Central California Child Development Services

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Regional Head Start

Community Assessment Report 2016-17 Program Year

Table of Contents

Introduction and General Area Description 3 Methodology 5 CCCDS Service Delivery Locations 6 Snapshot of Stanislaus County (Geography & Climate) 7 Population Trends (Race & Ethnicity) 8 Family Income 10 Child Poverty Statistics 11 Housing 11 Employment Opportunities 15 Early Childhood Education and Child Care Options 16 Public Schools 18 Educational Attainment and College Options 20 CCCDS Family and Child Data 22 Health, Nutrition, Dental, and Mental Health Needs 27 Children with Disabilities 30 Community Resources and Collaborations 32 Community Strengths and Needs 35 Data Analysis 38 Conclusion Based on Data Analysis 41 Proposed Changes 43

2017 Regional Head Start Community Assessment

Introduction & General Area Description

Head Start is a federally funded program promoting school readiness of children from low- income families. The Office of Head Start administers grant funding and oversight to agencies that provide these early childhood services. Central California Child Development Services is one of such local agencies, serving low-income children under compulsory school age and their families in Stanislaus County.

Throughout the CCCDS Community Assessment, collected data is displayed, organized, and analyzed to reflect the strengths and needs of the service area. Trends and changes are assessed in order to establish priorities, make informed decisions, and carry out service delivery that meets the needs of the current communities.

Central California Child Development Services (CCCDS) was founded in 1984. CCCDS is a subrecipient/subcontractor agency for Stanislaus County Office of Education and receives funds through state and federal programs and participates in the Child Care Food Program (CCFP). All centers are licensed by the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. The service area for CCCDS covers cities and towns throughout both Stanislaus and Merced Counties with the agencies Central Offices located in Ceres, CA. CCCDS serves both state programs (CSPP, CCTR, CMIG) and federal programs (MSHS, MEHS) in a total of fourteen (14) centers and fifteen (15) family child care homes. The Regional Head Start program is housed specifically in Stanislaus County in the cities of Newman and Patterson with seventy-four children and their families served in these center-based programs.

Mission Statement:

Recognizing the value of cultural diversity through effective leadership, coordination of services, staff development and partnership with schools, families and the community, CCCDS is able to offer services that meet the ever changing needs of children and families.

CCCDS current Board of Directors’ mission is to ensure high quality services are provided to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and pregnant women. The Board meets on a monthly basis to conduct agency business and to provide support and guidance to ensure compliance within the operation of the agency.

Board Members:

Name Position Representation

Mike L. Perez President Community Representative

Maria Quintero Vice President Former Head Start Parent

Steve Pedrazzi Secretary/Treasurer Accounting Background

Terry Amarante Member-at-Large Child Development Expert

Mina Ramirez Member-at-Large Attorney

Methodology: The Community Assessment Process

In producing the Community Assessment, various data was gathered and analyzed. A sampling of these includes the US Census, city-data.com, affordable housing online, CCCDS Program Information Report, CCCDS Family Outcomes Survey, and many more. For data regarding CCCDS’ Head Start families, information was pulled from the annual Program Information Reports and parent surveys distributed and collected from enrolled families.

Activity Participants Date Completed

Establish a Community Assessment Lead Executive Director 01/30/17 Distribute and collect Parent Community Health and Social Service 01/30/17 Assessment Questionnaires Workers Head Start Parents Begin internal and external data collection Program Operations 02/01/17 Coordinator, Center Supervisors Create Draft Community Assessment Program Operations 02/21/17 Coordinator Submit Draft Community Assessment to Executive Director 03/10/2017 Grantee- Stanislaus County Office of Education Present 2017 Head Start Community Executive Director Assessment to Regional Head Start Policy Committee for input and approval Present 2017 Head Start Community Executive Director Assessment to the Board of Directors for input and approval Submit the Verification of Participation and Executive Director approval to Grantee- Stanislaus County Office of Education

CCCDS Service Delivery Locations

Von Renner Child Development Center is located neighboring Von Renner Elementary School at 1300 Patchett Dr., Newman, CA. It consists of three portable units, and an outdoor play space. It is currently licensed for 60 Preschool children. Currently this center serves 39 Pure RHS slots, 15 RHS slots collaborated with CSPP and 24 Pure CSPP slots.

Patterson Child Development Center is located at 345 Eureka St. in Patterson, CA. Near the Housing Authority

seasonal housing complex. The

Patterson Center is licensed for 144 two

through five-year-old children using 6 classrooms and outdoor play areas. This center serves a total of 15 RHS collaborated with CSPP and 5 Pure RHS along with 9 other classrooms that have state (CSPP/CCTR) and Migrant (MSHS, CMIG).

Snapshot of Stanislaus County

California’s Central Valley ranges from Shasta County to Kern County. It is a total of 450 miles long, averages 60 miles wide, and has approximately five million residents. Within the 18 counties of the Central Valley, Stanislaus County is located in the center Central Valley.

Both the cities of Newman and Patterson reside on the West side of the county in close proximity to Interstate 5 and are part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Both towns are in rural areas with Patterson city limits taking up 6 square miles and the town of Newman covering only 2.1 square miles of land.

Stanislaus County, including the RHS service area, averages a rainfall of 12 inches annually. Temperatures range from a low of 38 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to a high in the upper 90s in the summer. I would be extremely rare for it to snow in the winter months. Spring and Fall have milder weather with averages in the high 70s/low 80s.

Newman, CA was founded in 1888 and was incorporated in 1908, with the official slogan of "The Cream Pitcher of the Pacific". The town was named after Simon Newman, a local landowner who donated 320 acres of land to the Pacific Railroad and founded the town at the site where the tracks would end. He created the Simon Newman Company which still exists, now located in Turlock, CA. Newman has grown into a bright upstanding community and adopted an updated slogan during its Centennial Celebration in 1988; "Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Building for the Future." This slogan accurately describes Newman's viewpoint; not only does the city have authentic historical value, it is also known for having California's first school bus - a converted 1916 Ford Model T; as well as being voted one of the San Joaquin Valley's 8

"Liveable Places" in the late 1990's. The City of Newman looks forward towards progress and has positive goals for the future while keeping its historical roots in place.

