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Redlands Christian Migrant ASST. ;tion, Inc . /RCMA Whispering Pines Chi . .. Development Center/Children Services Advisory Committee Indian River County Be PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT 1 . ) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change ? b) Who has the need ? c) Where do they live ? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data , with reference source , that corroborates that this is an area of need . According to Alice C . Larson Study, Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Enumeration Profiles Study, there are 5 , 053 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Indian River County . The median family income for these families is $ 7 , 500 a year (the Miami Herald 8/2003 "The Face of Florida ' s Farmworkers") . Families encompassed in these community households tend to be lacking in the necessary skills to access the services and education that is available to them . Due to the fact that many agricultural working families migrate to attain needed income , there is a natural result of educational limitations the children of these families face . School readiness, as well as parenting, and advocacy skills , are some of the major issues facing the successful development of these families . Children enrolled in the RCMA programs are considered disadvantaged "educationally" and "at-risk" for dropping out later in school . As of April ' s School Readiness report, there are 101 infants and toddlers on the Indian River County waiting list . Recent brain research tells us that intervention services provided during the first three years of a child ' s life is critical to his/her success later in life . It is important we work with parents to help them develop the knowledge and learn the skills necessary to help their child . Very few child care centers offer infant and toddler care . With the required ratio of one teacher for every four infants most child care providers find it more profitable to offer care to preschool and school age children. We must reverse this trend . In Indian River County the current reimbursement to a center for providing care to four infants, 10. 5 hours per day, (M-F, 6: 30am to Spm) for 260 days per year in an accredited center is $27, 456. The salary/fringe for one full-time CDA teacher, making $9. 00 per hour, and one part-time teacher making $8. 00 per hour is approximately $30, 680. This amount does not include training and/or retention strategies. It is obvious that centers need to find alternative methods to fund infant/toddler care in order to operate a financially sound program . One method is to find financial assistance/subsidies to offset the cost of teacher salaries. Without this financial assistance child care programs cannot afford to serve this most vulnerable age group, 2 . a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population ; b) Explain how these existing programs are under- serving the targeted population of your program . a) There are no existing programs that specifically serve RCMA ' s targeted population . There are other programs that provide school readiness child care , which is required, and adhere to the DCF licensing guidelines as well as school readiness guidelines and Statute 65C - 22 . b) RCMA ' s target population is migrant, seasonal and former farmworkers and rural poor farmworker families and therefore : -The center hours are based on the working day of the farmworker parents . - 85 % of the staff are of the same culture as the children in the centers and are hired from the communities served . -The family ' s native language ( Spanish) is spoken in the center with a strong emphasis on learning English, both for the parent and the children aged birth to three . Once a child turns three all instruction is provided in English in order to prepare the child for kindergarten . - Centers are located in the agriculture community as a convenience for the families . - Lesson Plans are individualized for each child based on the results of assessments . - Child/teacher ratios are lower than other agencies due to the achievement and maintenance of accreditation . -An Early Childhood Specialist is in each center to oversee the education program . - RCMA has a written plan of action based on performance standards set by the Federal Government . 4