Head Start Annual Outcomes Report 2023

Moving on from COVID

After three decades with LCCAA Head Start, we can look back and see how our program has changed and adapted to meet the needs of our families.

As thrilled as we are to finally have the pandemic behind us, we are just as proud of how we adapted during and after it. We have been through so much in the last three years making difficult choices and changes. Fortunately, we had excellent models of resilience to follow – our Head Start families.

Our program does not look like it did when I joined LCCAA Head Start staff 32 years ago or when Assistant Director Stefanie Drew did 29 years ago. It even looks different than it did only five years ago. That’s a good thing! We must change as the needs of our community change.

Being adaptable provides incredible opportunities for our future. We can’t predict what might happen next but we pledge to continue to plan and seek out new strategies to produce great outcomes for children and families.

We are proud to present the data from our past year which includes amazing accomplishments by students, families and our dedicated staff. As always, they conquered all the obstacles thrown at them, clearing hurdles with room to spare.

I believe there are great things in store for us in the coming years. We can’t thank you enough for supporting all of us on this journey. You are one of the many reasons Head Start Works.

Stefanie Drew Head Start Director Head Start Assistant Director

Shauna Matelski, Ed.D.

Head Start Helps Children Overcome Barriers

Mila Sclimenti found her voice at LaGrange Head Start and now she’s on her way to kindergarten.

“Mila didn’t start talking until she went to school there,” said her grandmother Jeannie Sclimenti. “Those teachers have worked with her and brought out her little personality which is so cute.”

Jeannie was concerned Mila would struggle both academically and socially and was looking for help. Jeannie and her husband Vito care for both Mila and her younger sister Journee as well as their own 15-year-old daughter Natalie.

“Mila stepped out of grandma’s car on the first day with a smile that lit up the room,” said teacher Justina Morgan. “We welcomed her into our classroom family.”

Morgan said Mila wasn’t afraid to make friends or communicate and it didn’t take long to understand her.

“As you get to know a child, you pick up on little clues that they give you such as their tone and expression, their hand gestures, you watch their eyes and read their lips,” she said.

Mila’s hard work has paid off in improved communication and fine motor skills. Her grandparents are grateful for the support they’ve received from the Head Start program.

Head Start Helps Families Grow Together

Joniel Ruiz started the school year frightened and tearful. He ended the year confident and happy, thanks to Head Start staff.

“I feel like he broke free,” said his mother, Ninoshka Ruiz. “He loves his teachers and he loves Ms. Alicia.”

Hopkins Locke Site Administrator Alicia Risner said Joniel had a hard time separating from his parents. Emotions ran high.

“When mom would pull up to drop him off, he would cry and not want to come to school,” Riser said. “Mom was emotional

about leaving him at school especially if he was crying. I assured her that he was safe and we would be okay soon after she left.”

Ruiz said she and her husband Gabriel didn’t know what to do and they were grateful for Risner’s help and support.

“I was crying with him,” she said. “I was very frustrated. She made him feel so comfortable. Every single day she made sure we were okay.”

Ruiz knew Head Start was the right place for her son. Her daughter, Kelianiz, had already attended Hopkins Locke and had bilingual teacher Iraida Vargas.

“It was not easy, there was always crying,” Vargas said, “but gradually it was achieved. He had the initiative to stay a little longer. He made friends. Finally, we

succeeded.”

Working as a team, the staff and parents worked Joniel up from half days to full days and Risner checked in regularly and sent messages to his mother.

Joniel’s social skills greatly improved over the school year and he will return to Vargas’ class this fall.

“He’s very, very smart. He knows a lot of things,” Ruiz said. “I’m hoping he returns with a good attitude.”

Risner agrees.

“I was able to watch this scared and emotional little boy grow into a happy and confident preschooler,” Risner said. “I am so proud of both mom and dad for trusting us to keep their prized treasure safe. Not only did Joniel grow, but his family grew as well together through Head Start.”

“She doesn’t let her barriers affect how she functions in the classroom environment,” Morgan said. “She’s such an inspiration.”