The land in what is now Patterson, CA was first granted to Mariano and Pedro Hernandez in 1844 by the governor of California. Ownership changed hands several times until purchased by John Patterson in 1866 for $5400. Mr. Patterson divided the land into several ranches and designed the downtown area, modeling the circular shape of the streets after Washington D.C. and Paris. Today, Patterson is known as the Apricot Capital of the World and holds their annual Apricot Fiesta in June of each year.

The Central Valley is one of the most widely productive areas of agriculture not only in the U.S. but also world-wide. West of the San Joaquin River, Stanislaus County towns are no exception and are economically dependent on agriculture. Many companies not specifically agricultural in nature are associated with the industry in packing, shipping, and processing. The main agricultural work in the county is milk, almonds, chickens, eggs, cattle, turkeys, walnuts, tomatoes, alfalfa, and peaches. However, in Stanislaus County there was a 52% reduction in acreage for vegetables from 2002-2012 with farmers replacing fruit and vegetable production for almond trees. This has resulted in an overall decline in farm work as the almond industry is largely mechanically harvested. As more farmers move toward almond production, the county’s crops are becoming less diversified and more fresh foods are now being imported to the area.

Population Trends STANISLAUS COUNTY RACE For the State of California, there is an White Black average of 239 persons living every American Indian/Alaska Native Asian square mile. In Stanislaus County, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Island there are 344 persons living in each mile. However, according to the 2010 0.34% 0.70% 0.90% US Census, Patterson has 3428.5 4.20% 5.10% 6% 1.30% persons living in each of the 5.95 2.60% 1.10% 1.90% 2.90% 3.30% miles of city and Newman had 4863.9 69.30% 65.60% 83.90% people in each of its 2.1 miles. The unincorporated areas outside of 2000 2010 2015

Source: US Census 9 these city limits are used primarily as STANISLAUS COUNTY farm land. ETHNICITY

There was sizeable growth in the Hispanic Non-Hispanic population on the west side of Stanislaus County throughout the early and mid-2000s. From 2000 to 2005 58.08 43.5 Patterson had increased its population 68.26 by 22.3% and Newman by 24.5%. In 41.92 44.8 contrast, from 2010 to 2015 31.74 population growth had slowed Source: US Census considerably with Patterson increasing 2000 2010 2015 by only 5% and Newman by 6.2%. The downturn in growth corresponds to the 2008 financial crisis and decline in real estate developments in the area. However, movement due to ongoing urban sprawl and continued population increases are expected to extend into the next several decades.

Source: statisticalatlas.com Source: statisticalatlas.com 10

Source: American Community Survey, US

Population Projections Newman Patterson 2020 11,584 26,190 2030 13,235 33,251 2040 14,867 40,228 2050 16,420 46,869 2060 17,973 53,513 Source: Stanislaus County Forecast Summary July 7, 2016

Looking forward, the population of Stanislaus County is expected to steadily increase. The July 2016 Stanislaus County Forecast Summary estimates an annual increase countywide of .85%-1.15% annually. The largest growth in population will be Asian and Hispanic with Hispanic residents doubling in numbers from 2010 to 2060. The fastest growing age group will be individuals 60 years of age and older.

Family Income

2015 Gross Median Income by Type

Patterson Median Family Income $53,542 Median Male Income $40,044 Median Female Income $14,829 11

Newman Median Family Income $50,225 Median Male Income $26,075 Median Female Income $14,485 Source: American Child Poverty Statistics Community Survey, US

The 2010 US Census listed a total of 1776 children (8.7% of population) under the age of five in Patterson and 858 (8.4% of population) in Newman. According to City-Data.com, 29.5% of children in Patterson live below the poverty line along with 26.2% in Newman. Statistically, this means that with a total of 2634 children under age five, 749 children between the two cities (524 Patterson, 225 Newman) live in poverty and would qualify for Head Start services.

Housing

In Stanislaus County, the lack of affordable housing and increasing rates of already high rent costs make it difficult for Head Start families to achieve self-sufficiency. The recent housing crisis forced many middle class families out of homeownership and has continued to strain an already overstretched rental sector in the region now that many middle income earners occupy many of the lower charging rental units that would otherwise go to lower-income people. Furthermore, apartment complexes and landlords require a renter to have a good credit and many low-income families struggle with paying bills on time, lack job stability, and therefore have lower credit scores.

Households who pay more than 30% of their gross income for housing are considered to be “rent overburdened”. According to the most recent data from affordablehousingonline, the average rent in Newman is $1013 per month and $1289 per month in Patterson. This means that based on median family income, 57.45% of families in Newman and 44.25% of families in Patterson are considered rent overburdened.

There are a total of 609 housing units in Patterson and 3341 housing units in Newman. The majority of these units are houses with a homeowner rather than apartments. In comparing housing in Stanislaus County with the average for the entire state of California, there is a higher percentage of homeownership and less availability for renters. This difference in percentage is due in large part to the easy access both Newman and Patterson have to Interstate 5. The influx in population seen from 2005 -2010 was in large part from families relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area and purchasing homes while continuing 12 to commute long distances to work each day back to the Bay Area. Housing prices in both cities have steadily increased annually since 2011.

State of California

Homeowners Newman Renters

Patterson

0% 50% 100%

Source: towncharts.com

Some affordable housing programs do exist in Newman and Patterson that help lower- income families with reduced rent prices but not enough to cover the actual need in the area. In Newman, there are four low-income housing tax credit properties that have 205 units in total. In the City of Patterson there is one subsidized apartment complex for families and one subsidized senior living complex for individuals 62 and older. Additionally, the Housing Authority has both low-income year-round apartments and a section specifically for migrant housing in Patterson.

The City of Newman Housing Program

The City of Newman is offering a First-Time Home Buyers (FTHB) Program. This program provides assistance in the form of a low interest, 10-year deferred second mortgage loan to assist first –time homebuyers’ purchase homes in the City of Newman. The City will loan qualified homebuyers up to 20% of the sales price or $40,000.00 – whatever is less, depending on credit rating, income level, and employment status and debt ratios.

