with Town of Bennington officials to explore the possibility of adding early childhood services to the existing, municipally-owned Bennington Recreation Center. This downtown location sits in one of the most densely-populated residential areas of town – within walking distance of Bennington Elementary School, the local High School, the local Parent-Child Center and many community resources regularly accessed by the families we serve. BCHS hopes to continue with construction plans that would allow us to increase capacity for preschoolers as well as infants and toddlers and to best serve our community. Improve accessibility to community dental services and oral health education.Current services available to children and adults are lacking for different reasons. For children, there is a lack of pediatric providers. For adults, there is a lack in insurance coverage, as well as dental providers that will accept the minimal coverage that can be obtained through state and local resources.2016 Update: The BCHS Health Manager works closely with the Bennington Oral Health Coalition. She is also working with a local pediatrician to explore opportunities for establishing a children’s free clinic.2017 Update: BCHS Health Manager will be taking advantage of SVMC’s application for financial assistance which will allow access to free care every six months for families whose children do not have any health insurance. Also, SVMC is expected to open a new dental clinic in the next year or two, and our new FQHC, Battenkill Valley Health Center, has opened a dental practice with a dentist who is willing and able to see children ages 1-3, as well as preschool age.2018 Update: The Southern Vermont Medical Center has opened an on-site dental clinic which now serves most Head Start students. The Clinic is staffed by two previously-existing providers and one new dentist. Health, Early Head Start and Family Service staff attended UCLA’s Health Care Institute in April 2018, where they learned how to facilitate meaningful, effective oral health training for Head Start parents. They brought their new knowledge and skills to the rest of the Head Start/Early Head Start staff in August 2018. A program-wide Oral Health “Bash” is planned for children and their parents on Friday, October 26, 2018.Improve accessibility to community Mental Health services.Current services available to children often include long waiting lists, while services are needed now. There is also a lack of staff with required higher credentials, including Licensed or Certified Early Childhood Mental Health Professionals. 2016 Update: This goal is being met in part through the new contract with Dr. Bob Hemmer, Psy.D. (funded by PDEG grant funds). To continue to improve and increase access to services, BCHS is seeking to hire a licensed staff with a Master of Social Work to provide support to children in DCF-Family Services custody, children with trauma and their families. 2017 Update: The PDEG grant funds will include expanded services for eligible children in the Northshire. Funds will be used to support the hiring of a part-time para-educator to assist teachers with increasingly difficult behaviors and mental health needs. 2018 Update: PDEG funding will continue to provide a part-time Behavior Interventionist in the Northshire program in 2018-2019. While community mental health waiting lists remain lengthy, BCHS continues to look at ways to improve access for Head Start children, their families and staff. In January 2018, The BCHS Director, Family and Community Partnership Manager, agency Operations Manager and Community Health Partner, Andrea Malinowski, attended UCLA’s Building Healthy Communities. As a result, the team has created and begun implementing a Staff Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). One area of focus in the SHIP is staff mental health. The team is making strides in enhancing the agency’s Employee Assistance Program, which will offer telehealth services in the future, and will be more accessible for staff.In September of 2018, the program’s Mental Health Consultant, Dr. Bob Hemmer, began rolling out the Family Connections training modules for Early Head Start staff, Family Support Workers and Health staff. The modules focus on identifying mental health needs in families of young children and strategies for providing support. BCHS now administers the Edinburgh Maternal Depression Screener during registration for any mother who has given birth in the past two years. A protocol for follow-up has been enacted. Increase Child Outcomes and Preparedness for School.Children in Bennington County continue to fall below the State average in the Vermont Department of Education Kindergarten Preparedness Survey. The poverty rate and other risk factors are also above the State average. However, we continue to see the gap close annually.2016 Update: BCHS uses child assessment data collected through Teaching Strategies Gold and Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA), as well as classroom assessment data collected using the CLASS tool, to develop targeted goals in each developmental domain. Additionally, BCHS is continuing to strengthen the transition process from Head Start to kindergarten for children and families as part of the public pre-k partnership. 2017 Update: BCHS is hopeful that with the Early Head Start expansion, long-term, high-quality services will result in increased kindergarten readiness.2018 Update: The 2017 Kindergarten Readiness Survey provided inconsistent results. It was reported that the statewide response rate was forty percent, while local response rates were closer to twenty percent. Local supervisory union leaders expressed concern about high subjectivity in teacher responses, and a hope for future training in answering questions consistently. In our first year of operation, one third of Early Head Start children were identified as having special needs requiring Individual Family Support Plans (IFSP’s). We expect that by serving children from infancy, identification of needs for intervention and access to those supports will increase, resulting in fewer supports needed in kindergarten and beyond. BCHS/EHS will continue to monitor this data as it becomes available.Establish Early Head Start Services in the community.We recognize the importance of excellent prenatal care, as well as quality Early Childhood services to children and families in the first three years of life. With access to quality care, stimulating environments, positive interactions and parent education, we know that children will be readier for school.2016 Update: Bennington County Head Start submitted an Early Head Start grant application in August 2016.2017 Update: BCHS was awarded the EHS-CCP grant in March 2017. Funded enrollment is forty-eight slots – thirty-two expansion and sixteen child care partnership slots. 2018 Update: BCHS is currently serving forty-eight infants and toddlers, including sixteen partner slots and thirty-two added slots. The infant-toddler waitlist remains long, particularly for children under the age of one year. BCHS will continue to look for increased resources to expand capacity and further meet the needs of the community. ................
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