What is Head Start?

Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs focused on comprehensive child development. LCCAA is Lorain County’s only Head Start provider. We offer center-based, school-based and home-based options.

Head Start serves children ages 3 to 5 and prepares them for kindergarten. Early Head Start serves pregnant women and children from birth to age 3.

LCCAA’s 2022 Community Needs Assessment showed us that more than a quarter of all children under five in Lorain County live at or below the poverty level. This represents approximately 4,750 children who likely qualify for Head Start or Early Head Start. Current funding allows 891 slots in Head Start and 58 in our Early Head Start program. At full enrollment, we are currently able to serve approximately 20 percent of the eligible children in Lorain County.

Both programs use 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for priority placement. In addition, the programs can serve 35% of families whose income is between 101 and 130%. Ten percent of families can exceed 130% of the FPL.

Families in the following situations are also automatically eligible:

‹ Receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

‹ Receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)

‹ Receiving SSI (Supplemental Security Income)

‹ Homeless, Foster Care or Kinship Care

Stepping Up to Provide Quality

Ohio created its five-star rating system to recognize and promote early learning and development programs that meet quality standards over and above the minimum health and safety licensing requirements.

All of LCCAA’s directly operated centers have earned the highest rating from Step Up to Quality: five stars. Higher ratings are given to programs employing teachers with more specialized training as well as enhanced parent, family and community engagement, among other criteria.

LCCAA Head Start includes 891 slots which in 2022-2023 served 779 students. Early Head Start includes 58 slots which served 73 young children and/or pregnant women.

Serving the Entire County

LCCAA Head Start meets children and families where they are by taking care to locate its centers and collaborative partners where needs are the greatest. LCCAA’s latest Community Needs Assessment verifies that our Head Start Centers are located where the highest population of young children lives and where they are likely to be in low-income families.

Directly Operated

LCCAA Head Start @ Central Plaza, 1949 Broadway Ave., Lorain 44052

LCCAA Head Start @ Elyria, 631 Griswold Road, Elyria 44035

LCCAA Head Start @ Firelands 10643 Vermilion Road, Oberlin 44074

LCCAA Head Start @ Hopkins-Locke, 1050 Reid Avenue, Lorain 44052

LCCAA Head Start @ Wellington 305 Union Street, Wellington 44090

LCCAA Head Start @ LaGrange

12079 LaGrange Road, LaGrange 44050

Coming Soon: LCCAA Early Head Start 107 Oberlin Road, Elyria 44035

Partners

Horizon Educational Centers (4 sites)

Little Lighthouse Learning Center (1 site)

Involving Parents in Policies

Head Start requires convening of a Parent Policy Council for each program throughout the country. Parents are encouraged to participate to help make decisions about the program.

Parents are elected by their centers to serve on the council and the president of the council holds a full, voting seat on the LCCAA Board of Directors.

2022-2023 Policy Council

Lassondra Armstrong

Ciara Bradley

Amirah Bryant

Damaris Guevara

Millie Harris

Devin Hendricks

Genesis

Faith

Alexandria

Melanie

Melinda Matthews

Coreasa Portis

Rodriguez

Rosario

Wilhelm

Wiseman

Zamaria Bohannon, President

Meeting High Standards

LCCAA Head Start graduates are curious, creative and ready for kindergarten. They can confidently leave their parents and caregivers, care for their own basic needs and are ready to learn to read and write. They are also beginning to reason and solve problems as they learn to imitate their teachers in becoming enthusiastic lifelong learners.

LCCAA Head Start follows exacting standards from both federal and state agencies as well as our agency’s own core values and strategic goals. Among the criteria we follow are:

Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: a comprehensively researched set of standards regarding what young children should know and be able to do.

Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards: child development standards reflecting the rapid development of young children.

Teacher Credentials: 62 percent of LCCAA employed teachers have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Early Childhood Education or a related field.

Screenings and Assessments: all students are evaluated within 45 days of enrollment so their unique needs can be met. Quarterly assessments monitor growth and progress.

classrooms are well-equipped with abundant supplies.