Source: City of Newman http://www.cityofnewman.com/news-and-information/169-fthb- pgm.html 14

The City of Patterson Housing Assistance Programs:

First Time Homebuyer Program: Patterson’s First Time Homebuyer Program is running in conjunction with the City's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The homes acquired with NSP funds will be made available to qualified applicants and down payment assistance will be available to applicants that meet the 80% AMI.

Minor Home Repair Program: The City of Patterson is now offering homeowners grants and loans to repair or eliminate conditions that present health and safety hazards. The program offers up to $20,000 in assistance in a combination of grants and loans. The applicants must own the home and be income eligible.

Community Block Grants: The City of Patterson receives Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Stanislaus County Block Consortium. The Consortium includes Stanislaus County and the Cities of Patterson, Oakdale, Newman, Ceres, Waterford and (for the HOME program only) Turlock. Source: City of Patterson http://www.ci.patterson.ca.us/Default.aspx?pi=73&ni=94

Homelessness in the Area:

It is difficult to get an accurate number of homeless individuals in the area. An annual count called “Point in Time Count” is conducted each year by anywhere from 55 to 60 different agencies and a total of 130-150 volunteers who canvass the entire county, including Patterson and Newman, in an attempt to get a count of the number of homeless. These volunteers go out as early as 5AM to find families who may be sleeping outdoors or in shelters. Based on the count in 2015 there were a total of 1408 men, women, and children living in cars, parks and on the streets. This number does not include the many households that have multiple families living together to make ends meet.

The McKinney-Vento Act is federal legislation designed to address issues homeless children face in enrolling, attending, and being successful in school. A homeless child as defined by McKinney-Vento is any child who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. All schools are required to ensure that homeless children have equal access to the same appropriate public education as any other child. This includes public preschool education.

Employment Opportunities Source: Fred Economic Data https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CASTAN7URN Annual Unemployment Rate- Month of July:

Stanislaus County 18.00% 17.00% 16.00% 15.40% 14.00% 12.00% 11.10% 10.00% 8.90% 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% 2010 2012 2014 2016

Unemployment rates have steadily decreased since the financial crisis from 2007-2010. The unemployment rate in the local area remains higher than the national average with the US rate recorded at 4.9 percent in 2016. With the graph above citing a 2016 average of 8.9%, it is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average.

The top industries in the county are education, health/social services, manufacturing, and agriculture. Stanislaus County has more than 800,000 acres of farmland and consistently ranks among the top 15 counties nationwide in agricultural production generating more than 2.5 billion dollars of gross annual income for the area. Top agricultural commodities include almonds, apricots, peaches, tomatoes, chickens, eggs, beef, and milk. The impact that agriculture creates on the economy increases when considering the money generated through processing, packaging, marketing, and distribution of food. There are more than 250 industrial plants in the county that produce canned, frozen, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables, package meats, nuts, wine, and dairy.

The ten major manufacturing employers in the area are Zabaco Winery, Foster Farms, Fairbanks Cellars, Ecco Domani Winery, E&J Gallo Winery, Del Monte Foods, Con Agra Foods, Bartles & Jaymes Company, and Andre Champagne Cellars. Alternatively, the top ten non-manufacturing employers are Stanislaus County, Memorial Medical Center, Doctors 16

Medical Center, Emanuel Medical Center, Hornsby’s Pub Draft Cider Ltd., Oak Valley Hospital, Frito-Lay, California State University, Alliance Worknet, and the WIC program. It is expected that newly built distribution centers such as Amazon and CVS will be in the top ten in the near future.

Early Childhood Education and Child Care Options

In 2016, CCCDS served 20 Regional Head Start children in Patterson and another 54 children in Newman. In addition, the Von Renner Center serves CSPP children and the Patterson Center serves the state programs CSPP, CCTR, CMIG, and the federal program MSHS. Listed below are other locations that also serve children under compulsory school-age.

Program Site Program Model Slots Program Option Option

INFANT & TODDLER Migrant and Seasonal Mimi Fisher Center Head Start, State Center 421 Franquette Ave 39 Full Day Migrant, and General Based Patterson, CA 95363 Child Care Del Puerto Child Development EHS 14 Center Full Day 17

Center Based 640 M Street Patterson, CA 95363 Del Puerto Child Development Center Home EHS 24 N/A 640 M Street Based Patterson, CA 95363 Del Puerto Child Development Center Home Pregnant Women EHS 12 640 M Street Based Services Patterson, CA 95363 Mike L Perez Center Migrant and Seasonal Center 1388 Patchett Head Start and State 18 Full Day Based Newman, CA 95360 Migrant TOTAL INFANT & TODDLER: 107 PRESCHOOL Northmead Child Development Center Center RHS 20 Part Day 640 M Street Based Patterson, CA 95363 Northmead Preschool Day Care Center Center State Preschool 24 Full Day 625 L. Street Based Patterson, CA 95363 Del Puerto Child Development Center Center RHS 20 Full Day 640 M Street Based Patterson, CA 95363 Sacred Heart Catholic Preschool Private Preschool Child Center 505 M. Street 30 Full Day Care Center Based Patterson, CA 95363 Kindom Kidz Day Care Center Center 18 South 6th Street Private Child Care Center 56 Full Day Based Patterson, CA 95363 Walnut Acres Preschool Part and Full Day Center 610 N. Hartley State Preschool 48 Licensed in Based Patterson, CA 95363 Summer 2015 Part and Full Day Patterson Preschool Academy Center Capacity Increase 610 N. Hartley State Preschool 68 Based from 48 to 68 in Patterson, CA 95363 May 2016 Mike L Perez Center Migrant and Seasonal Center 1388 Patchett Head Start and State 60 Full Day Based Newman, CA 95360 Migrant Newman Co-op Nursery School Private Preschool Child Center 1147 R. Street 20 Part Day Care Center Based Newman, CA 95360 18

Primeros Pasos Preschool Private Preschool Child Center 1017 N. Street 23 Full Day Care Center Based Newman, CA 95360 TOTAL PRESCHOOL: 369 Family Fourteen (14) Large Family Child Care Homes Licensed 196 Child Full Day throughout Patterson and Newman Care TOTAL LICENSED FOR ALL AGE GROUPS 672

In addition to the center and home-based options listed above, the city of Patterson has 12 licensed large family child care homes, each licensed for 14 children. The city of Newman has 2 current licensed large family child care homes. This opens up an additional capacity of capacity potential of 196 slots for children needing child care.

