Program areas at OCPC
EARLY HEAD START (5525):One Place is the grantee for Early Head Start in our community. Early Head Start is a federal program regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Head Start, and serves families with children up to the age of three, and pregnant women that meet Head Start eligibility. The home-based program provides services to 6 funded expectant women and their families, focusing on prenatal health and child development and includes a monthly 90 minute in-home visit utilizing a curriculum that increases knowledge in the areas of health, nutrition, safety, infant care, breastfeeding, and more. The Child Care Partnership program is funded to provide center-based services to 72 children from 6-weeks to 3-years-old. Children are in a classroom setting Monday through Friday and participate in planned activities to support each child's individual development using the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Children's growth and development are tracked through formative assessments with individualized goals for each child. While Early Head Start is focused on school readiness, children and their families are fully supported through comprehensive services that ensure children are on track developmentally or receiving intervention services to include medical, dental, and vision care, and are supported across all developmental domains.
SMART START PUBLIC PREK SUBSIDY (2341):Our technical assistance team collaborates with child care centers in Onslow County to create strategic goals based on programmatic needs using a list of structured technical assistance plans to include Organizational Practices for Continuous Quality Improvement, Effective Teaching Practices to Improve Classroom Management, Healthy Child Initiative, Using an NC Approved Curriculum, Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Intentional Teaching, and NAEYC Accreditation. Early educators receive strengths-based coaching to support the program improvement process. Programs receive enhancements based on Smart Start Dual Subsidy funding requirements to further provide resources to support and sustain program improvement. One Place created a high-quality preschool program modeled after the successful NC Pre-Kindergarten program to serve eligible 3-year-old children and provide them with an additional year of preschool that would improve school readiness through Smart Start Dual Subsidy funding. Teachers and teacher assistants must meet strong educational requirements and participate in technical assistance and professional development coaching throughout the year. Nearly half of the children served in Three School participated in NC Pre-Kindergarten the following year.
NC PRE-K (2348, 3323):One Place is the contractor for NC Pre-Kindergarten, a state-funded, high-quality program designed to enhance school readiness for at-risk eligible 4-year-old children. NC Pre-Kindergarten has a proven track record in North Carolina. This high-quality early childhood program implements an evidence-based curriculum that aligns to the NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development and provides a comprehensive program that supports children's development in approaches to play and learning, emotional and social development, health and physical development, language development and communication, and cognitive development.
CHILD CARE SUBSIDY (2361) - The cost of child care is high for families of young children. At OCPC the Child Care Subsidy team partners with families to determine if they meet eligibility for Child Care Subsidy that off-sets the high cost of child care for working parents and parents going to school. Families meet with caseworkers that review each families circumstance to determine their ability to participate in the program. Staff also can support families in obtaining a child care referral to identify where they want their children to attend care and obtain their voucher for child care. Children participating in Child Care Subsidy are served in licensed child care centers or family child care homes that meet Child Care Subsidy contract eligibility. Families that come to OCPC to receive this service describe this service as a great resource and support.
CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL (3104):In Onslow County, many parents and early educators struggle to find the resources to help their children thrive. Child Care Resource & Referral Services (CCR&R) staff listen to their needs, provide guidance, and make connections to community programs and resources that benefit children. Staff work to educate parents on the First 2000 days and the importance of choosing high-quality preschool and child care facilities that support the healthy development of children in order for children to be healthy, safe and nurtured, and ready for school and learning. Education is provided to increase knowledge and help parents understand the NC Quality Ratings Improvement System and licensure process. Consumer information helps parents better recognize and choose the best facility for their family. CCR&R offers an extensive training program for educators and community members to strengthen and increase knowledge of the early childhood workforce.
CHILDCARE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE - QUALITY CHILD CARE (3125)-Families deserve to trust that the child care facility that they select for their children is high quality. The Technical Assistance (TA) Team at One Place supports the coaching, mentoring, and professional development of early educators (teachers and administrators) in our community. The team provides resources, increases knowledge, and supports the implementation process for improving early education environments for children and their families. The TA Team utilizes the Technical Assistance Coaching Model to partner with educators to develop strategic plans that utilize pre-assessments, identified plans for improvement, coaching, and follow-up with post-assessments to document program growth. The goal of technical assistance is to improve and sustain quality as demonstrated through the NC Star Rated Licensing Program. These services impact young children, their teachers, and families across our community.
FAMILY INTERVENTION(5510):The One Place Child Advocacy Center (CAC) provides comprehensive services responding to allegations of physical abuse and sexual abuse of children from birth to 17. The CAC is where hope and healing begin for children and families that experience child abuse trauma in their lives by putting the needs of the victim first. These services include specialized interviews, sensitive medical exams, advocacy, and links to evidence-based mental health services and other referrals to improve the lives of children and their families in our community. Child Advocacy Center staff partner with a multi-disciplinary team to deliver these comprehensive services. The CAC is accredited by the National Children's Alliance. Our primary strategic goal is the reduction of child abuse and neglect in our community
PROGRAM EVALUATION (5603)-Legislation and the North Carolina Partnership for Children require evaluation and coordination of Smart Start funded programs. Program Evaluation works to develop and maintain relationships with service providers, and provide services critical to program accountability. Staff provide technical assistance to all service providers, encourages program development and assists in the delivery and collaboration of services at One Place. Staff work with service providers to develop, track, and evaluate short-term and long-term outputs and outcomes required by funders while also assessing efficiency and effectiveness through monitoring program activity and compliance.
EARLY LEARNING AND LITERACY: (5512,5526) -School readiness begins at birth. Our Early Literacy & Learning program works to increase knowledge on the importance of language and daily reading to young children in our community. Children that are exposed to language and print-rich home and preschool environments are more likely to be reading on grade level at the end of third grade. Our county is participating in the NC Pathways to Grade Level Reading program and our literacy programs such as Story Walks in the Parks, Little Free Libraries, and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library increase access to books for children. We work daily through our programs and community education to share the importance of child development and the First 2000 Days of a child's life. Our highly interactive program reaches thousands of children in our community annually.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT (5517):One Place executes a strategic campaign designed to increase community awareness of early childhood programs and services that work to enhance the early childhood system of care. We partner with individuals and community stakeholders to increase knowledge of programs and services needed that provide children with access to services that promote their healthy development. Community events such as our Diamonds and Denim Fundraising Benefit, Back Porch Chats, and Foundations for Resilience programming bring hundreds of community members and businesses together to talk about the needs of children and how working together is essential to ensure that all children are healthy, safe and nurtured, and learning and ready to succeed.