BUTLER COUNTY CHILDREN'S CENTER INC DBA EARLY LEARNING CONNECTIONS

EDUCATION PROGRAM - THE HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS WERE AWARDED A CHANGE IN SCOPE APPLICATION FOR THE 24-25 PROGRAM YEAR. THIS AWARD ALLOWS A GRANTEE TO LOWER THE AMOUNT OF AWARDED SLOTS AND USE THESE PER SLOT MONIES TO HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF, CHANGE THE PROGRAM YEAR CALENDARS TO MAKE ALL CLASSROOMS IN BOTH COUNTIES DURATION AND SUPPORT STAFF AND FAMILIES GOING FORWARD. THIS APPLICATION ALLOWS THE HEAD START CLASSROOMS TO MAX OUT 15 CHILDREN PER CLASSROOM AND STILL MAINTAIN THE SAME AMOUNT OF STAFF. THIS GIVES THE CHILDREN MORE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND THE STAFF TO BE HANDS-ON WITH A SMALLER CLASSROOM. THIS AWARD ALSO GIVES ALL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING HSSAP, THE ABILITY TO MOVE TO A 6.5 HOUR DAY INSTEAD OF A 6 HOUR DAY. THIS THEN IN TURN WILL GIVE THE YEARLY CALENDAR EXTRA IN-SERVICE DAYS FOR STAFF TO COMPLETE PAPERWORK, PARTICIPATE IN TRAINING, COMPLETE PARENT CONFERENCES AND PLAN FOR LESSONS AND UNITS IN THEIR CLASSROOM. IN ADDITION, THE BUDGET ALLOWS FOR A SECOND FULL-TIME MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TO BE HIRED ON STAFF TO SUPPORT CLASSROOMS, AN ADDITIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER TO LOWER THE AMOUNT OF CLASSROOM CASE LOADS AND TWO FLOATING ASSISTANT TEACHERS IN EACH COUNTY TO HELP WITH STAFF SHORTAGES AND KEEP CLASSROOMS OPEN. 2025 BROUGHT SOME NEW LOCATIONS TO BETTER SERVE OUR FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. OAKLAND HAD A SECOND HEAD START CLASSROOM AGAIN FOR THE 24-25 PROGRAM YEAR, THE ROWAN CLASSROOM IS NOW LOCATED AT THE GLADE RUN CAMPUS IN ZELIENOPLE ALONG WITH THE FORMER PRE-K COUNTS ROOM AT CVE. SUGARCREEK PRE-K MOVED TO EAST BRADY AND FREEPORT ALSO HOSTED A HEAD START CLASSROOM. THESE MOVES HAVE ALLOWED ELC TO MAKE NEW COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS THAT WILL PROMOTE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS AND EXCELLENT PROGRAMMING FOR THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN THAT WE SERVE. A GRANT APPLICATION WAS SUBMITED AND AWARDED TO PROVIDE HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START SERVICES IN INDIANA COUNTY BEGINNING IN FISCAL YEAR 2026.

ELRC - ELRC 3 RECEIVED EXCELLENT RESULTS IN MEETING ALL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS WITH NO FINDINGS DURING THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MONITORING REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 24-25.ELRC'S SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE WORKS (CCW) PROGRAM HAD A TOTAL PAYOUT OF OVER $19.6 MILLION DOLLARS TO PROVIDERS. WE ADMINISTERED THE CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GRANT (CQI) AND AWARDED $471,000 IN GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDERS. ELRC ALSO DISTRIBUTED OVER $768,000 TO OUR PROVIDERS WHO MANAGE THE INFANT TODDLER CONTRACTED SLOTS (ITCS) PROGRAMS IN OUR REGION.ELRC PARTNERED WITH THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (PDO) TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CHILDCARE STAFF LOOKING TO ATTAIN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALING. IN ADDITION, ELRC COLLABORATED WITH THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM (RRT) FOR REGION 3 TO HELP ELIMINATE/MINIMIZE CHILD SUSPENSIONS/EXPULSIONS FROM CHILD CARE FACILITIES.