For children who turn 5 between September 2nd and December 2nd of each year, transitional kindergarten through the school district is another option that parents may choose rather than keeping children in preschool. In 2010, California passed the Kindergarten Readiness Act. This changed the cutoff date for children entering Kindergarten so that all students would be 5-years-old by September 1st of the school year they were registering. The new law also required that all LEAs offer TK classes for age-eligible children to attend. This program must be maintained by the local school district or charter school.

PARAGRAPH ON CURRENT AND EXPECTED TK SLOTS

Public Schools

3 Elementary Schools Located in Newman: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Hunt Elementary 907 R Street, TK-5 307 2 733

School Newman, CA 95360

Hurd Barrington 838 Eucalyptus Ave, K-6 469 2 738 Elementary Newman, CA 95360

Von Renner 1388 Patchett Drive, TK-5 350 3 760

Elementary School Newman, CA 95360

 Von Renner and Hunt Elementary Schools currently have a Transitional Kindergarten program for children 4-5 years of age. 19

1 Middle School Located in Newman: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Yolo Junior High 901 Hoyer Road, 6-8 547 2 705

School Newman, CA 95360

2 High Schools Located in Newman: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Orestimba High 707 Hardin Road, 9-12 512 3 706

School Newman, CA 95360

West Side Valley High 908 Main Street, 9-12 3 3 486 (Continuation) Newman, CA 95360

School

5 Elementary Schools Located in Patterson: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Apricot Valley 1320 Henley Parkway, K-5 436 7 835

Elementary School Patterson, CA 95363

Las Palmas 624 West Las Palmas

Elementary School Avenue, Patterson, CA TK-5 409 3 772 95363

625 L Street, Northmead Patterson, CA 95363 TK-5 539 4 780

Elementary School

775 North Hartley Walnut Grove K-8 372 2 739 Street, Patterson, CA 20

Elementary School 95363

 Las Palmas Elementary and Northmead Schools currently have a Transitional Kindergarten program for children 4-5 years of age.

1 Middle School Located in Patterson: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Creekside Middle 535 Peregrine, 6-8 1185 2 705

School Patterson, CA 95363)

2 High Schools Located in Patterson: Grade Name Address Enrollment State Ranking API Score Span

Del Puerto High 640 M Street, 9-12 36 3 558

School Patterson, CA 95363)

201 North Seventh Patterson High Street, Patterson, CA 9-12 1082 3 715

School 95363

Source: school-ratings.com Current and Projected Transitional Kindergarten

Both the school districts of Patterson Joint Unified and Newman Crows Landing have Transitional Kindergarten (TK) programs. Patterson Joint Unified currently has 4 TK classrooms with 3 classes at Northmead Elementary and 1 class at Walnut Grove Elementary. Newman Crows Landing district has 1 current TK classroom at the Hurd Barrington Elementary. Both school districts project that for the 2017-18 school year, they expect to have the same number of TK classrooms at the same locations. Newman is discussing the possibility of adding one more TK classroom but the district has not made a final decision to-date as of April 5, 2017.

Educational Attainment and College Options In Stanislaus County, the Hispanic population has much lower levels of education than any other race. This suggests a need for community outreach programs aimed at increasing the educational level and reducing high school dropout rates among Hispanics. GED programs 21 are available throughout the county with evening classes on online options helping to make the programs more accessible to working adults in the community.

Source: American Community Survey, US

There is one junior college that offers an Associate’s degree and several university options with the local state university or private colleges. Costs vary widely with the public options such as Modesto Junior College or Cal State being the most affordable options without accounting for funding sources through scholarships or grants.

Name City Average Tuition Cost Type Per Year Modesto Junior College Modesto $1244.00 Public Community College

California State- Stanislaus Turlock $5472.00 Public State University

Brightwood College (formerly Modesto $26900.00 Private for Profit College Kaplan) University of Phoenix Modesto $10188.00 Private for Profit College

Humphreys College Modesto $13212.00 Non-profit Private College

San Joaquin Valley College Salida $14415.00 Private for Profit Junior College Institute of Technology Modesto $11359.00-18805.00 For-Profit Private College

CCCDS Family and Child Data

In the 2015-16 school year, a cumulative on 93 children were served in the Regional Head Start Program. Of these children 59 qualified for the program as low income families below the federal poverty line, 21 qualified based on public assistance receiving either TANF or SSI, 4 were foster children, 7 children’s family income fell between the 100-130% of the federal poverty line, and 2 exceeded the allowed income and were brought in as over- income children. There were no homeless children enrolled during the 2015-16 school year. Many children had prior enrollment with CCCDS with a total of 21 attending RHS for the second year and 3 attending for their third year.

The RHS program uses the COPA database to input children and family’s eligibility information. The database is also used for waiting and eligible accepted lists. Staff recruit monthly using the StanWait system to pull lists of families needing child care. The StanWait system automatically prioritized and staff call families with the highest need first. Additionally, staff go into the community to recruit, leaving flyers at a variety of business throughout the Patterson and Newman area. While the program did not have any homeless children in the past year, the RHS program does work with the Center for Human Services who will refer families to CCCDS.

Although no data can be found on the number of stay-at-home parents in the area, staff have found through recruitment that Newman has a larger number of non-working mothers in the area. This correlates to the reduced median income in Newman in comparison to Patterson which also suggests more non-working parents. Due to this finding, in the 2016- 17 school year, CCCDS changed the program option at the Newman Center from two full day classrooms to one full day and 2 half day classes.

The following graphs and charts will exhibit data trends using the Program Information Reports for the last four years. While the majority of families identify their children as white each year, the percentage of Hispanic ethnicity has increased annually along with Spanish as a primary language.

Source: CCCDS PIR data 2012-2016

In the 2015-16 school year a total of 80 families were served in the Regional Head Start Program with 36 two-parent families and 44 single-parent families. Of these, three families enrolled foster children into the program.