Achieving School Readiness

The federal Office of Head Start (OHS) defines school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning in life.

As a Head Start grantee, LCCAA Head Start is required to have school readiness goals and we are responsible for measuring outcomes to ensure children’s development and learning progress throughout the school year.

Child outcome data is gathered in November, February and May. Individual growth reports are shared with families during conferences and home visits.

Each age group - infants, toddlers and preschoolers - has multiple goals to reach under each of the domains in the national framework. For more detailed information on these, please see the School Readiness Goals document on our website.

Scan this code to view LCCAA Head Start’s School Readiness Goals.

Creating a Learning Environment

Classroom environments are evaluated using the seven-point Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) scale which offers teachers feedback on how they interact with students. Three domains were examined in 28 classrooms.

Emotional Support assesses the degree to which teachers establish and promote a positive climate in their classroom through their everyday interactions. The average score for the year was 6.39.

Classroom Organization assesses classroom routines and procedures related to the organization and management of children’s behavior, time and attention in the classroom. The average score for the year was 5.82.

Instructional Support assesses the ways in which teachers implement the curriculum to effectively promote cognitive and language development. This domain measures how teachers support and extend children’s thinking, problem solving, conversational skills and vocabulary. The average score for the year was 3.22.

LCCAA staff includes 12 CLASS assessors and one CLASS preschool trainer.

Supporting Development

LCCAA is deeply committed to early intervention. Head Start works with local school districts through screenings and referrals on a wide range of disabilities. While developing children sometimes acquire skills and abilities at different rates, therapies or other services may help.

Speech therapy is one of the most common referrals and most concerns are mild and correctable. Referrals are also made for:

‹ developmental delays

‹ mental health

‹ hearing impairment

‹ autism

‹ learning disabilities

‹ visual impairment

‹ fine or gross motor delays

Head Start families with concerns should talk to their child’s teacher or their family service assistant. Our highly trained staff can help ease your mind and provide assistance if needed.

LCCAA Head Start Students Meet or

Widely Held Expectations are tasks and skills children of a certain age are expected to know and be able to perform. They apply to all children in an age group regardless of their household income. Head Start students make tremendous progress over the course of the school year. Many preschoolers enter Head Start with little to no learning background. By the end of the year, the number of children exceeding expectations has skyrocketed and very few remain below average. For the 2022-2023 school year there was a 37% gain in children meeting or exceeding expectations.

Social Emotional Development

Social Emotional objectives focus on how children are learning to control their behavior and emotions as well as how they are getting along with other children. At this age, children make friends easily, manage feelings, recognize clues to other people’s feelings and can balance their needs against other children’s needs.

Physical Development

Physical skills include things that adults take for granted such as walking, running and healthy eating. They also include gross motor skills such as throwing a ball and fine motor skills like holding a crayon to color a picture. Head Start also provides special interventions for students with disabilities.

Literacy

Children preparing to become readers are learning to identify letters and their sounds. They recognize rhymes and hold books right side up. They understand some basic print concepts such as books are read from left to right. They can retell a familiar story and they are learning to write their names.

Exceed Widely Held Expectations

How to Read the Data

Fall data reflects assessments upon enrollment prior to receiving instruction or services.

Spring data is from June 2023 for all students ages 3 to 5.

Cognitive Development

Young children enjoy learning because they are curious. As their attention spans lengthen, they are more persistent in trying to solve problems. They remember experiences and can connect them to each other. They learn to pretend and start to understand symbolic thought.

Language Development

Speaking and understanding words are skills that rapidly expand in the preschool years. Children learn to follow directions, hold a two-way conversation, and use complete sentences — all with an ever-growing vocabulary. They regularly use conventional grammar and other social rules of language.

Mathematics

Counting, shapes, patterns and beginning measurements are all foundational math skills. As children progress in their academic career, this expands into scientific inquiry as well as geography and other concepts of social studies.

