Easter Seals North Georgia

2014 Annual Report

Mission

Easter Seals North Georgia provides high-quality services to ensure that all children w ith disabilit ies or other special needs and their families have equal opportunit ies to live, learn, work and play in their communities.

Vision

Easter Seals w ill be the leading provider of education and care services for people w ith disabilit ies and other special needs living in Georgia.

Every family w ill have access to community resources that w ill strengthen the family and allow them to achieve self-suff iciency.

Every child w ill start school healthy and ready to learn.

Board of Directors

Chairman: M ichael Grillaert, Retired KPMGVice Chairman: Sterling Davis, Retired Cox EnterpriseSecretary: Chris Emslie, PricewaterhouseCoopersTreasurer: John Bihr, Toshiba Business SolutionsPast Chair: Howard Billingslea, Fraternal Order of Police

Henry Herbert Cobb, III, University of GeorgiaKaren Murphy, Creative M ischiefDonna Josephson, McAlister's Deli CorporationNicholas Kray, PricewaterhouseCoopersDonna Leftenant, Head Start GrandparentJanakan Rajendran, AltisourceJohn K. Stipancich, Newell Rubbermaid

SERVICES:

Easter Seals has a long history of providing innovative services to vulnerable children in Georgia. In 1992, Easter Seals North Georgia created the f irst inclusive daycare, serving children w ith disabilit ies alongside typically developing children, which later became a model for the state. In addit ion, we implemented the f irst early childhood mental health program, The Incredible Years, in the state.

Early Education and Care: We provide high-quality, comprehensive early education services to over 1,600 children (ages six weeks to f ive years) and their families in Fulton, Barrow, Jackson, Madison and Walton counties. Ninety-eight percent of enrolled children live at or below the federal poverty line, and 30 percent have a disability. Our Early Education and Care program provides:

- High-quality, full-day, year-round childcare in state-of-the-art child development centers for children w ith and w ithout disabilit ies in developmentally appropriate sett ings;

- Screening, evaluation and treatment for children w ith disabilit ies or who may be at risk of developmental delays, plus education and support for their parents, family members and caregivers;

- Health services ? including immunizations, hearing and vision examinations and treatments; and, - Social, human and support services to the families of enrolled children, including trainings, education,

job training and housing issues.

In addit ion, ESNG's STEM in Early Education and Raising A Reader ensure that our children w ill enter school w ith the necessary skills and tools to become engaged and successful learners.

Early Intervention:Easter Seals is the largest provider of early intervention services for children ages zero to six. We provide Autism screenings to all children referred to our early intervention program and every child enrolled in our 12 early education centers.

- Through a partnership w ith the Marcus Autism Center, we are piloting a new screening tool that is proving to be more sensit ive and effective at identifying children w ith Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as early as 12-18 months.

- Whether through a birth condit ion or developmental delay, Babies Can?t Wait helps infants and toddlers learn new skills, improve function and gain greater independence. Services include: Speech-Language, Physical, Occupational and Autism-Related Therapies.

- As the leading expert in child development, Easter Seals is your partner in your child?s development. Our Make the First Five Count is an online tool that parents can use to track their child?s development.

Support Services: Since its inception, Easter Seals has provided assistance to families w ith children w ith special needs. At Easter Seals North Georgia we continue these support services by helping families become self-suff icient no matter their income or ability.

- Through our Champions for Children program, middle-income children w ith a disability and have been denied the Katie Beckett Medicaid waiver receive f inancial assistance and support services.

- Our family engagement program is a comprehensive process that links family engagement to school improvement, acknowledges the various needs of families that impact engagement, personalizes family engagement plans and builds meaningful partnerships w ith families.

- Over 100 Foster Grandparent volunteers spend more than 20 hours each week w ith children in Head Start programs, inclusive day care centers and community hospitals where they provide one-on-one support to children w ith a development delay or disability.

SERVICE AREA:

The follow ing table represents the program?s distribution of Head Start and Early Head Start classes (93) and funded enrollment totaling 1340.

