|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
HEAD START & EARLY HEAD START WRAPAROUND CHILD CARE
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP)
1515 Hawkeye Drive or PO Box 490
Hiawatha, Iowa 52233
1-800-469-2211 or (319) 393-7811
www.hacap.org
Head Start/Early Head Start are federally funded programs that provide comprehensive child development programs for low-income families with young children. Head Start and Early Head Start income eligibility guidelines are 100% or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Child care services are provided at no cost to eligible families.
The Empowerment Wraparound program enables families with children enrolled in the part day, part year Head Start or Early Head Start program the option to attend on a full day, full year basis. Empowerment funds support 8 slots of before and after services for infants at the on-site Early Head Start program, and 48 slots of before and after programming for 3-5 year olds enrolled in Head Start (16 slots per Head Start site). This allows additional child care services to be "wrapped around" the six hour preschool day to extend the program to ten hours for at least 245 days per year. The extended program is a crucial service for parents who are employed or attending school or job training. This option is available at the following Head Start child care center locations:
LINN COUNTY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER WRAPAROUND CHILD CARE
520 11th Street NW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
(319) 892-5701
Established in 1969, this county-operated center has a licensed capacity of 68 children, ages 3-6 years, and is accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. The center places a priority on serving families on limited incomes and children with special needs, but also enrolls families on a private pay basis.
The Empowerment Wraparound program enables families with children enrolled in the center's part day, part year program the option to attend the center on a full day, full year basis. Empowerment funds support 32 slots of before and after programming for children enrolled at the on-site Shared Visions part-day preschool. This allows additional child care services to be "wrapped around" the six hour preschool day and extend the program to eleven hours for at least 245 days per year. The center provides child development services from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM at no cost to eligible families. The extended program is a crucial service for parents who are employed or attending school or job training.
ABC CHILDCARE
Central City Community School District
10 Barber St.
Central City, IA 52214
(319) 438-6342
ABC Childcare is part of the Central City Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. Empowerment funding has opened 8 new slots of high quality part-day preschool at no cost to families with children 3-year-olds, with incomes below 200% federal poverty. (This complements the 4-year-old State Preschool funds that the district received.)
CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT - SCHOLARSHIPS & WRAPAROUND
Educational Service Center
907 15th Street SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 558-3962
In partnership with the Cedar Rapids Community School District, Empowerment funds scholarships or full-day full-year wraparound care for up to 36 children. Empowerment funding supports 12 scholarships for 3-year-olds to attend preschool at one of 13 sites, and 24 scholarships for wraparound care of 3-5 year olds at one of 4 sites. (This complements the 4-year-old State Preschool funds that the district received.)
POINTER PUPS PRESCHOOL
Center Point-Urbana Community School District
613 Summit St.
Center Point, IA 52213
(319) 849-1102, ext. 223
Center Point-Urbana Elementary School is part of the Center Point-Urbana Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. Empowerment funding opened 8 new slots of high quality part-day preschool at no cost to families with children 3 years old, with incomes below 200% federal poverty. (This complements the 4-year-old State Preschool funds that the district received.)
COLLEGE COMMUNITY EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
College Community School District
401 76th Ave SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 848-5295
Prairie Crest Elementary School is part of the College Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. Empowerment funds support 10 slots of high quality full-day (8:30-3 PM) preschool at no cost to families with children 3-5 yrs, with incomes below 200% federal poverty.
GRANT EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER WRAPAROUND CHILD CARE
Cedar Rapids Community School District
245 Outlook Drive SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 558-2020
The Grant Early Childhood Center is an early childhood building in the Cedar Rapids Community School District and serves Pre-kindergarten through first graders. Grant is also the site of a part day, part year Step-Up preschool program for at-risk or special needs children who are four years old. The Wraparound project enables low-income families with children enrolled in the Step-Up or Early Childhood Special Education program the option of full day, full year services.
Empowerment funds support 16 slots of before and after programming for 4-year old children enrolled in *Step-Up part-day preschool or Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). This allows additional child care services to be "wrapped around" the part-time classroom day to extend the program to ten hours for at least 245 days per year. The school provides child development services from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM at no cost to eligible families. This is a crucial service for parents who are employed or enrolled in school or job training program.
LITTLE LIONS PRESCHOOL
Linn-Mar Community School District
Linn Grove Elementary building
2301 50th St.
