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Text of Remarks made by Executive
Director Carolyn Dederer at Day Nursery Annual Meeting, October 19, 2004
As I sit down to gather the statistics and the impressions of the last
twelve months, I am, as always, struck by the immense amount of activity,
change, and continual improvement that occurs in this organization over a
year’s time. It is no wonder the time flies by, we are amazed,
exhausted, frustrated, and energized all at various times during the year,
and yet when the day, or in this case, the year is done, the sun sets on
many accomplishments and the knowledge of a job well done by many who
serve families with young children.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Even though this work goes on 52 weeks a year, once in awhile someone
takes the time to say, "Congratulations on your efforts." These
are moments we cherish! This year, we were pleased to accept an Indiana
Achievement Award for Sustainability. This award recognized Day Nursery’s
transition from a traditional social work model to one that meets the
modern workplace market with strategies that helped us improve our
relevance and financial sustainability. The $10,000 prize supported our
market niche program of scholarships for children, and the fame and
recognition it brought with it generated additional contributions.
Bank One has partnered with the National Center for Family Literacy to
provide spotlight demonstration literacy programs in early education
centers in Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis. Bank One
chose Day Nursery to be its demonstration site here, and so we have this
program in operation at our State Government Center. Parents and teachers
receive training, the classrooms receive books, and the center receives a
Parent Lending Library.
Young Audiences of Indiana, Day Nursery’s partner in arts education
for preschoolers, received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to
continue their program in our centers. This program provides us with an
enrichment component to our services that enhances teacher training, as
well as the children’s experiences.
FINANCES
We began 2004 with a budget calling for two first time goals: 1) To set
aside 2% of revenue in a contingency fund, and 2) To fund a depreciation
account. We are thrilled to report that we have met these goals with
$320,000 set aside in savings and a zero line of credit balance as of the
end of September. At the end of August, we reported an $83,630
year-to-date surplus.
Grants and individual contributions this year are at a healthy total of
$162,930, thanks in large part to Beth Hailer, our new Director of
Development, who joined our staff in February.
ENROLLMENT
The average enrollment statistics for this year break down as follows:
- 25.8% of children Full Fee
- 26.4% of children Receive employer-related discount
- 15.3% of children Receive sliding fee discount
- 32.5% of children Receive government subsidy discount
Of the children served by Day Nursery, 74.2% receive some form of
subsidy that reduces their child care fees. The 26.4% who receive
employer-related discounts benefit directly from the partnership between
parents’ employers and Day Nursery. Because the employer provides an
in-house child care center, Day Nursery saves dollars that otherwise would
have to go to support a facility and we can pass this savings on to the
families served. The 15.3% of children who receive a sliding fee discount
benefit from our community’s philanthropy that supports the Day Nursery
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). The 32.5% of children who benefit from
government subsidies are able to attend Day Nursery because we opt to
support these programs with an investment of administrative services that
has increased substantially during this past year of new regulations. A
new age of accountability has dawned on our voucher reimbursement
relationship with the state. Over 25 Marion County child care centers have
closed this year (115 down to 91) because, in part, the high cost of
administering systems of accountability is greater than many can or are
willing to absorb. Day Nursery remains a leader and a model in the child
care field in rising to the new challenges being presented. Working with
the state, we have improved and developed systems of accountability that
we hope will reduce administrative costs for all Indiana early education
programs.
CENTERS
In 2004 we were hit with a "Hendricks County Crisis." Day
Nursery’s strategic alliance initiative that partners us with various
corporations and organizations, while generally lifesaving and successful,
leaves us vulnerable to the changing needs of workplaces. Cinergy
Corporation in Hendricks County announced its plans to sell the land on
which our center sits, thus forcing us to rebuild in a new location. We
have been successful in attaining a capital challenge grant from United
Way of Central Indiana for $750,000 and a preliminary commitment from
Clarian Health Partners West in Avon for land and management support. We
continue to apply for grants and raise funds to complete the $2.7 million
project by June 2005 with a projected moving date of December 2005. A
Board of Directors Advisory Council has been appointed and will hold its
first meeting on October 27th.
This year marks the completion of first year operations for both the
Clarian and Guion Road centers. Start up periods are always challenging,
but we are establishing stability at both sites, and feel optimistic that
both centers will be solid additions to the Day Nursery offering of
services. The offering of non-standard extended hours at Clarian has been
an experiment this year. Usage is small but important to those who need
it. We have opted to amend the closing time from 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. so
that we may continue to meet the needs of 12-hour shift personnel and yet
improve the efficiency of operation.
Accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young
Children (NAEYC) remains a proud distinction of Day Nursery and is an
ongoing process. This year two of our centers, Wiles and Lilly, passed the
five-year renewal. We are now ready to seek first time accreditation for
the Guion Road, Clarian, and Fort Harrison centers.
REGULATIONS
The field of early care and education is rife with rules and
regulations that come to us from a variety of sources. This year, new
Family and Social Service licensing regulations have been enacted which
change the way we organize our infant and toddler programs. Additionally,
we have had to update our playgrounds to meet new Playground Standards.