Health & Nutrition Services

LCCAA Head Start addresses health and nutrition every day. Head Start serves breakfast, lunch and snacks to hundreds of kids daily while managing dozens of food allergies. Quality, balanced meals are often made from scratch and meet strict USDA standards. The central kitchen provides more than 78,000 meals annually. Efforts continue on a new state-of-the-art central kitchen.

Annually, Head Start also conducts screenings of vision, hearing, lead exposure, dental health and more. All these work together to make sure children are ready to continue learning in kindergarten. Navigating the world of health care became both more important and more intimidating in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to support families have increased and state-of-the-art equipment now includes needle-less hemoglobin testing.

Scan here for nutrition information on meals at LCCAA Head Start.

Out of the Box Solutions for Family Nutrition

LCCAA Head Start Nutrition staff go above and beyond to provide healthy and nutritious options for students and families.

During the school year, staff provide Try Day experiences to introduce new foods. Try Day is a multi-sensory event with teachers capitalizing on kids’ curiosity to create lessons.

Try Day foods have included asparagus, plantains, couscous and more. Some have been added to the regular menu.

With the help of a registered dietitian, LCCAA created a virtual series of cooking demonstrations. As part of the Out of the Box series, participants received a box of ingredients and sometimes tools to make the recipe at home.

“We want to empower parents to provide healthy and delicious meals at home,” said Food Service Manager Melinda Gray. “We want to offer them options and hope they will gain confidence to be more creative with fresh ingredients.”

Staff also facilitate student participation in larger events such as the October Great Apple Crunch and the annual Green Eggs and Ham Day during Dr. Seuss Week.

Intentional Family Engagement

Head Start is designed as a two generational approach. We support parents with information about important developmental milestones, guidance on family self-sufficiency goals and more. Family Service Assistants empower parents by connecting them with other needed services. They also provide support by building relationships and making sure each unique need is met.

Our work with families is based on mutual respect and trust, developing with every interaction between staff and families. Using intentional tools and strategies to support families, LCCAA’s Head Start and Early Head Start family service staff focus on the following objectives to strengthen families and parenting in our community:

‹ Family engagement in transitions.

‹ Family connections to peers & community.

‹ Families as advocates and leaders.

‹ Families as learners.

Mother Helped with Goal Setting

Alicia Rush is grateful for Head Start’s whole family approach; it’s helping her to provide a better life for her son.

Avion has been a student in LCCAA’s homebased program for two years receiving weekly visits from Sabrina “Miss Ellen” Osborne. But those visits were equally important for Alicia, who was mourning her mother.

“I was really distressed,” she said. “I was kind of losing my hope and faith. Miss Ellen was really a big, huge cheerleader for me.”

Osborne said Alicia would cancel visits when their relationship began. By working with her using the Growing Great Families curriculum, Osborne encouraged Alicia to make goals and set routines.

“She worked on getting a job and found one she really enjoys,” Osborne said. “On our last visit, she informed me that she applied for an STNA class.”

Alicia and a friend will be carpooling to classes at Heart to Heart in Cleveland working toward their State Tested Nursing Assistant credential. Meanwhile, she works as an aide at Danbury Senior Living in North Ridgeville.

“My mom was my very first patient,” Alicia said, adding she loves working with the residents. “Not everybody can handle this job.”

Her duties include feeding, dressing and otherwise assisting residents with limited abilities. She enjoys connecting with the residents and believes the work is what she is meant to do.

“I just like to make people feel better,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot. I know my role in life is to serve people in some way.”

In addition to setting goals that gave her purpose, Osborne helped Alicia be a better parent while also educating Avion who heads to kindergarten this fall.

“He’s come a long way. He picked up a lot more than I thought he would. He really loves reading,” Alicia said.

She called Osborne “an angel” for all the encouragement and resources she provided.

“You want to come through for your kid,” Alicia said. “Miss Ellen taught me I’m going to make mistakes and it’s still going to be okay.”

Alicia’s next goal is relocating to a larger and better located apartment.

“This is a true success for her,” Osborne said. “I see a confident young lady with goals and ambition for herself and her child.”

