The purpose of the meeting Thursday
was to open a dialogue so that the groups and individuals could get
acquainted with one another, and to raise awareness on what each
organization does to assist families in Logan County.
Moore began by talking about a
training she had attended last year and how it had benefited her in
her program. She said in that meeting she had seen some of the most
frightening statistics for this area. Ranking high on the list of
issues for young children were problems with childhood obesity and
child abuse.
She said that at one time, her
school had 30 foster children. So, she was very well-versed in the
problems of child abuse, as well as how to work with the state
Department of Children and Family Services and the foster care
program.
She said she was led to write a
grant through the Illinois Action for Children and won the grant.
This gave the Healthy Families Task Force the momentum to start a
program of working together to offer valuable services to those in
need.
She said the best part of the
meeting Thursday was the opportunity for the various groups to talk
about what they do and, more important, to share information on how
to access the services they do provide. Moore said it would surprise
them to find out how many people say they don’t know how to get the
help they need; they don’t know whom to contact.
Moore began the presentations
around the room by discussing her program, Christian Child Care.
Christian Child Care
Christian Child Care is located on
Wyatt Avenue in the single-story building of the Odd Fellows campus.
The phone number for the office is 217-732-5750.
Christian Child Care offers
affordable day care services for working families. Depending on the
income level of the family, day care services can be supplemented
with payments from DCFS. DCFS pays the qualifying portion of the day
care bill and parents are responsible for the balance, if there is
one.
Moore said that when she took over
as the director of the day care six years ago, it was in dire
straits financially. She told the group that it was community
support that helped her get the center back on its feet, but money
is always going to be a problem for the day care.
In addition to financial
improvement, Moore and her staff have worked hard to achieve high
ratings from the state on the quality of care they provide.
Currently the center is holding a strong 3-star rating. Moore said
that in all of Illinois, there are only slightly over 400 day care
facilities that have that high a rating, something she is pleased
with, but not satisfied with. She wants to see her agency earn a
4-star rating. But again, there are improvements that would have to
be made, and that means more money. Moore said she hopes to do more
parent-teacher activities and more parent trainings. This will go
toward her higher rating.
She said it was very hard to run
the agency on what they do have. She said, "I would love to give my
staff raises," but she told the group the money just isn’t there.
She doesn’t want to raise rates because her parents are already
struggling with the fees. She also noted that in Springfield the
same services she offers would cost over $400 a month, and in
Bloomington it would cost over $300 a month. Christian Child Care
rates are about half that amount.
Head Start
There were three representatives in
the room from the Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois:
Marcia Hieronymus, Mackenzie Montgomery and Libby Canady. Hieronymus
began their presentation by offering a rundown of all the services
the agency offers.
Community Action offers programs
such as Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance, which provides
funds to help pay heating costs for seniors and low-income families.
The agency also provides a weatherization program to help make homes
more energy-efficient. In addition they offer senior meal programs
with home delivery and congregate dining sites, and the Foster
Grandparent program that links seniors to at-risk children in the
public school system. Community Action also administers the Logan
Mason Transportation Program.
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column] |
The group was there to primarily talk
about Head Start and Early Head Start. In this area there are three
Head Start classrooms that serve approximately 90 children. The
Community Action Head Start program serves six counties, and the
total enrollment is close to 400 children.
Hieronymus said right now they are
recruiting for the fall classes, and families are being encouraged
to sign up their children. The program is divided into two stages:
the birth to 3-year-old group and the 3- to 5-year-old group.
Hieronymus said the programs are
available free of charge to qualified families. The program includes
daily transportation to school for the children and healthy meals
and snacks during the class period.
Head Start is federally funded, and
Hieronymus said they, too, face challenges as government funding is
always changing and they have experienced some deep cuts.
Montgomery talked about the health
aspects of Head Start. In addition to offering good nutrition, the
program works to get needed medical services for the children. She
said their biggest challenge is in finding dental care. Many of the
families have medical cards that will subsidize the needed services,
but the problem is that there is a shortage of dentists locally who
will take the card. Head Start does take advantage of the dental
clinics offered by the Logan County Department of Public Health, but
in many cases their services are not enough to meet the needs of the
child.
Canady talked about the early
childhood program and what it offers to parents of small children.
She said the program reaches out to parents to offer parenting help
and education.
The program also offers help for
parents in conducting job searches and writing résumés. In addition
they do job interview trainings.
The Community Action corporate
offices are at 1800 Fifth St. in Lincoln. Their phone number is
217-732-2159.
Department of Child and Family
Services
Cince Bowns was on hand from the
Department of Child and Family Services. DCFS deals with abused,
neglected and delinquent children. Bowns said they do a lot of work
with mandated reporter training and have a memorandum of
understanding with the local Head Start.
Mandated reporting is a program
specifying that agencies working with children are required to
observe child behavior and report to DCFS any actions that could be
an indication of neglect or abuse in the home. DCFS investigates
those reports on a one-on-one basis and acts accordingly. DCFS can
be reached by calling 217-735-4402.
Lincoln Christian Church
Marsha Wells of Lincoln Christian
Church is a youth minister at the church. The church offers worship
programs for children, and a day care program is also available.
Lincoln Christian Church is across
from Latham Park on North McLean Street.
___
Part 2 of this report will be
published on Friday with glimpses of area youth summer programs
offered by 4-H, Salvation Army, United Cerebral Palsy and the
Lincoln Park District.
[By NILA SMITH] |