Marion, IA 52302
(319) 730-3510
Linn Grove Elementary School is part of the Linn-Mar Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. In addition it is the site of a part day, part year preschool program for at-risk three to five year old children. Empowerment funds helped open 5 new slots of high quality part-day preschool and transportation at no cost to families with children 3-5 yrs, with incomes below 200% federal poverty.Linn Grove Elementary School is part of the Linn-Mar Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. In addition it is the site of a part day, part year preschool program for at-risk three to five year old children. Empowerment funds helped open 5 new slots of high quality part-day preschool and transportation at no cost to families with children 3-5 yrs, with incomes below 200% federal poverty.
POLK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WRAPAROUND CHILD CARE
Cedar Rapids Community School District
1500 B Avenue NE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402
(319) 558-2475
Polk Elementary School is part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District and serves kindergarten through 5th grade students. In addition it is the site of a part day, part year Step-Up preschool program for at-risk three and four year old children. The Wraparound project enables low-income families with children enrolled in the Step-Up program the option of full day, full year services.
Empowerment funds support 16 slots of full day care for 4-year old children enrolled at the on-site *Step-Up part day preschool. This allows additional child care services to be "wrapped around" the six hour classroom day to extend the program to ten hours for at least 245 days per year. The school provides child development services from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM at no cost to eligible families. This is a crucial service for parents who are employed or enrolled in school or job training program.
CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT-TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
Educational Service Center
907 15th Street SW
Cedar Rapids IA 52404
(319) 558-2549
The Cedar Rapids Community School District's Transportation Department uses Empowerment funds to provide free transportation to eligible children enrolled in the Step-Up and Power-Up Preschools. Step-Up is a school based preschool program that serves at-risk children who are 4 years old. Empowerment funding supports free transportation of 50 children from 8 STEP-UP Preschool and 2 Power Up preschool classrooms to and from school. The program uses district busses for the majority of children and Special K's Transport for those children who are in need of transportation where there are no district routes available.
CHILDCARE ALLIANCE RESPONSE TEAM (CART)
Grant Wood Area Education Agency
4401 6th Street SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
(319) 399-6818
CART works with childcare providers who request help in serving children with challenging behavior issues. Services include on-site support from a child development specialist, access to training and assistance with environmental improvements of the child care setting. CART staff, with parental permission, observe the child and staff and offer guidance and techniques. A partial environmental assessment is also completed.
CART involves a partnership between Grant Wood Area Education Agency (GWAEA), families, daycare providers, community mental health agencies, ISU Extension, PACES and Cedar Rapids area pediatricians. Its purpose is to implement a three-tiered rapid response team to provide intensive supports to Linn County children ages 0-5 with behavioral, emotional and mental health issues, their childcare providers and parents in order to maintain children in childcare settings. The system they employ is based on research-proven best practices.
CART has a single overriding goal: to maintain the placement of children ages 0-5 in appropriate childcare settings through a three-component intervention designed to:
CART staff provide a number of behavioral intervention and consultant services, including:
CART employs strategies to promote skill transfer so that child care providers can continue behavioral interventions after program staff exit including:
PROVIDER AND CHILD CARE EDUCATION SERVICES (PACES)
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP)
1515 Hawkeye Drive or PO Box 490
Hiawatha, Iowa 52233
(319) 393-7811
www.hacap.org
PACES works with home and center child care providers to expand the availability of quality child care in Linn County. Empowerment funds are used to improve the knowledge and skills of child care professionals by providing enhanced training opportunities, on-site visits and access to child care equipment and resources.
PACES staff provide continual training and support of child care homes, at no cost to providers, to improve the quality of care. Requirements are registration with the State of Iowa, participation in Child and Adult Care Food Program, ChildNet Certification, and willingness to provide infant-toddler care for low-income families. PACES staff provide one-on-one support in obtaining accreditation with the National Association of Family Child Care.
Services for Child Care Providers
Providers who enroll in the PACES program have access to the following services at no cost:
QUALITY EARLY CHILDCARE ENVIRONMENTS (QECE)
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP)
1515 Hawkeye Drive or PO Box 490
Hiawatha, Iowa 52233
(319) 739-1517
www.hacap.org
QECE has a pool of trained local volunteers who conduct Pre & Post environmental assessments (ECERS & ITERS) on child care centers and develops an Improvement Plan with center staff, at no cost to the center. Centers may request financial support to address items in their Improvement Plan. Financial support in obtaining National Accreditation and attending relevant conferences is also provided.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH ALLIANCE
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP)
1515 Hawkeye Drive or PO Box 490
Hiawatha, Iowa 52233
(319) 393-7811
www.hacap.org
The Family and Community Health Alliance offers a variety of health and support services to pregnant women and families with young children. The core services for pregnant women include the WIC nutrition program and maternal health services. Empowerment funds enhance the core services by allowing the Alliance to offer comprehensive child health and family support services at no cost to eligible families. The Alliance services can be accessed at various neighborhood locations throughout Linn County. Please contact the Alliance to obtain the current location of services.
