SHUTTERFLY FOUNDATION GRANT APPLICATION
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ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
Organization Name: Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County, Inc.
Organization Address: 2121 South El Camino Real, Suite A-100
San Mateo, CA 94403
Organization Telephone Number: (650) 655-6770
Organization Website Address: www.sanmateo4Cs.org
Contact Name: Brianna Amarillas
Contact Title: Data and Training Specialist
Contact Telephone Number: (650) 655-5043
Contact Email Address: bamarillas@sanmateo4Cs.org
Year Founded: 1972
Tax ID Number: 94-2226587
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Name of Program: Building Kids Up Service Corps
Has this program previously received a grant from Shutterfly? No
How did you hear about the Shutterfly Foundation? We became aware of the Shutterfly Foundation through the Corporate Partners page on the Silicon Valley Community Foundation website.
MISSION STATEMENT
Description of the organization including mission statement:
Since incorporating as a nonprofit in 1972, 4Cs has been a trusted resource to help
parents living and working in San Mateo County find and pay for child care and
preschool and to grow as parents. We are also a one-stop shop for our county's 1,000
licensed child care providers and preschool programs, investing in the field's
professional development and helping improve program quality through a variety of programs and services. 4Cs mission is to be the leader in resources for child care, early education, and family support by building capacity, enhancing quality, providing financial assistance, maximizing performance, expanding relationships, engaging in advocacy, and empowering our employees.
Description of the program for which organization is seeking funding:
The Building Kids Up Program is an AmeriCorps program placing eight AmeriCorps Members (ACMs) in agencies throughout San Mateo County to implement learning activities focused on school readiness and the social-emotional health of children ages 2-5 years old. During their year of service ACMs use developmentally appropriate tools to assess all children and divide their time between providing general school readiness activities for all children and providing tailored activities for children identified as needing more preparation for school. Examples of age-appropriate activities for young children include high frequency words, counting, phonological awareness, music and movement, language and pronunciation, letter/number recognition, patterns, shapes, colors, social interaction, sharing, self-concepts, empathy, oral health, etc. In service settings where the child's parent/guardian is present, members will also work with the parents to promote school readiness, role-model age-appropriate learning activities, demonstrate effective parent/child interaction and/or provide any appropriate resource/referral(s) for families. Additionally, ACMs will provide developmental screening to children and refer families with children identified with concerns to additional support services. The program will work with five placement sites in the
county that have either child care/child watch, preschool, or before/after school programming. These sites are situated in a diverse number of environments, including shelters and transitional housing, school districts, and nonprofits.
OBJECTIVE
Description of need, problem or opportunity to be addressed:
The 4Cs Building Kids Up Service Corps fills an unmet educational need for children in our community by addressing factors that limit school success. In San Mateo County, only 49% of children enter school meeting the longitudinal standard that predicts
whether they will be at grade level proficiency in 3rd grade1. When thinking about what readiness skills are most important to kindergarten entry, teacher placed the highest important on Self-Regulation. Many interventions focus on academics to improve readiness, but a local survey of kindergarten teachers reported that the academic building block is the easiest to change and where they spend the least amount of time. This program will focus on the building blocks for Self-Regulation and Social Expression, where 35% of children are behind and where teachers need to exert the most effort to see change in the children. This same study found that parents have a tendency to over- rate their own child’s skills, and that providing information to parents to help them develop their children’s skills can ease the transition to the K-12 education system and lead to better outcomes for children. The program is designed to prepare young children for life and later school success by providing them with the support and opportunity to develop their social-emotional skills.
1Applied Survey Research (ASR), School Readiness in San Mateo County: Results of the 2008 Assessment, (2009).
Statement of specific program objective(s):
Through the 4Cs Building Kids Up Service Corps, an estimated number of 192 children will be the beneficiaries of services at five service sites. “High need” target populations will be identified through a School Readiness Assessment administered by the ACMs that is based on the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP). Children with scores of 3 and below on the School Readiness Assessment are identified as “high need” and will receive a higher level of service. 75% of children identified as needing more preparation and receiving 20 hours of services will show significant increases in school readiness.
Description of how the program offers a creative solution to the need, problem or opportunity:
AmeriCorps engages members in direct service and capacity-building activities to address critical unmet community needs. Through AmeriCorps, members are given the opportunity to apply their current skills and ideals toward helping others while gaining new skills and experience. AmeriCorps members also mobilize volunteers which strengthens the capacity of the organization where they serve. AmeriCorps members serve communities with an enthusiasm and desire to get things done and make a difference. They constantly strive to improve not only their programs but themselves. Through the Building Kids Up Program AmeriCorps Members will focus this commitment to support the school readiness and social-emotional development of children throughout San Mateo County. These members will go through extensive training and will provide a significant and lasting impact to not only the children served but the classroom teachers, parents, and siblings.