New voucher compliances have introduced a "Point of Service"
machine into our centers into which parents must swipe daily an
eligibility use card. The challenge continues to be two fold: 1) the
rising cost of meeting regulation requirements, and 2) the inconsistency
produced by conflicting rules.
PROGRAMS
This year we have been able to add a second Indianapolis Public School
(School #21) to our Kindergarten Plus program. The results of this
kindergarten tutorial at both 21 and 39 have been quite remarkable. The
children from these high-risk neighborhoods on the southeast side of
Indianapolis have not had the benefit of preschool education and come to
kindergarten totally unprepared. Giving them the extra half day of early
education provides the boost they need to be successful by first grade.
Seventy-five children are enrolled this fall, thanks to Bank One, the
Annie E. Casey Foundation, United Way, and Indianapolis Public Schools.
This year, we were able to double the capacity of our early childhood
education consulting department by adding Pam Lay to our staff. Pam has
been able to take over the child, parent, and teacher consultation role
that serves our centers’ most challenging child behavior situations.
Referrals come to her via teachers and/or center directors who seek extra
help in dealing with these types of situations in the classroom. Since
February, Pam has intervened with 29 children, and her assistance has
resulted in 15 Case Plans, 7 Family Assessments, and 5 Transfers.
Referrals to community resources were made in 16 cases. Pam also finds she
can assist teachers with behavior issues by merely coaching and mentoring
them in classroom design, procedures, and discipline techniques.
Because Pam is able to concentrate on supporting children, families,
and teachers with special situations, our Training Department under the
leadership of Jane Hammonds is able to provide orientation and support to
new employees, ensure that all teachers are meeting the Child Development
Association (CDA) credentialing requirements, and provide ongoing training
and mentoring to staff. Last spring, all lead teachers and directors
attended the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children
training conference. Last month, Jane coordinated an all staff training
day with workshops, a keynote speaker, team building activities, and
prizes. Year-to-date statistics from the Training Department are as
follows:
- # of staff currently enrolled in Associates Degree programs: 12
- # of staff currently enrolled in Ivy Tech CDA or waiting for
certification: 6
- # of staff who completed Child Care Answers CDA Renewal course: 15
- # of staff who completed Child Care Answers CDA course: 9
- # of staff currently enrolled in Child Care Answers CDA course or
waiting for certification: 22
- Total # of staff hours of training and education: 4,145
Because of the mission focus on children, we tend to think of all we do
as relating to the 1,000 children per year we serve. However, taking care
of the 200 plus staff becomes increasingly important, as they are key to
the development and growth of the children we serve.
CHILD CARE ANSWERS
Child Care Answers (CCA) is the unsung hero of Day Nursery. People see
our very visible centers and IPS programs and say it is so amazing that we
serve approximately 1,000 children daily. But the truly large and amazing
numbers are to be found in the daily work that goes on over the phone and
in child care providers’ homes by the 12 Child Care Answers staff. In
addition to connecting parents to child care, this program trained 1,649
child care providers this past year providing them with training and
information on a variety of quality care issues, such as better care for
infants and toddlers, literacy, development of better business practices,
and the list goes on.
CCA has engaged in several special projects that:
- provided enhanced referral services to 300 parents seeking care for
their infants and toddlers; and
- provided training on "Project Brain Tree." These
preschool science and math learning kits are available on a library
basis from the Indiana Child Care Fund.
Statistics of services provided for the year are as follows:
Total number of Active Providers on database 2397
- Licensed Homes 598
- Licensed Centers 159
- Legally Licensed Exempt 1492
Providers
- School Age Programs 139
- Registered Ministries 134
- Preschool Program 72
Minimum Standards
- Total number of Minimum Standards visits 430
Numbers of calls 18,593
Types of calls
- Referral to other agency
- Child Care Referrals / Enhanced referrals
- Technical Support for Providers
- Referrals to Child Protective Services
- Registration for Orientation
- Registration for Trainings
- General Child Rearing questions
- Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) calls
Number of Community Events, Fairs & Outreach Activities
1056
Number of Child & Adult Care Food Program
(CACFP) sponsored homes 120
Number of providers attending trainings
- CDA 215
- Trainings 1230
- Orientation training 204
AUXILIARY
This past year the Day Nursery Auxiliary has been very active in
participating in three events: a Spring Silver Tea held in March, a fall
Friendship Tea held in September, and the Annual Fashion Show to be held
in December. Additionally, they supported the Association’s mission by
contributing $25,000.
WHAT’S NEXT?
It seems that whenever we think we know the events for the following
year, we are surprised by new development, either at the legislative or
community level. Change is constant and the only thing that remains sure
is change. Fortunately, we have developed a mindset that allows us to move
forward in a flexible, yet confident way, serving children and the
community in the best Day Nursery tradition.
This page last updated: 12/02/2004
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