With family education, there has been an overall decrease in the number of families with a high school diploma and an increase of families without. This family data matches overall data for Stanislaus County with an increase in the high school dropout rate since 2010 in all race/ethnic backgrounds. Nine families (or 11%) were enrolled in job training or school during the 2015-16 year.

Source: CCCDS PIR data 2013-2016 25

In addition to college options noted above, enrolled families have opportunities to complete GED completion programs in the local area as well as vocational training, English- as-a-Second-Language, and on the job training through organizations such as the Central Valley Opportunity Center and Alliance Worknet. Families work with their CCCDS Health and Social Service worker to develop family goals. Any families interested in pursuing additional education are provided resources to help them reach their goal. RHS program staff work collaboratively with other agencies such as the local resource centers and CVOC which provide GED preparation programs and a variety of job training programs such as retail, cooking, solar panel installation, truck driving, welding, automotive and business.

School Dropout Rate Source: kidsdata.org

In the 2015-16 year according to PIR data, of the 36 two-parent families receiving services, only 10 families had both parents working while there were 23 families with only one parent working and 3 families had neither parent employed. For the single parents in that same year, 20 were working and 24 were unemployed. Working parents in the program have a variety of work schedules. Only a few families commuted more than 30 minutes one-way to work. The majority of families work in the community or nearby towns. Typically, these working families have jobs with variable schedules and hours. Parents may be given a full-time schedule one week and dropped down to part time hours the following week. This is typical in the area for retail and restaurant workers such as fast food. Of the 26

families working in local warehouses, the work schedules tend to be set weekly hours but are often seasonal with time off in the winter months.

Head Start Families Receiving Assistance: 2015-16 PIR Category: At Enrollment At End of Enrollment TANF 24% 24% SSI 4% 3% WIC 65% 68% Food Stamps 8% 53%

The graph below displays the number of family services provided to families. There was a large increase in 2015 in every service area. This increase is due largely to staff training and an increased focus on electronically documenting and tracking all referrals. Staff also take advantage of parent meeting nights and family orientations to provide educational information and referrals to parents, increasing the number of families who receive information.

25% 73% Parenting Education 23% 19% 75% 16% Health Education 13% 17% 75% 11% Adult Education 14% 2% 49% 6% Housing Assistance 15% 1% 45% 2015 0% Child Support Assistance 14% 0% 2014 45% 0% 2013 Domestic Violence 17% 0% 2012 45% 0% Child Abuse/Neglect 13% 0% 46% 10% Mental Health 21% 6% 48% 3% Emergency/Crisis 19% Family Services Provided to 2%

Enrolled Families 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Source: CCCDS PIR data 2015-2016 27

Prior Year Child Data:

Stanislaus County has approximately 20% of residents without health insurance. At the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, 96% of students enrolled with health insurance and by the end of the program year, all 93 children (100%) had health insurance with 88% qualifying for Medi-Cal.

CCCDS Child Health Insurance 100

70 60 50 40 PIR Data: 2015-16 30 20 10 0 Insurance at No Health Insurance Health Insurance at No Health Insurance Enrollment at Enrollment End of Enrollment at End of Enrollment

Percentage of Enrolled Children with Nutritional Problems Category: Underweight 2% Overweight 14% Obese 24% Source: 2015-16 CCCDS Program Information Report

The number of obese children has increased in recent years, following trends throughout the United States. To combat the high level of obesity, CCCDS participates in the California Child Care Food Program. The Patterson Center has its own kitchen where quality control is paramount in the nutrition component. Menus are carefully designed to be nutritious, healthy and appealing to young children. The program follows Head Start nutrition and wellness guidelines for all center and classroom events where food is present. Classroom 28 teachers also utilize resources from the I am Moving, I am Learning project which is a proactive approach to increasing opportunities for daily moderate to vigorous physical activity. In the full-day classrooms, children have at minimum, one hour per day of active physical play. Finally, families are provided opportunities to increase their own awareness by utilizing parent meetings to provide nutrition information and nutrition consultations are offered to all families of children who are underweight or obese.

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is available to income-eligible families. CCCDS refers families to the WIC program if during enrollment it is found that they do not currently receive it. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods along with nutrition education at no cost to participants. In the 2015-16 program year, the PIR reported that 57 families (66%) received WIC benefits.

Access to healthy food had been an environmental factor in the rate of obesity in the county. Interestingly, UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research found that the more prevalent fast food restaurants and convenience stores, the greater the percentage of residents with obesity there are. Also, the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) conducted a study and found that although the initiative of Health People 2010 called for a reduction in overweight and obese children, it has fail to reach it’s goal and obesity has increased in the last 10 years by more than 120% among African Americans and 50% in Hispanic populations. 29

Source: CCCDS PIR data 2012-2016

Mental Health Needs:

The highest number of referrals is found in 2013 (see chart below). This is due to an increased contract with mental health professionals at the center level in 2013 where consultants provided support using a monthly calendar system. After 2013, there was a steady decrease in the number of children needing a mental health consultation.

CCCDS contracts with Leaps and Bounds to provide Mental Health services to children enrolled in the Regional Head Start program. Leaps and Bounds is a behavioral health ad recovery services agency that provides early intervention services for children 0-5. They also provide education on child development, and focus on developing strong relationships between parents and their young children. At the child care center level, they conduct classroom and individual child observations, consult with teaching staff, and participate in child success team meetings, developing behavior plans as needed to support children’s social-emotional development.

Mental Health needs of Enrolled Children 12

0 Number of Children who received a Mental Health The number of parents/guardians who received a Consultation Mental Health Consultation about their child

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Source: PIR Data 2012-2016

Disabilities of Enrolled Children

CCCDS maintains active formal agreements with local school districts to ensure that Head Start children with disabilities receive services whenever possible in natural settings with their typically developing peers.

CCCDS increased disability numbers in 2015-16 from the prior year serving 12.9% of children served in comparison to 11.6% the year before. Children having IEPs in the program were diagnosed with speech and language impairments or autism (see PIR data below from the 2015-16 school year).