Description of organization’s capacity to carry out the proposed program:
4Cs has an operating budget of $3.1M and manages over $7.7M of county and state pass-through funding for subsidized child care, and workforce and facility development, for a total budget of $10.8M. Approximately 93% of the budget revenue comes from 20 ongoing state and county government contracts and 7% from community support, corporations, foundations, and fees.
The agency is governed by a six-person board. The program will be overseen by a team of experienced staff who has the administrative and programmatic skills to successfully carry out the responsibilities of operating a dynamic AmeriCorps program that focuses on service delivery to the community. This team is also supported at 4Cs by staff with significant experience in financial and data/outcome tracking and reporting. The program manager for Building Kids Up is part of the 4Cs management team and, as such, benefits from peer support to help address programmatic and fiscal issues if they arise. In addition, the ACMs have the full support from 4Cs so they are never “on their own” and always have a base of support.
4Cs will use multiple quality assurance and monitoring tools. The Data and Training Specialist at 4Cs will monitor data collection on a quarterly basis to determine whether progress toward goals and objectives is being made. Site supervisors meet with 4Cs staff on a quarterly basis to discuss program issues, including the program’s fiscal status or other contractual needs.
4Cs has chosen to embed the Building Kids Up Service Corps in our Resource and Referral department because the program is a resource to the community. 4Cs can
share with ACMs its organizational wisdom and experience through training and supervision.
Description of the key anticipated outcomes of the program:
The primary end outcome we expect to achieve as a result of our activities is to help
children be more prepared for school success by the end of 3rd grade. The outputs that will drive toward this end outcome are the work delivered by the ACMs to ensure each child receives an individualized assessment and targeted interventions. An intermediate step along this continuum is that children will show better self-regulation. The program will be able to show how the attainment of social-emotional skills among children affects school readiness, as indicated by the School Readiness Assessment based on the DRDP-R, a standard measure developed by the California Department of Education for assessing child progress in child care settings. 192 children will be served in this manner, with 67 “high need” children identified as needing targeted service. By the end of the program year, 75% of children identified as needing more preparation and receiving 20 hours of services will show an increase of at least 1 level on the School Readiness Assessment.
Description of measurement tools that will be used to track progress toward desired outcomes:
All children will be assessed three times per year using the School Readiness Assessment. The School Readiness Assessment was developed by Prevent Child Abuse California based on the Desired Results Developmental Profile, specifically for the AmeriCorps program. The DRDP is a comprehensive program evaluation system designed to measure California Department of Education funded child development
contractor effectiveness. The six basic components of the desired results system are desired results, indicators, themes, measures, criteria for success, and measurement tools. The Ages and States Questionnaire and Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social- Emotional will be administered once per year to identify children needing additional services. The ASQ is a parent-completed questionnaire developed by researchers at the University of Oregon to identify young children who might be at risk for developmental delays.
PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
Number of youth served by program: 192
Indicate the percentage of program participants in the following groups: 2.8% African American 23.7% Asian/Pacific Islander 33.5% Caucasian 33.9% Latino American .2% Native American 6% Other Multiracial
Describe the application process and how participants are selected for the program: Service sites have already been selected based on interest in the program. All five service sites are located in priority areas with underserved children. In addition most of the sites are within school districts with low API scores.
FUNDING CLASSIFICATION
Indicate the funding classification of organization:
Youth Education - academic and cultural enrichment for children in underserved populations
FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
Total organization budget: $10.8 million
Total project budget: $321,262
Percentage of organization budget devoted to fundraising and general operating expenses: 1%
TIMELINE
Timeline for implementation of the program:
The Building Kids Up Service Corps is part of a statewide First 5 Service Corps program administered through Prevent Child Abuse California. The program will begin in September 2011 and conclude in July 2012.
GEOGRAPHY
Description of the geographical areas where the program operates:
Service sites are situated in a diverse number of environments, including shelters and transitional housing, school districts, and nonprofits. The majority of sites to be served through this program are housed within school districts with low Academic Performance Index (API) scores: Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Belle Haven (East Menlo Park), San Mateo, Daly City, South San Francisco, and Coastside. The population of these areas represents a range of income levels with evident disparities for people of different ethnic backgrounds. Although median incomes appear high ($97,137), one-third of public school students are enrolled in the USDA free or reduced price meal program. In San Mateo County, 39% of families with children birth to 5 years earn under $50,000 annually.
Detailed information on how grant funding will be used.
Shutterfly foundation funding is highlighted in the attached budget. Specifically the funding will be used to support the service site cost of one ACM. This ACM will be placed at the Child Care Coordinating Council and will provide parent-child playgroups throughout the county for children who are on the waiting list for subsidized childcare. Currently there are more than 7,200 families waiting for subsidized care in San Mateo
County. The playgroups will focus on 4-year olds who have not had any formalized
preschool.