Linn County Community Empowerment assists the Alliance in offering the following services:
Well Child Screening Clinics
Comprehensive services include physicals, developmental screening, hearing and vision testing, nutrition assessment, social assessment, immunizations and lead testing. These services are for children with no insurance, those with Title 19 or private insurance that does not cover well child care.
Dental Funds
Funds are available to assist families with no dental insurance with vouchers for the cost of a dental exam and treatment. Dental screenings and fluoride varnishes are provided to young children and pregnant women. Dental health education is also provided, and a Dental Care Coordinator assists families with referrals to a dental home and dental care follow up.
Childhood Obesity Prevention
The Health Alliance screens children who are overweight or at-risk of being overweight, and offers nutritional and fitness education and counseling to the parents. The focus of the program is on the whole family, and choices they can make to provide a healthier environment for everyone. Upon completion of all six sessions families are invited for a healthy meal and an educational activity. The series of sessions are offered continuously throughout the year at multiple locations and at various times to meet a family's individual needs.
Women Infants and Children (WIC)/Maternal Health
A supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children that provides nutrition education and healthy food packages to help families meet their nutritional needs. Prenatal education, nutritional education and social assessments are provided for pregnant women. Home visits are offered to women with high-risk pregnancies.
Health Insurance
An Outreach Specialist can assist you with an application for hawk-i or Title 19 health insurance programs. Community presentations on hawk-i can be arranged by contacting the Family and Community Health Alliance.
Support Services
Child Life Specialists provide enhanced age appropriate developmental education to parents, child care providers and others in the community through presentations and workshops at various rural libraries in Linn County.
Child Care Nurse Consultant
The Child Care Nurse Consultant evaluates registered child care homes and licensed child care centers using tools from the Quality Rating Scale (QRS) Project to improve the health and safety conditions of these facilities. The CCNC then consults with the center director or home provider to improve the quality of their care in an effort to achieve best practice. In addition to the QRS Project, the CCNC provides health and safety trainings, guidance on health policy or care plans, assesses medical home and immunization status for children 0-5, and provides technical assistance on various health and safety topics within the child care setting.
FAMILY SUPPORT COLLABORATIVE
Horizons Family Services Agency
819 5th Street SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
(319) 398-3943
Families that are experiencing, or are at risk for, violence to a family member may access the services of this program. Empowerment funds allow the Family Support Collaborative to offer direct services to families who would benefit from assistance with their housing, counseling, transportation, child care, self-sufficiency and financial management needs. The program strives to reduce risks-- child, domestic, and substance abuse-- in families where at least one child is under the age of six.
Families may access the following Empowerment funded services:
Family Support Worker
A Support Worker is a family advocate and can help secure quality child care, find affordable housing, identify transportation resources, procure help with substance abuse or mental health issues, refer to parenting classes and provide education on budgeting skills.
Children At Risk Task Force
Families are referred to the Task Force for services when a newborn tests positive for an illegal substance. Services include visits from the Visiting Nurse Association, referral to the Department of Human Services and assistance from Early ACCESS in regard to developmental needs.
Task Force Coordinator provides case management services to ensure that relevant services are available to families and that appropriate referrals have been made. Staff also provides extensive community training and educational presentations on the impact of substance abuse on children.
MOM (Moms Off Meth Support Group)
The Family Support Collaborative provides coordination and facilitation of Moms Off Meth (MOMs), a support group for mothers who have had recent drug addictions.
TEACHING INTERVENTIONS TO EMPOWER AND STRENGTHEN FAMILIES (TIES)
St. Luke's Hospital Resource Center
1026 A Ave NE (2nd Floor)
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406
(319) 558-4861
The TIES (Teaching Interventions to Empower and Strengthen families) program is based on the nationally recognized Regional Intervention Program (RIP) model, whose headquarters are based in Nashville, Tennessee. Locally, TIES involves a community collaborative and partnership between St. Luke's Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Abbe Center for Community Mental Health, Grant Wood Area Education Agency (GWAEA), Healthy Linn Care Network and Linn County Community Empowerment.
The Regional Intervention Program model is designed for early intervention with families whose children have moderate to severe behavior disorders and who are under six years of age. No formal diagnosis is required for program entry and there is no fee charged to families for services. Participation is divided into two phases: Phase 1 - the initial treatment phase and Phase 2 (payback) - the consolidation of learning phase. Program activities are organized within a system of modules that includes: behavioral skills training, social skills training, TIES preschool classrooms, and workgroups.