CCCDS has a formal MOU agreement with Patterson Unified and works collaboratively to identify children with special needs. Currently, children in the Newman area are referred to Patterson Joint Unified. CCCDS will begin the process of creating an MOU with the Newman Crows Landing district so that referrals are sent directly to them beginning in July of 2017 for any children with suspected disabilities.

Source: CCCDS PIR data 2015-2016

Resources for Children with Disabilities

Agency Area Served Specific Services Provided The Degree that Services Meet Needs Behavioral and Countywide Intervention Program (one on Adequate Educational strategies one) and Training (BEST) Children’s Crisis Countywide Provides temporary child care for Adequate Center children birth to 17 years of age. Center for Human Countywide Provides youth and family Adequate Services counseling. Family Resource Newman Provides counseling and Adequate Center parenting classes. Family Resource Countywide Provides information and support Adequate Network to families raising children with special developmental, medical, educational, and emotional needs. Leaps and Bounds Countywide Provides assessments for Adequate (Behavioral Health social/emotional, ADD/ADHD, Services) counseling and parenting classes. Early Start & Countywide Evaluations and Referrals Adequate Evaluation Station Margaret L. Annear Countywide Provides early intervention for Adequate Early Intervention children birth to 5 years of age 32

with possible delay or special needs. Stanislaus County Countywide Evaluation and Referrals Adequate Office of Education Stanislaus County Countywide Provides information and Adequate Resource and Referral referrals to licensed child care providers throughout the county. Sierra Vista Countywide Provides assessments for Adequate (Behavioral Health social/emotional, ADD/ADHD, Services) counseling and parenting classes. Society for Countywide Provides services children birth-3 Adequate Handicapped Children that were substance exposed. and Adults Loans of adaptive equipment. Valley Mountain Countywide Provides prevention program for Adequate Regional Center infants with significant risk of a VMRC disability. SELPA to Newman/Crows- Intervention program for children Adequate Patterson USD landing referred for speech.

Estimated Number of Children

Waiting List as of February 24, 2017 INCOME ELIGIBLE OVER INCOME CENTER/ NUMBER NUMBER FAMILY NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER NUMBER OF OF OF 3-5 CHILD CARE PREGNANT INFANTS/ OF 3-5 PREGNANT INFANTS/ YEAR HOME WOMEN TODDLERS YEAR OLDS WOMEN TODDLERS OLDS PROVIDER Patterson 0 0 0 0 0 2 Von Renner 0 0 0 0 0 8 TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 10

Community Resources and Collaborations

A number of community resources are available in the Patterson and Newman areas, however, in recent years, due to the downturn in the economy and budget crisis in state and nation, many programs have shut down or reduced services, thus outpacing the capacity of the organizations to meet the needs of families in the community. Regardless of this challenge, Newman/Crows Landing and Patterson Unified School District, along with the Grantee, Stanislaus County Office of Education, establishes partnerships in order to try to meet the needs of families. Partnerships include, but are not limited to, Community Health Centers, Women, Infant, Children (WIC), Sierra Vista, Valley Mountain Regional 33

Center, food banks, and, prevention and intervention information and referrals for child abuse and neglect. While incidence of child abuse and neglect reporting is low, collaboration with area Child Protective Services agencies ensure appropriate response. Where partnerships are not in place, the Newman/Crows Landing and Patterson Unified School District utilizes the United Way of Stanislaus County’s 211 systems and the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency’s Family Resource Directory. These resources help staff to identify community services available to meet family’s needs.

The following community resources are available in the Patterson-Westley-Newman area to meet the needs of the Head Start children and families in the service area.

Agency Area Served Specific Services Provided The Degree that Services Meet Needs Northmead, Patterson Public education, with an array of More than Adequate Walnut Grove, & services including transition Las Palmas activities. Elementary Hunt and Von Newman Public education, with an array of More than Adequate Renner services including transition Elementary activities. Patterson Unified Patterson, Provides further assessment for More than Adequate School District Westley, the identification and service Newman provision of speech and language special needs for children 3 and over. Valley Mountain Patterson, Free diagnosis and assessment More than Adequate Regional Center Westley, services are available to any Newman person suspected of having a developmental disability, such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or autism. SELPA Patterson, Liaison to school districts to More than Adequate Newman, support special education identification and service. Center for Human Patterson, Parent education, emergency More than Adequate Resources- Family Newman food, nutrition classes, CalFresh, Resource Center Medi-Cal enrollment, translation assistance, behavioral health services, public computer access, resource and referral, assessment/child development 34

screening, healthy birth outcomes, utility assistance Golden Valley Westley & Provides a variety of health Adequate Health Services Patterson, services to families. Newman Stanislaus County Patterson StanWORKs Programs, More than Adequate Community (CalWORKs, Welfare to Work, Service Agency MediCal and CalFresh), Employment Services (Alliance Worknet), Child Support, WIC Housing Authority Westley, Provides low-income housing for Adequate Patterson, families working in agriculture. Newman Post Office Paterson, Postal Services More than Adequate Newman Police Activity Grayson Tutoring, computer lab, outdoor More than Adequate League Program recreation, arts and crafts, field (PAL) trips Community Patterson StanWORKs Programs, More than Adequate Service Agency (CalWORKs, Welfare to Work, MediCal and CalFresh), Employment Services (Alliance Worknet), WIC Women, Infants, Patterson, Provides food vouchers for More than Adequate Children (WIC) Newman pregnant women infants and children less than five years of age, including nutritional counseling.

Transportation:

Having reliable transportation is a must for securing and maintaining employment. Families who do not own a vehicle often cannot find suitable work as they cannot get transportation to their work location. Also, for families requiring transportation to access the community services above, transportation is needed. For families without access to a vehicle, the Stanislaus Regional Transit (StaRT) is available. Three routes are available to pick up and drop off in the local area. Route 40 covers Patterson, Westley, Grayson, Ceres, and Modesto. Route 45E goes from Patterson to Turlock and back. Route 45W covers Patterson, Crows Landing, Newman, and Gustine. All of these routes also have the ability to transfer to get into and throughout Modesto. The StaRT also provided a Dial-a-Ride program in both Newman and Patterson. The dial-a-ride bus provides curb-to-curb transportation around Newman, Crows Landing, Gustine, Patterson, Westley, and Grayson 35

Monday thru Saturday. While public transportation is available, it should be noted that bus routes are only available during peak times of the day, leaving low-income families who work non-traditional hours without transportation services.

