Program Evaluation Data Reporting

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
Cabarrus Partnership for Children
City & State:
Concord, 
North Carolina
Organization Website:
www.cabarrussmartstart.org
Organization's Mission Statement

The mission of the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children is to ensure that services are available and accessible to children five years and younger, enabling them to begin kindergarten healthy and prepared to be successful.

Submission Information

Impact Essay

The Cabarrus County Partnership for Children is a non-profit agency organized in 1997 to lead the state’s Smart Start program in Cabarrus County, NC. In 2002, the Partnership added responsibility for managing the state’s More at Four Program. The Partnership is led by a thirty-four member Board of Directors drawn from the leaders of agencies and organizations in the county, including both school systems, the Department of Social Services, the Cabarrus Health Alliance, early intervention, mental health, Head Start, NorthEast Medical Center, pediatricians, Rowan Cabarrus Community College, NC Cooperative Extension, Cabarrus County Library, Communities in Schools, the faith community, parents and corporations. Over one hundred community leaders have served on the Partnership Board since its formal organization in 1998. The Partnership is a collaborative organization and contracts with community partners, including the Cabarrus Health Alliance, Cabarrus Department of Social Services, Child Care Resources, Inc., Thompson Child and Family Focus, four of our highest quality child care centers and both school systems to provide services identified through a strategic planning process. The Partnership funds activities that will achieve state outcomes for young children targeted by the North Carolina Partnership for Children’s Board of Directors. The work of the Partnership has improved health, safety and school readiness for the county’s preschool children. Eighty five percent of all children in Cabarrus County enrolled in child care centers are now in centers licensed at 3, 4 or 5 stars, a dramatic increase in over the years. Research strongly supports that all children, but especially children with risk factors for future school failure, benefit from being in programs of high quality. As a result of the dental health program, the rate of dental decay at kindergarten entry has decreased from 23% to 15% in several years. Incidents of infectious disease and accidents have both decreased because of the work of the Child Care Health Consultant Program, which provides specially trained nurses to visit centers frequently and provide consultation and education. In 2002 the Partnership assumed leadership for the State’s More at Four Program. Since December 2002, over two thousand four-year-old children have received high quality pre-kindergarten education, emphasizing language development and social development prior to school entry. Classes are led by certified teachers and meet for 180 days, 6 to 6 ½ hours a day, during the school year. Children are screened for delays and problems with vision, hearing, physical development and dental, with follow up as needed. In addition to state funding, the Partnership has actively sought grant support for its various programs. The Sisters of Mercy Foundation, United Way, Dunford Fund, Deb Doerre Memorial Fund, Duke Energy, Food Lion, Wachovia, First Union and Bank of American, Target, Walmart, S&D Coffee, Community Foundation, Speedway Charities, and our local faith community. The Cabarrus County Partnership for Children is currently funding these activities in our community:

  • Child Care Subsidy – Department of Social Services
  • Child Care Resource and Referral – Child Care Resource and Referral, Inc.(CCRI)
  • Professional Development Incentive – In House Activity
  • Training and Technical Assistance – Thompson Child and Family Focus & CCRI
  • Higher Education Advisors – In House Activity
  • Higher Education Resource Center – In House Activity
  • Mobile Resource Center - CCRI
  • Child Care Health Consultants – Cabarrus Health Alliance
  • Inclusion Support – Thompson Child and Family Focus
  • Dental Program – Cabarrus Health Alliance
  • Intensive Home Visiting Program – Cabarrus Health Alliance
  • Parents As Teachers Program – Adolescent Enrichment Counsel
  • Family Education and Support - In House Activity
  • Public Education and Awareness – In House Activity
  • Program Management – In House Activity
  • Program Planning and Evaluation – In House Activity
  • Smart Start funding for More at Four – In House Activity
  • Early Intervention Specialist – Cabarrus Health Alliance

Cabarrus County Partnership for Children has made significant contributions to address the needs of young children in Cabarrus County over the years. We have an evaluation process that occurs quarterly. We have developed Excel spreadsheets to report this data to our board of directors and to the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC). Our struggle every year is monitoring and evaluating the activities list above. The evaluation spreadsheet reports for each activity listed above were developed ten years ago. They are not meeting our current evaluation needs. NCPC is constantly asking for more detailed data to prove our successes. Our evaluation process does not provide this meaningful data. We have very successful program/activities, we just do not have data graphs that are simply read and prove our successes. We have lots of numbers that really do not tell of our successes. Funds are currently very tight in our state and we are looking at significant budget cuts. We need to provide better data to our NC legislatures, so we can prove we are deserving of state funds. We provide quality services with great outcomes for all the 0 – 5 year olds in Cabarrus County, NC. We need improved hardware and software to be able to provide the compelling data, so legislatures can see we are providing the best services for their dollars. We are asking for your assistance to upgrade hardware and purchase ACCESS Software that would enable us to provide graphs that will show cost per outcome. With the data we collect from our direct service providers, the ACCESS graphs and reports will provide the detailed data, so our legislatures can see our successes. Our legislatures would then be able to see the ACCESS reports that supports “our stories” we have been telling for years. We have many stories imbedded in our current evaluation process. I was told Tuesday by a legislature, “I know you are providing great services for young children for our state dollars. I need hard fast data to prove your successes. Your stories are just to make me feel good. I need data… So I ask to you today, please provide the assistance to assist Cabarrus County Partnership for Children to move our data collection into the 21 century.

Submission Category
Optimize Mission Delivery