The TIES philosophy is that the family is not the cause of the child's behavior problem, but rather that the family is the only reasonable solution to solve the problem. TIES services are available to any family with strong concerns regarding their child's behavior. TIES is unique in that there is no fee for services, but parents are expected to payback the service by providing training and support to newly enrolled TIES parents. Program coordination and extensive data collection are provided by degreed staff and additional graduates of the TIES program.
*Seeking to be the first certified RIP site in Iowa.
LINN COUNTY HOME HEALTH
800 1st Street SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
(319) 892-5785
Linn County Home Health staff provide parent education, in-home or at school for teen parents, and for families whose children remain in their care (not foster care), but are at risk for having their children removed due to poor parenting skills. Using the Nurturing Parent curriculum, services are provided at no cost and families can self-refer or be referred. Current program enhancements include:
PARENT EDUCATION CONSORTIUM (PEC)
1120 33rd Avenue SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 399-6809
http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/pec
Through the use of Empowerment funds the Parent Education Consortium (PEC) provides a variety of support services for parents of young children and for professionals who serve parents with young children.
Parenting Classes
Because parents are their children's first and most important teachers the PEC offers a variety of education options. Parenting classes are open to all parents with young children (birth-5 years) and specialized classes may be available for newly divorced parents, stepfamilies, fathers or parents that are court ordered to attend.
Parent classes are held at a variety of locations and are provided at no cost to the participant. Those who participate in classes receive the following:
For a listing of current class schedules please click on the following link:
http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/pec
Other Parent Support Services
EVERY CHILD READS
Grant Wood Area Education Agency
1120 33rd Avenue SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 399-6725
Coordinated by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Every Child reads provides 24 hours of training & follow-up for preschool and child care providers working with 3-5 year old children on early reading and writing skills. The program typically serves 16 participants from homes & centers and is provided at no cost. Incentives are $140 in new books & materials for use at the participant's childcare site.
ENVIRONMENTAL RATING SCALE TRAINING
ISU Extension
3279 7th Avenue, Suite 140
Marion, IA 52302
(319) 377-9839
Coordinated by the Linn County ISU Extension office, Linn County Community Empowerment supports free training for childcare providers on 2 nationally recognized assessment tools:
Providers can then conduct self assessments on the quality of their childcare site and can earn points toward the Iowa Quality Rating Scale (IQRS). ISU Extension is the only entity in the state allowed to conduct this training in regard to earning points on IQRS.
five giant steps
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP)
1515 Hawkeye Drive or PO Box 490
Hiawatha, IA 52233
(319) 739-1517
www.fivegiantsteps.org
"five giant steps" is a Linn County Early Childhood Initiative and community collaborative charged with meeting the 15 in 5 priority of "building a best in the nation early childhood system" in Linn County. Current efforts include development of an early childhood learning institute and continued enhancement of local partners.
IOWA QUALITY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM SUPPORT
Coordinated in-house by Empowerment Director
520 11th Street NW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
(319) 892-5721
Linn County Community Empowerment offers financial support to local school districts that were awarded State Voluntary 4-Year Preschool grants, to help them meet the required classroom standard of IQPPS. Typical classroom enhancements are technology and science materials.
MENTAL HEALTH AND BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS
Coordinated in-house by Empowerment Coordinator
520 11th Street NW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
(319) 892-5717
Linn County Community Empowerment provides funding for parents, childcare providers, teachers, therapists, and others who care for or work with children 5-years-old or younger. This funding can be used for training seminar registration fees, meals, transportation and lodging. Childcare centers and preschools can also purchase curriculum materials for their center if it fits the purpose of the funding. Eligibility criteria include:
PROGRAM FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS (PITC)
Community Action of Eastern Iowa
500 East 59th Street
Davenport, IA 52807
(866) 324-3236
Intensive training (23 weeks) for childcare providers on caring for infants & toddlers provided at no cost. Additional 5 weeks of training on serving children with special needs. Typically serves 20 providers per session. Cash stipend provided to those that complete training.
TEACH STIPENDS
Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children
5525 Meredith Drive Suite F
Des Moines, IA 50310
(515) 331-8000
www.iowaaeyc.org
Coordinated through the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children in Des Moines, Linn County Community Empowerment provides stipends to childcare employers that support their staff in obtaining an AA degree in early childhood locally at Kirkwood Community College. ($250 per applicant)