NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC
1100 WAKE FOREST ROAD, RALEIGH, NC 27604 www.smartstart.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TO ADVANCE A HIGH-QUALITY, COMPREHENSIVE, ACCOUNTABLE SYSTEM OF CARE AND EDUCATION FOR EVERY NORTH CAROLINA CHILD BEGINNING WITH A HEALTHY BIRTH. WE DO THIS PRIMARILY BY OVERSEEING NORTH CAROLINA'S NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED INITIATIVE, SMART START, AS WELL AS ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER GRANTORS.

SMART START: NORTH CAROLINA'S NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVE, SMART START, MEASURABLY INCREASES THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF YOUNG CHILDREN, BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL FUTURE LEARNING BY:- IMPROVING CHILDREN'S EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS SO THAT THEY ARE SAFE, HEALTHY AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN SKILLS THEY NEED FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL.- ENSURING THAT CHILDREN ARE SCREENED FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS. - PROVIDING PARENTS WITH TOOLS THAT SUPPORT THEM IN RAISING HAPPY, HEALTHY SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN. FOR A STRONG FOUNDATION, CHILDREN NEED HIGH QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE SAFE AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING: AND STRONG FAMILIES AND ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT HEALTHY OUTCOMES. HIGH QUALITY EARLY EDUCATION YIELDS HIGHER GRADUATION RATES, REDUCED CRIME, HIGHER EARNINGS, LESS RELIANCE ON SOCIAL SERVICES, AND BETTER JOBS.SMART START IS A NETWORK OF 75 NONPROFIT LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS THAT SERVE ALL 100 NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES. THIS NETWORK IS LED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN (NCPC) THAT ENSURES FISCAL AND PROGRAMMATIC ACCOUNTABILITY, AND SUPPORTS THE STATEWIDE NETWORK TO CREATE BETTER OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. NCPC ESTABLISHES MEASURABLE STATEWIDE GOALS AND COMMUNITIES DETERMINE THE BEST APPROACH TO ACHIEVING THEM. NCPC ALSO ENSURES THAT SMART START LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS FULLY MEET ALL LEGISLATIVELY MANDATED REQUIREMENTS AND OPERATE TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF EFFECTIVENESS, ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND INTEGRITY. SINCE 2000, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 500 AUDITS, BY STATE AUDITORS AND /OR INDEPENDENT AUDITORS HIRED BY THE STATE, OR NCPC AND SMART START LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. NCPC HAS HAD NO AUDIT FINDINGS FOR THE PAST DECADE. 2018 ANALYSES SHOW THAT THE POSITIVE IMPACTS OF NC PRE-K AND SMART START CONTINUE THROUGH GRADES 6, 7, AND 8. THERE IS NO FADEOUT. IN FACT, THE IMPACT GROWS. BY EIGHTH GRADE, FOR CHILDREN IN COUNTIES WITH AVERAGE FUNDING, NC PRE-K HAS REDUCED THE LIKELIHOOD OF PLACEMENTS INTO SPECIAL EDUCATION BY OVER ONE THIRD. WE FIND POSITIVE IMPACTS FOR EVERY GROUP OF CHILDREN WE STUDIED, INCLUDING ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AS WELL AS ADVANTAGED CHILDREN; AFRICAN AMERICAN, HISPANIC, AND WHITE NON-HISPANIC CHILDREN; AND CHILDREN WHOSE MOTHERS ARE WELL-EDUCATED AS WELL AS THOSE WHOSE MOTHERS ARE LESS WELL-EDUCATED.ADDITIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE:- IMPROVING QUALITY AND ACHIEVING HIGHER STARS ON NC'S RATED LICENSE THROUGH ONSITE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR CHILD CARE PROFESSIONALS TO OBTAIN HIGHER EDUCATION. TODAY 73% OF CHILDREN IN CHILD CARE ATTEND HIGH QUALITY PROGRAMS AS COMPARED TO 33% IN 2001.- IMPROVING EARLY LITERACY BY COLLABORATING WITH STATE LITERACY ORGANIZATIONS, LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, PRIVATE CHILD CARE PROGRAMS, AND PEDIATRICIANS TO PROMOTE EARLY LITERACY ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH PROGRAMS LIKE RAISING A READER AND REACH OUT AND READ. FAMILIES PARTICIPATING IN REACH OUT AND READ ARE 97 PERCENT MORE LIKELY TO BE USING ONE OR MORE RECOMMENDED READING STRATEGIES WITH THEIR CHILDREN.- HELPING PRIVATE CHILD CARE PROGRAMS IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR CLASSROOMS SO THEY MAY PARTICIPATE IN NC PRE-K AND PARTNER WITH NC PRE-K PROVIDERS TO HELP ELIGIBLE FOUR-YEAR-OLDS ACCESS THE PROGRAM. IN FISCAL YEAR 2019-20, SMART START LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS ADMINISTERED NC PRE-K IN 55 COUNTIES.

DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY PROMOTES EMERGENT LITERACY SKILLS THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DOLLYWOOD FOUNDATION. LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS SELECT A GEOGRAPHIC AREA TO TARGET ENROLLMENT IN ZIP CODES WITH CHILDREN AGES 0-5. FAMILIES ARE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE AND ONCE CHILDREN ARE ENROLLED, THEY RECEIVE AN AGE-APPROPRIATE BOOK IN THE MAIL EACH MONTH UP TO THEIR FIFTH BIRTHDAY. ALL LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS ARE RECEIVING FUNDING TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM IN 2019-2020 AND THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE IN EVERY NC ZIP CODE. 273,061 CHILDREN WERE SERVED STATEWIDE IN THE FISCAL YEAR.

SHAPE NC PHASE III. NCPC RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE IN ADDITION TO CONTINUED FUNDING FROM THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD NC FOUNDATION FOR SHAPE NC. THIS PHASE OF SHAPE NC IS UTILIZING A DELAYED TREATMENT DESIGN WITH ACTIVE AND CONTROL CHILD CARE CENTERS TO MEASURE OUTCOMES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION AND BODY MASS INDEX FOR CHILDREN ENROLLED IN THE STUDY.SHAPE NC SELECTED FOUR ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH AN OBJECTIVE RFA PROCESS, THREE SMART START LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS AND ONE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION, TO FULLY IMPLEMENT ALL THREE CORE COMPONENTS OF THE INITIATIVE. THESE FOUR ORGANIZATIONS, CALLED SUBGRANTEES, CURRENTLY MANAGE TEN ACTIVE CENTERS AND FIVE CONTROL CENTERS. BY THE END OF THE 3-YEAR STUDY, EACH SUBGRANTEE WILL BE MANAGING 15 ACTIVE AND FIVE CONTROL CENTERS. ACTIVE CENTERS GET THE FULL SHAPE NC MODEL, AND CONTROL SITES ONLY PARTICIPATE IN DATA COLLECTION. SUBGRANTEES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COACHING TO THEIR ACTIVE CENTERS AS THEY IMPLEMENT THE THREE CORE COMPONENTS IN ADDITION TO ADDRESSING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT. SHAPE NC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE TO CHILDREN AT TREATMENT SITES AFTER INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.

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