Administrative Offices53 Perimeter Center EastSuite 550Atlanta, GA 30346Phone: 404-943-1070

Brookvalley1146 Sheridan RoadAtlanta, GA 30324Phone: 404-633-6083

Guice1485 Woodland AvenueAtlanta, GA 30316Phone: 404-622-1569

Mansell80 Mansell Court EastRoswell, GA 30076Phone: 678-585-9100

Premier Academy399 Macedonia RoadAtlanta, GA 30354Phone: 404-675-9301

Sylvan Hills1757 Melrose Drive, SWAtlanta, GA 30310Phone: 404-758-7774

Warsaw1240 Warsaw RoadRoswell, GA 30076Phone: 770-643-7999

Barrow County75 Maynard StreetWinder, GA 30680Phone: 770-867-6167

Jackson County215 Stan Evans DriveJefferson, GA 30549Phone: 706-367-7257

Madison County85 Rock Quarry RoadDanielsville, GA 30633Phone: 706-795-2092

Walton County832 GA Hwy, 11 S.PO Box 1454Monroe, GA 30655Phone: 770-267-7107

Winder37 S. Center StreetWinder, GA 30680Phone: 470-429-2105

Easter Seals North Georgia Locations

County (#sites) #EHS EHS Funded #HS

Fulton (6) 27 216 36

Barrow (2) 0 0 11

Jackson (1) 2 16 4

HS Funded Total Funded

651 867

196 193

71 88

Madison (1) 4 32 4 70 104

Walton (1) 0 0 5 88 88

Total 33 264 60 1076 1340

Budget Information:

CATEGORY TOTAL

Salaries and related expenses $11,269,516

Occupancy $2,485,819

Food $765,800

Professional Fees $3,492,558

Stipends $199,872

Staff Training and Development $311,397

Office Supplies $225,511

Rental and Equipment Maintenance $78,217

Travel and Transportation $195,401

Miscellaneous $87,277

Classroom Supplies $167,642

Insurance $131,235

Printing and Publications $71,829

Software $45,119

Parent Activit ies $16,939

Special Events $22,812

Postage and Shipping $72

TOTAL $19,567,016

STATEMENT OF FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES ? ALL PROGRAMS For Year Ended August 31, 2015

2015-2016 EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE (HEAD START/EARLY HEAD START BUDGET )

CATEGORY EARLY HEAD START HEAD START

Personnel $2,145,160 $4,877,041

Fringe Benefits $563,316 $1,105,806

Supplies $100,625 $242,038

Contractual $60,829 $258,813

Other (rent, utilit ies, insurance, substitutes, etc.)

$629,103 $2,010,635

Training and Technical Assistance $86,353 $88,184

TOTAL $3,585,386 $8,582,517

In-Kind (Federal Share) $896,347 $1,241,775

Regulatory Monitoring

Agency Compliant

OHS Aligned Monitoring Visit (2014-2015) (Environmental Health and Safety, CLASS, Fiscal Integrity and ERSEA)

Yes

BFTS Licensing Reviews Yes

A-133 Audit Yes

Quality Rated Yes

NAEYC Yes

CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System)

The CLASS tool focuses on the quality of teacher-child interactions, and the data gathered is used for program improvement and informing professional development planning. OHS has set a minimum score requirement in three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support.

SCHOOL READINESS

Easter Seals North Georgia, Inc. assesses and utilizes information gathered throughout the year on children?s status and progress across six domains to include 1) Social Emotional, 2) Physical, 3) Language, 4) Cognit ive (inclusive of approaches to learning), 5) Literacy, and 6) Mathematics. Note: The organization?s School Readiness Goals can be accessed on the Easter Seals website.

