03/08/2016 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Analysis of CSAC Funding and IRC Needs Children's Needs Assessment The 2014 IRC Children's Needs Assessment provided valuable information to help guide the focus areas for the Children's Services Advisory Committee (CSAC) as well as the overall community. The following guidelines were used to govern CSAC grant awards in June 2015. • Establish a long-term strategy focusing on the next 15-25 years. The County has a cycle of poverty in IRC that has been growing and needs to be broken. • Start interventions early in a child's life to have the greatest impact. • Implement "best practices" by IRC agencies that demonstrate: o evidence based with measurable outcomes over time, o cost effective/efficient, o skilled executive, program, and board leadership, o strong fiscal management, and 0 opportunity for broad impact (replicable, scalable). • Focus on the pockets of poverty. Services need to be available where and when the need exists and are accessible. • Collaborate across the community to optimize human and financial resources, and to expose and reduce redundancy of services. The following were the 2015 CSAC Focus Areas ranked in order by the Advisory Team at the completion of the Needs Assessment process. 1. Early Childhood Development (preschool) Research shows that the period between ages 0-5 is the most important time for brain development when cognitive and emotional skills can be significantly impacted. 2. Build Parent Capacity A parent is a child's first and most important teacher. Parents need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be the good parents that they all strive to be. 3. Out of school recreational activities and enrichment programs Children need to develop positive out of school outlets that foster engagement in school, promote healthy patterns and life outlook, and provide social connections (to sports/hobbies, a person or group, etc.). There is a wealth of data supporting this assertion that extended day and extended year programs must be free/affordable and accessible (transportation or localized availability) to be effective. 4. Middle and High School programs that address risky behavior Risky behavior must be identified and addressed early and repetitively to ensure positive change. LifeSkills class in middle school (which is funded by CSAC) has had a positive impact. �5A-3