Family Strengths and Needs

Community Strengths: Using the City of Patterson’s Sustainability Plan and information derived from both Newman and Patterson’s city websites a variety of community strengths were found. Both cities have an abundance of parks. Any new development is assessed an impact fee to help fund public parks. Patterson also has 4 miles of bikeways. Both cities participate in recycling programs and recycling is picked up at the same location as garbage pick-up in front of homes. Stanislaus Resource Recovery Facility produces 22.5 megawatts of renewable energy each day, enough for 18,000 homes in the community. Newman and Patterson both have teen centers and skate parks where teens can go afterschool for free to participate in games, sports, arts and crafts, computers, and tutoring. There are also other afterschool programs provided at school site locations. The park and recreation department provides an activity schedule where families can sign up for a variety of programs such as sports, music, art, dance, and summer camps. Fee assistance is available for low-income families.

Strengths and Needs Specific to Enrolled Families:

For families enrolled with CCCDS, at the beginning and end of the school year, surveys are sent out related to the family’s needs and the outcomes of the program. Areas families found the CCCDS Head Start program to be most helpful with were teaching parents what skills children need to be successful in Kindergarten, valuing children’s strengths and home language. The highest-ranking outcome area was family engagement in transitions. Families noted that they would like more help with activities to help their child learn more at home. Overall, family surveys found that the program was least helpful with getting fathers to join in with their child’s learning. 36

Source: Family Outcomes Survey Reports 2015-16

The communities of Patterson and Newman have many of the same strengths and needs. Families enrolled in the CCCDS Head Start programs were surveyed and identified strengths and areas of concern within the community. The top four strengths and concerns are listed below: 37

STRENGTHS CONCERNS

Public Schools Affordable Housing

Health Services Adult Job Training

Safety Jobs

Supportive relatives/neighbors Illegal Drug Use

Concerns on affordable housing match data on the limited number of affordable housing units in the area (see pages 9-11 on housing noting the same data that there are not enough affordable housing options in the program area).

Illegal drug use concern corresponds to the large number of people receiving treatment for drugs in Stanislaus County which is a high drug trafficking area. According to the Indicators of Alcohol and Other Drug Risk and Consequences for California Counties, per 100,000 people, Stanislaus had 800.48 people receiving treatment for drugs/alcohol in comparison to a much smaller 591.63 statewide. According to the Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency, the SDEA is currently focusing efforts on the methamphetamine problem including major drug trafficking organizations and partners with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs40/40384/40384p.pdf 38

Also in the parent surveys, families listed that waiting lists are too long for many adult training programs and child care is not available in the evenings when working parents would have the opportunity to attend classes out of the area. Also, a large number of families feel that they may not know of all the community resources available to them.

One positive change in the findings of this community assessment relates to safety. In 2012, one of the top concerns of families at the time was safety due to gang activity in neighborhoods. At the time, the Patterson CCCDS program had several incidents resulting in a need for the center to be placed on lockdowns. The Central Valley Gang Impact Taskforce had distributed gang awareness booklets and began presenting parent presentations in Newman and Patterson. By collaborating efforts and working with the community, we have seen a positive impact on gang intervention. Only four years later, according to parents surveyed, safety is no longer a top concern in the communities and was, in fact, listed as a community strength in the most recent parent survey. No lockdowns at the center have been necessary related to gang activity since 2014.

Data Analysis

Eligibility and Enrollment:

On September 1, 2016, the Office of Head Start announced their Final Rule on the implementation of revised Head Start Performance Standards. One priority in the new standards is for programs to increase service duration by having children attend at least 6 hours per day, providing 1020 annual hours of planned class operations by 2021.

In the 2016-17 school year, CCCDS served children in 74 slots between Patterson and Von Renner with one full-day classroom in Patterson, one full-day classroom in Von Renner, and two half-day sessions at Von Renner. The Von Renner Center struggled with meeting enrollment in the afternoon session. Although the original Program Service Plan calculated a start date of August 8, 2016 for all Regional Head Start classrooms, the enrollment for the PM session at Von Renner was postponed until August 24, 2017. This was due to no eligible families being on the waitlist. When the classroom did open, a large number of over- income families were brought in that would not have had priority if more income eligible families were needing services. A total of 18 families were either between the 100-130 percentile in eligibility or over the allowed income for enrollment. This is a 100% increase in over-income families from the 2015-16 school year which reported only 9. 39

Other factors also play a competing role in the programs ability to enroll income eligible families. There are a variety of child care options in the area and many children that qualify for Head Start services end up enrolled in the state preschool programs. Since the summer of 2015, two childcare centers have increased capacity resulting in an increase of 46 slots at nearby child care centers.

TK has also made an impact in the number of 4-year-old children enrolling. While Head Start prioritizes 4-year-olds before 3-year-olds, class size at the Von Renner site was reduced to 17 for the AM and PM classes due to the larger number of 3-year-old children enrolling, directly related to more age eligible children enrolling in Transitional Kindergarten. Although not official at the time of this publishing, Newman-Crows Landing school district expects to open one additional TK classroom for the 2017-18 school year, impacting the Head Start further by an additional reduction of income-eligible 4-year-olds in the community.

Analysis of past year’s enrollment data theorizes that if CCCDS were to eliminate one half- day session, the agency would have the ability to meet the new Performance Standard requiring a 6-hour class session. The elimination of this class session would not have a negative impact on the community based on the data suggesting that there is not a need for the current number of slots in the Newman area.

Utilizing ECLKC to view the most current national PIR data (2014-15) it was found that the national average for student turnover was 8.7%. For children enrolled with CCCDS, of the 80 slots available in the 2015-16 school year, a cumulative of 93 children were served for a total turnover percentage of 8.6%. This data suggests local turnover rates similar to national rates and are not an area of concern at this time.