Summer Child Care Offered

Head Start Supports Pregnant Women

LCCAA Head Start’s Pregnancy Support Services Program works in partnership with Lorain County Public Health to impact the startling rate of infant mortality in Lorain County. In Lorain County, 13 out of every 1,000 Black or African American infants die in their first year of life. The rate for white infants is 4.5.

Community Health Worker Melissa Carroll focuses on supporting African American mothers to improve those outcomes by supporting women during and after their pregnancies. Pregnancy Support Services are available to everyone in the county with no income qualifications for participants. Women can reach out to Carroll at any stage of their pregnancy.

Scan here to learn more about Pregnancy Support Services

Head Start’s Summer Child Care bubbled with busy learning for several weeks during the summer of 2023.

The new program provided child care and quality instruction for 12 children.

Experienced LCCAA Head Start teachers used the same curriculum studies used during the regular school year.

Students studied simple machines, insects and more while enjoying indoor and - where not hampered by air quality issues - outdoor play. They also received visits from Miss Izzey, well-known in LCCAA Head Start for her music instruction.

“We laughed, played, learned and grew in the time that we spent together,” the teachers said. “They have grown a lot in the short amount of time that we have had with them.”

Program Supports New Mother

Carolyne Ledesma no longer feels alone thanks to the support she and her new daughter, Victoria, have received from multiple LCCAA programs.

“They’ve really helped me,” Carolyne said. “I was lonely, depressed. I didn’t know where to go with my pregnancy.”

As a pregnant woman with limited English, Carolyne faced job loss, eviction, utility bills she couldn’t pay and, later, threats to the health of her child. Seeking stability for her baby, she searched the Internet and found Pregnancy Support Services last October.

“Our first visit was an emotional visit,” said Melissa Carroll, the Community Health Worker who operates the Pregnancy Support Services program.

Born in Dominican Republic, Carolyne moved to Puerto Rico as a teenager and trained as a registered nurse. After several years working with Hospice patients, job prospects were severely curtailed by Hurricane Maria. Carolyne had visited her aunt in Lorain and saw many more opportunities for nurses. She was attending classes at Lorain County Community College to get her Ohio nursing license when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Carroll reached out to Early Head Start and Teresa Pagan joined the support team. The two began connecting Carolyne with legal aid for eviction help, with rent and utility assistance and more. A long process for getting an apartment through Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority began.

Then in December, Carolyn had her 20-week ultrasound which found the baby had amniotic band syndrome.

Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) occurs when the lining of the amniotic sac is damaged during pregnancy, creating fibrous, string-like strands of tissue that entangle the fetus or parts of the fetus and or umbilical cord. Called amniotic bands, these strands may wrap around different parts of the developing body, restricting blood flow and disrupting the baby’s normal growth. Victoria had bands wrapped around both her hands and one of her feet as well as a band dangerously close to the umbilical cord. Pagan and Carroll connected Carolyne with experts at Akron Children’s Hospital who recommended intrauterine surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She spent three weeks “sola” (alone) in Cincinnati with both Carroll and Pagan texting and calling her to support her through a successful surgery.

Then came multiple trips to Akron to check Victoria’s circulation, ultrasounds to make sure the bands hadn’t regrown and a trip to eviction court, all while Carolyne was on bed rest and unable to work.

“It was a long process,” Carroll said. “She had court while she was recovering so we helped her get a Spanish speaking legal aid volunteer. We also got her help with rent, utilities all at the same time.”

At 30 weeks gestation, Carolyne’s water broke. Fearing the worst, she went to the nearest hospital, Fairview, where Victoria was born two weeks later. She weighed only three pounds and two ounces.

“I feel this is where the miracle comes in because the baby didn’t need any oxygen, she was perfect,” Pagan said.

Fingers on both of Victoria’s hands are malformed and the toes on one of her feet are webbed. She has already begun physical therapy to work on reflexes and has some surgeries in her future. Carolyne’s mother Griselda Nunez arrived from Dominican Republic and she continues to have the support of Carroll and Pagan.

