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November 2015
Volume 26; Issue 2
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From the Executive Director's Desk
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| | Dick Sievers Executive Director |
There has been a lot going on these past few weeks. That is a good sign as I always feel better when we are busy. On October 22nd we moved into our new Outreach facility in Sioux Center. What a nice facility it is. The project took less than a year to finish which is very fast in construction time. Laura Benson, our Outreach/FADSS Director, did a fantastic job organizing the project. From selecting carpet to arranging for the movers, she has been deeply involved for the past year. The Sioux Center staff, Karmin Jeltema, Katie Vis and Laura Weatherford did a wonderful job as well with the move and throughout the process. Thanks to all of them for a job well done. I can truly say this was a joint effort on the part of the City of Sioux Center, Mid-Sioux and the general contractor, Rick Kattenberg of Impact Construction. I have to say thank you to board member and Sioux County Supervisor, Al Bloemendaal. Al pointed us in the direction of this property some time ago and it all worked out well. Just one more example of how important board members are to Mid-Sioux.
I also want to mention some other things that have taken place in the last number of weeks:
- Our Weatherization program ranks number 2 in the state in energy savings! Way to go Weatherization.
- Mid-Sioux (LIHEAP and Outreach staff) was 1 of 2 agencies in the state who submitted utility information to Mid-American Energy, Corp. with no errors. Thanks to all of you!
- Our Maternal/Child Health renewal application for the coming year was submitted without any changes or modifications being required. The only 1 in the state! Way to go Cindy Harpenau, Fiscal Staff and all who helped with the application.
- Congressman Steve King held a community forum at the Remsen Mid-Sioux office on October 14th. Congressman King is a co-sponsor of the re-authorization bill for the Community Services Block Grant. He speaks very highly of Mid-Sioux. Thank you all!
Thanks for helping to make Mid-Sioux successful and enjoy the warmer weather while you can! Happy Thanksgiving!
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WIC & Maternal/Child Health
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| Cindy Harpenau
WIC/MCH Director |
It's hard to believe another fiscal year has come and gone! WIC/MCH staff have been busy completing all the requirements for our FY'15 contracts; Year-End Reports are being completed; the MCH Cost Analysis report is being compiled and then it's time to get started on the FY'16 activities!
A summary of some of the services families received through the WIC/MCH, hawk-i, and I-Smile programs over the past year include:
- 775 women, 841 infants and 1,275 children were served through the WIC program for a total of 2,891 unduplicated participants. This is down about 100 participants from FY'14. Mid-Sioux's 8 WIC clinics served approximately 1,757 participants per month; compared to 1,851 participants per month in FY'14.
- Over 53,610 WIC Food Instruments were redeemed in the five county service area for a redemption of $1,140,432.
- Approximately 335 pregnant women participated in the Maternal Health program with over 115 women receiving dental only services.
- Over 1,565 lead screenings were completed on children under the age of five.
- Almost 540 vaccines were administered to 204 children at the monthly WIC/MCH clinics.
- School sealants were provided to almost 770 students with over 1,010 children screened. 76% of the students screened were in need of sealants. Almost 3,250 sealants were placed on students at various schools throughout the five county service area.
- Approximately 920 WIC and/or Head Start children received oral health screenings and fluoride varnish applications by the Dental Hygienist and the WIC/MCH nurses.
- 20% of the women and children that received an oral health screening required an "urgent" referral to a local dentist.
- Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility applications were completed for 59 pregnant women and almost 235 children.
- Over 2,420 Newly Eligible Medicaid participants received information from Mid-Sioux staff regarding their health insurance. 1,370 (56%) of these families were contacted by Mid-Sioux Registered Nurses and were educated on well-child examinations, oral health care, immunizations, etc.
The next year looks to be challenging as our staff become familiar with the new Medicaid MCO (Managed Care Organization) system and begin to educate families on the changes they will see in their Medicaid healthcare.
A big thank you to all the WIC/MCH staff for providing quality services to the children and families we serve! Our families are very fortunate to receive WIC/MCH services from such a caring group of staff.
Front Row: Katie Frericks, Karina Nonnemacher, Carolyn Strub,Kim Woodall-Seliger
Back Row: Holly Svitak, Jean Waldschmitt, Amy Kreber, Anita Penning, Dawn Ericson,Cindy Harpenau
Not Pictured: Lana Leaverton
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Head Start
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Kendra Rensink
Head Start/EHS Director
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Head Start is a federally funded preschool program for 3 and 4 year old children in Cherokee, Ida, Plymouth, Lyon and Sioux Counties. Head Start is free for families who meet the federally mandated income guidelines with some allowances for higher income families or children with special needs. The income guideline for Head Start is at 130% or below federal poverty level.
Head Start School Readiness for 3 and 4 year olds are progressing well.
The Head Start Approach to School Readiness means that children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children's learning and schools are ready for children. All agencies are required to establish school readiness goals which are defined as "the expectations of children's status and progress across domains of language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches to learning, physical health and well-being and motor development and social and emotional development that will improve readiness for kindergarten goals" and that "appropriately reflect the ages of children, birth to five, participating in the program".
The data below identifies the percentage of our HS children meeting or exceeding widely held expectations in the following areas of development. Progress is monitored and assessed throughout the year by staff and parents.
Social Emotional Development - 78.6% Physical Development - 77.6%
Language 64% Congnitive - 74.7%
Literacy - 53.6% Mathematics - 51.5%
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CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL
#TogetherWeWill... Work together to provide NEW educational materials for Iowa!
Region 1 staff of CCR&R NW Iowa (pictured above in their favorite TEAM apparel) worked to update many new manuals to be used in the new year:
Child Development Home Consultation Guide: Child Care Consultant Supervisors have updated the Guide to assure alignment with new home rules. Child Care Consultants use this tool to help providers meet Iowa minimum requirements during consultation visits.
Guide to Choosing Quality Child Care: The CCR&R Parent Team has revised the booklet that is provided to parents in referral packets and posted on the website. The book will undergo another revision in FY16 to incorporate additional CCDBG (Child Care Development Block Grant) consumer education requirements. The booklet is also being translated into Spanish with a target for completion by the end of the year.
ChildNet 2.0 revision: The CCR&R Training Specialists have completed a revision of the ChildNet training curriculum. The Iowa Early Learning Standards (IELS) have been incorporated into each module to increase awareness and implementation of the standards. The ChildNet Checklist (that CCR&R Consultants use for the certification visit) is now included as a part of each module so the instructors are increasing provider's awareness of the content of the checklist.
Program for Infant and Toddler (PITC) Curriculum: In the works, a group from CCR&R has been formed to look at the delivery of PITC training. The main goal is to ensure the training that is offered statewide is consistent with current research and practices as well as to create more birth to three training opportunities for the child care community.
Director Certification: In the works, a team has been formed to develop a training and credential for centers and preschool directors.
If you would like to learn more about the free services offered to providers and parents by Child Care Resource & Referral, visit their website at www.iowaccrr.org.
CCR&R is committed to ensure that Iowa's vision is met: "All children, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful."
Funding provided by the Iowa Department of Human Services through the Child Care Development Fund
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418 S. Marion Street | Remsen, IA 51050 | 712-786-2001 | 800-859-2025
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