2014-2015 CHILD OUTCOME DATA

BIRTH - 1 - ALL CHILDREN

1-2 - ALL CHILDREN

Fall

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

Social-Emotional 5.50% 83.60% 10.90%

Physical 23.60% 69.10% 7.30%

Spring

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

9.10% 67.30% 23.60%

10.90% 67.30% 21.80%

Language 29.10% 69.10% 1.80% 18.20% 70.90% 10.90%

Cognit ive 1.80% 92.70% 5.50% 16.40% 56.40% 27.30%

Literacy 10.90% 45.50% 43.60% 16.40% 49.10% 34.50%

Mathematics 18.20% 63.60% 18.20% 5.50% 69.10% 25.50%

2-3 - ALL CHILDREN

Fall

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

Social-Emotional 22.40% 69.40% 8.20%

Physical 21.40% 72.60% 6.00%

Spring

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

16.50% 64.70% 18.80%

14.30% 61.90% 23.80%

Language 25.90% 64.70% 9.40% 17.60% 67.10% 15.30%

Cognit ive 29.80% 61.90% 8.30% 16.70% 65.50% 17.90%

Literacy 24.70% 62.40% 12.90% 25.90% 48.20% 25.90%

Mathematics 36.90% 54.80% 8.30% 25.00% 58.30% 16.70%

Fall

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

Social-Emotional 92.90% 7.10%

Physical 3.60% 89.30% 7.10%

Spring

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

7.10% 71.40% 21.40%

17.90% 64.30% 17.90%

Language 25.00% 67.90% 7.10% 14.30% 75.00% 10.70%

Cognit ive 92.90% 7.10% 10.70% 75.00% 14.30%

Literacy 92.90% 7.10% 10.70% 67.90% 21.40%

Mathematics 100.00% 21.40% 21.40% 57.10%

3 YEARS - ALL CHILDREN

Fall

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

Social-Emotional 40.50% 51.30% 8.10%

Physical 36.60% 59.30% 4.00%

Spring

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

3.40% 58.60% 38.10%

7.90% 63.60% 28.50%

Language 40.20% 55.90% 3.90% 13.10% 60.90% 26.00%

Cognit ive 37.90% 55.20% 6.90% 4.80% 57.90% 37.30%

Literacy 32.50% 58.80% 8.80% 3.00% 52.30% 44.60%

Mathematics 48.70% 44.40% 6.90% 7.60% 54.30% 38.10%

Fall

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

Social-Emotional 30.70% 67.20% 2.10%

Physical 24.80% 74.90% 0.30%

Spring

% Below % Meeting % Exceeding

4.40% 53.90% 41.70%

4.40% 67.60% 27.90%

Language 33.60% 65.90% 0.50% 9.90% 69.30% 20.80%

Cognit ive 30.00% 69.50% 0.50% 5.20% 64.50% 30.30%

Literacy 22.80% 76.40% 0.80% 1.60% 72.80% 25.70%

Mathematics 55.60% 43.30% 1.00% 12.30% 67.10% 20.60%

4 YEARS - ALL CHILDREN

Family Success Story

Ella, a student at ESNG?s Jackson County Child Development Center, is now entering 3rd grade and reading above grade level w ith profound accuracy and comprehension. Her path to this accomplishment was not that easy for her, though.

At the age of 3, Ella struggled to communicate eff iciently. Her brother and parents understood her adaptation of speech but she could not communicate w ith her peers or people outside her family unit. Because she could not be understood, her behavior showed signs of frustration.

After consult ing a speech pathologist through ESNG, it was determined that her language processing delay could be helped w ith early intervention.

Ella?s ESNG teachers provided extensive one-on-one coaching while also helping her to learn to successfully communicate w ith the other students. ?Ella blossomed in their care. Her ability to speak and communicate f lourished. By the end of the school year she was fully prepared to enter pre-k. And look at her now! I refer families to Easter Seals and share Ella?s story w ith everyone. I truly believe that early intervention is the foundation for success. Easter Seals North Georgia teachers went above and beyond to help my child. I am eternally grateful for the teachers and staff there,? said her mother Tiffany.

She went on to say, ?I am amazed at her thirst for knowledge and her w ill to accomplish milestones that at one point in her life seemed insurmountable. I attribute her success to Easter Seals.?

PARENT, FAMILY, & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Families play a crit ical role in preparing their children for school and for a lifetime of academic success. In Head Start/Early Head Start, parent and family engagement activit ies are systemic and integrated across program foundations and program impact areas. Because of this, family engagement outcomes are achieved, result ing in children who are healthy and ready for school. Parent and family engagement activit ies are grounded in posit ive, ongoing, and goal oriented relationships w ith families. Easter Seals measures seven family outcomes that help lead to overall school readiness for children. These seven family outcomes are as follows: 1) Family Well-Being, 2) Posit ive Parent-Child Relationships, 3) Families as lifelong Educators, 4) Family As Learners, 5) Family Engagement In Transit ions, 6) Family Connections To Peers And Community, 7) Families as Advocates and Leaders.

Child/Family Services Outcome Data

Criteria EHS HS

Children Served 320 1,256

% of eligible children enrolled 100% 100%

Families Enrolled 298 1,177

Average monthly enrollment 100% 100%

Children w ith disabilit ies (Total # children w ith disabilit ies = 11% )

7% 12%

% of enrolled children receiving medical exams 82% 94%

% of enrolled children receiving dental exams 63% 93%

# of parent volunteers 114 314

HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD FAMILY SERVICES OUTCOME DATA

- 1,758 Points of service to address child health issues including asthma, anemia, and high lead levels, diabetes, hearing diff icult ies and vision problems.

- 202 Family members received services to address mental health challenges - 17,479 volunteer hours were provided by family (10,115) and community partners (7,364).- 318 Parents received job training to address unemployment - 300 Parents attended adult education classes - 89 Parents enrolled in ESL classes - 1,318 Parents attended health, parent and marriage education classes - 4 Families moved from homelessness to housing - 81 Families received housing support such as rental assistance - 533 Families received emergency or crisis directed services including domestic violence

referrals, child support issues, substance abuse supports and legal issues advocacy - 12 Families w ith incarcerated parent(s) received support services to continue ongoing

parent-child connections