“From the beginning, it was very hard emotionally, psychologically,” Carolyne said. “I remember Melissa told me you are not alone and I couldn’t believe these people. Now I’m so grateful.”

Pregnancy Support Services provides help through the baby’s first year and Early Head Start through age three, so the support she feels will continue. In addition to managing Victoria’s health, Carolyne will be working on her English skills and getting her Ohio nursing license.

“And then I’ll go visit her and she can take care of me,” Pagan said. “We are making memories together. This is the beginning of her successful life.”

LCCAA also supports pregnant women through its Pathways Health HUB. Scan here to learn more.

Dedicated Staff Valued, Recognized

LCCAA emphasizes professional development by supporting staff members as they seek credentials and degrees, offering tuition reimbursement and celebrating accomplishments. Head Start Performance Standards lay out the training and qualification requirements for all levels of staff and our staff typically exceed these requirements.

Additionally, LCCAA Head Start has actively sought to promote the profession of Early Childhood Education by encouraging apprentices and by welcoming high school students who want to learn about the profession.

Fourteen staff members are currently working on degrees or credentials with three using tuition assistance from LCCAA.

Henry Retires After Long Career

Three decades after being encouraged to volunteer in the classroom, Sharon Henry has retired from LCCAA Head Start. When she started volunteering, Dorothy Flanders encouraged her to apply for a job. “I came to work at Head Start because of a person who loved Head Start like I do,” Henry said. “Many of the folks are family. We have gone through the highs and lows together.”

Henry started out as a family advocate more than 30 years ago. Her assignments took her all over the county and she also worked with the home-based and collaborative programs.

“What I really love about Head Start is that it’s given ME more than I’ve given it,” she said. “It’s given me the chance to learn and grow, meet fantastic people and be part of a great team.”

“I’ve been very fortunate to work with Sharon for nearly 30 years,” said Asst. Director Stefanie Drew, who was hired by Henry. “She has shown her dedication, leadership and a willingness to be an integral team member.”

Drew added that Henry has been the program’s historian, strong recruiter, celebrator of parents and a true advocate of the agency.

“Sharon would help with anything I ever asked her to do and most of the time she was already volunteering before I could ask,” Drew said. “We all wish Sharon a happy retirement filled with days of happiness and fulfillment. She will be missed!”

Credentials Earned in 2022-2023

Administrative Assistant LaToya Alexander

Certificate, Business Management, Lorain County Community College

Early Childhood Service Worker

Jeannine Potapenko

Associate’s Degree, Early Childhood Education, Liberty University

Assistant Teacher Steve Ortiz

Bachelor’s Degree, Early Childhood Education, University of Toledo

Promotions

Family Service Assistant Bernadette Dickey was promoted to Family Service Supervisor and Asst. Site Administrator at

Parent Works to Earn Credential

LCCAA Head Start started its apprentice program to help promote Early Childhood Education as a profession.

Head Start parent Maria del Santos worked last school year in a classroom at Hopkins-Locke Head Start where her son attended while taking coursework to complete her Child Development Associate (CDA).

The CDA is the most widely recognized

credential in Early Childhood Education and as such is a key stepping stone on the path of career advancement.

Maria helped classroom teachers with just about all aspects of the preschoolers’ day: taking attendance, helping with activities, serving food and playing with the students.

“It feels good to have the opportunity to learn and work with the kids,” she said. “I want to keep learning.”

Vermilion Senior Decides on Career After Head Start Experience

Vermilion High School graduate Hannah Piwinski embarked on a career in early childhood education by casting off at Firelands Head Start.

VHS’ Set Sail program allows seniors to organize job shadowing or an internship with a company or occupation they are interested in pursuing.

Hannah started out job shadowing pediatric nurses at the Cleveland Clinic.

“After a few weeks there, it was definitely not something that interested me,” she said. “I took a chance on preschool and it was the best choice.”

Hannah began working in the Firelands Head Start classroom with Site Administrator Pam Caruso.

Assistant Teacher Publishes Book

Preschoolers everywhere have a new tool to prepare for their first day of school thanks to an LCCAA Head Start assistant teacher.