Also, noted in the national 2014-15 PIR is the number of homeless children served. Nationally, the figure averages to 4.1% of homeless children enrolled in Head Start programs. The lack of homeless children served by CCCDS in 2015-16 suggests a concern that families are not being identified correctly and/or additional recruitment is needed to locate homeless families.

Percentage of Overweight/Obese Children

A total of 38% of children enrolled with the CCCDS Regional Head Start program where classified as either overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is now the No. 1 concern in the 40

US among parents nationwide. Children today are facing a range of health problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and the psychological effects of depression. Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona is famously known to have said, “Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.” According to the CDC, one in five school-age children has obesity.

Noting the percentage of overweight and obese children enrolled in our programs, a recommendation to combat this percentage will be to use this information as a tool to include nutrition and physical education as professional growth opportunities and possible partnerships with agencies that promote the development of projects such as farmers markets, gardening, local food production, and promotion of healthy, culturally specific foods.

Father Involvement

The one area that families noted overall as an area that CCCDS was not helpful in was in getting fathers involved in their children’s education. This corresponds to the low annual reported numbers of father involvement on the Program Information Report.

CCCDS recognizes that both mothers and fathers play an essential role in the healthy development of children. Our programs seek to make both mothers and fathers feel welcomed and supported. CCCDS plans to make father involvement a long-term goal. Being a long-term goal, the agency will look at the foundation and environment of the centers to identify steps needed to improve father friendliness and father participation using Building Blocks for Father Involvement resources provided by the Office of Head Start.

Community Needs

Affordable housing continues to be an issue in the Patterson and Newman area as not enough housing is available for low-income families. Additionally, families are affected by the large amount of drug abuse prevalent in the communities with many close family members having a drug problem.

Fifty-five percent of families enrolled in the 2015-16 program year were single parents. Of these, 93% were single mothers in the home and the remaining 7% were foster parents. No single fathers with children were enrolled.

Conclusion based on Data Analysis

Trends Projection Potential Effect on the CCCDS Head Start Program 1. Enrollment: These trends are expected Establishing full Increase in 3-year old to continue to affect the enrollment based on children, reduction of 4- CCCDS Head Start program service plan will year olds due to local TK programs. Minimum wage create a challenge. The programs, large number of increases without program will project to over-income families in the matching an increase on eliminate the PM class at Newman area the income qualification the Von Renner location guidelines will worsen the due to lack of community over-income situation. need. In addition to calling families from the StanWait list, additional recruitment efforts will be needed to increase community awareness of the program. 2. Homeless: County homelessness is Program will need to No homeless children were expected to remain near ensure eligibility workers enrolled in the 2015-16 the same level for the next have a clear school year few years. understanding of homeless definitions to properly identify families experiencing homelessness. Increased recruitment at areas specifically targeting homeless families needed. 3. Lack of Affordable Housing This trend is expected to Lack of housing can to meet needs of Newman continue. The new impact the program with and Patterson housing development in the potential that families Patterson, Ivy Terrace, was move elsewhere for lower built and will be sold as rent costs. CCCDS must condos. Low-income continue to work as families lack the down advocates for parents and payment and good credit assist as needed with scores needed to secure a providing home mortgage. resources/information for public assistance. Goal 42

setting related to financial literacy and improving credit scores should also be addressed. 4. Increase in the percentage While a variety of projects CCCDS will need to of overweight and obese aimed at reducing obesity continue to address the children enrolled in the in children are funded, the obesity trends at the program projection shows agency level, both with continued concern and families and children. increases in the number of children overweight or obese, in particular with Hispanic and African American Children. 5. Large amount of This trend is expected to CCCDS must continue to drug/alcohol abuse in be a continued community assist parents/guardians comparison to State concern as the Stanislaus by providing average Drug Enforcement Agency resources/information for continues to expand. drug/alcohol abuse prevention and treatment options to help families get preventatively so that incarceration and/or other criminal issues do not follow and cause further harm for the family. 6. Significant trend of a Female single parenting as Adult education higher percentage of single the majority is a trend connections for Head parent family households expected to remain high in Start parents are needed led by a female with no the future. based on the parent’s low father present and in levels of educational which more than half of attainment and the single parents in the unemployment rate. The program are not development of a life- employed. long learning culture is necessary to break cycles of unemployment and poverty. 7. Lack of father involvement Due to the large number of CCCDS will need to look and engagement in the single parents who are at the foundation and Head Start program primarily female and work environment of the schedules of fathers in centers to identify steps two-parent families, this 43

trend is expected to needed to improve continue. father friendliness and father participation as a long-term goal.

Proposed Changes

For the 2017-18 program year, Central California Child Development Services plans to reduce operation days from 175 to 170. The PM class at Von Renner will be eliminated and the classroom will become a non-blended Head Start classroom with only one 6-hour session. This will meet the new Head Start regulations and elimination of this program will have no negative impact as was previously discussed above. Hours for the non-blended Head Start classroom are to-be-determined and will be similar to the elementary site nearby. The remaining RHS classrooms with continue with the same funding, each with 15 blended RHS/CSPP slots and 5 non-blended. The cumulative number of children proposed for the 2017-18 year is fifty-seven.

Start-up for classrooms is planned for August 7, 2017 and will run through May 10, 2017. Centers will close for major holidays and for one Winter break (December 16, 2017-January 7, 2018) and one Spring break (March 30, 2017-April 8, 2017).

CCCDS has submitted proposal to keep the extra funds from the reduction of the 17 slots at the Von Renner Center in order to increase the quality of services provided in the RHS program. The plan is for each classroom to have three staff, regardless of whether the classroom is blended or non-blended. Beginning August 2017, all RHS classrooms will have three staff with one teacher and two assistants. Quality environments are linked to low adult-child ratios and is essential to basic health and safety. Ensuring that each classroom is a staff of three will result in a higher level of consistent and individualized care.

The second proposed change related to budgeting will be to hire an additional Program Specialist-Child Development for the Education component with 25% of this positions salaries and fringes charged to the RHS program. This position will provide mentor/coaching to teaching staff here at the delegate level. The coaching plan will be based on a variety of factors such as program goals and objectives, CLASS scores, curriculum fidelity, and other current needs of the agency.