Kiara Olmo Velez has published “My First Day of Preschool” in both English and Spanish on Amazon.com. The book is designed to help anxious parents and students who are concerned about how the first day of school will unfold. The book walks readers through a

preschooler’s day based on what Olmo Velez has learned about children in her work with Head Start.

“She had great natural instincts when working with the children,” Caruso said. “They were excited to see her each day and we were thankful that more children were able to have extra one-on-one time during the day.”

Hannah felt welcome from the first moment and thoroughly enjoyed her time with the 20 students.

“The setting and the environment were something that I felt comfortable being in and going to everyday,” she said. “I enjoyed working hands on and being involved with the kids.”

Hannah is now majoring in Early Childhood Education at Ursuline College.

“Knowing what to expect helped me prepare my own children,” Olmo Velez said. “I always like watching children develop. I want to see how they think and what they need.”

Olmo Velez has been at Hopkins Locke Head Start since October 2021. She moved to Lorain from Puerto Rico after

the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria and is now working on her bachelor’s degree.

Fiscal Accountability

Like all Head Start programs nationwide, LCCAA’s program is funded by grants from the department of Health and Human Services and was originally part of the War on Poverty. LCCAA is the only Head Start provider in Lorain County and has been providing services since 1966.

Funding Sources

In-Kind

LCCAA Head Start leverages grant dollars with in-kind contributions from our partners and our volunteers. Our in-kind contributions exceed requirements.

Materials $10,802.58

Volunteer Hours $437,423.35

Other $2,078,518.08

Total $2,526,743.81

2023-2024 Proposed Budget

*T&TA= Training and Technical Assistance

2022-2023 Expenditures

LCCAA’s fiscal audit for 2022-23 has been finalized. There were no deficiencies relating to the audit of financial statements, no instances of noncompliance material to the financial statements, and no deficiencies relating to the audit of the major federal and state award programs.

LCCAA Reviews Remain Strong

LCCAA Head Start is entering year three of its five-year grant. In each grant cycle, a series of reviews are conducted.

During 2022-2023, the Focus Area 1 review was conducted virtually and no issues were found. A Focus Area 2 review, involving an on-site visit is expected either during the 2023-2024 school year or in the 2024-2025 school year.

In the Focus Area 2, the Office of Head Start is looking for grantees to demonstrate their ability to track and assess their program’s progress and performance, use data to drive results and make adjustments and corrections as needed.

When federal reviewers were last on site in November 2018 the program passed with flying colors.

Brothers Find Independence

The Lara brothers took their tight sibling bond to school at LCCAA’s Wellington Head Start and each found his independence.

“Elliot and Emmanuel have grown so much this school year,” teacher Melissa Kowal said. “They’ve blossomed into being independent and we have enjoyed having them in our classroom.”

Emmanuel had attended a few hours of preschool at JVS the year before but this year was Elliot’s first and he struggled to adjust.

“I really love that they were able to go together this year,” said Andrea Bailey. “It eased my worries because they were able to have each other.”

Andrea noted dramatic differences in her two sons, saying Emmanuel hit all milestones as expected while Elliot seems to need more assistance.

“I was worried if he was going to be able to go to school at all,” Andrea said.

Elliot formed a tight bond with “Mrs. K” while staff worked together to put in place an Individualized Education Plan with the supports he needs to continue.

“She was able to give him enough love but still set the boundaries saying “you need to do this yourself” but she was close enough to help if needed,” Andrea said. “She was very consistent. She’s definitely meant to do what she does. She’s been a blessing to me.”

Emmanuel is headed to kindergarten at Westwood Elementary this fall and Elliott will return to Mrs. K’s classroom housed in the same building for a second year. Meanwhile, Elliot became a big brother when Emmit was born to Andrea and her husband Elijah. Elijah is a glass installer and Andrea is working toward her social work license.

Andrea said she is grateful for Head Start and gives the program a “10 out of 10.”

“They put in the time and effort for your children,” she said. “They give your child the opportunity to find their way.”