Our Impact

Family Coordination

Family Coordination helps parents support their children’s learning and creates a linkage between preschool and home. Family Coordination was sustained in FY19 at a decreased level by ReadyKids program dollars when the state grant was discontinued. The state grant was re-administered for FY20. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $70.

Growing Minds

Formerly Child Care Quality, Growing Minds improves the quality of early child-care and preschool settings by offering coaching, training and support to early childhood teachers and directors. Growing Minds continued to emphasize coaching and professional development opportunities for early childhood educators in the community including providing the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Hiring challenges in FY19 caused a decreased coaching capacity. The program is fully staffed for FY20. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $402.

Play Partners

Play Partners taught preschool-age kids literacy skills, active listening and focus through play and storytelling together. Play Partners was discontinued at the end of FY19 to focus on a new model. Moving forward, ReadyKids will pilot a program that uses ReadyKids staff to deliver more intensive, yet flexibly-scheduled, early literacy coaching and social-emotional education for classroom teachers. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $815.

ReadySteps

ReadySteps encourages parents as a child’s first and best teacher through early learning playgroups within their home community. ReadySteps completed the third year of a three-year private expansion grant. The grant allowed the program to expand early learning playgroups to new neighborhoods, including public school settings in Albemarle County; increase the frequency of existing groups; and add structured family coordination. ReadyKids is committed to sustaining the expansion post-grant in FY20. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $643.

STAR Kids

STAR Kids teaches preschool-age kids to develop better self-regulation and problem solving abilities to make healthy choices and avoid risky behaviors. In FY19, the cost per participant was $272, down from $338 last year.

Short Term Outcomes

• Caregivers are knowledgeable to promote the healthy development of kids in all areas (FY19 – 98.6%)
• Young children experience improve quality of early care and education (FY19 – 82.1%)
• Young children are better prepared to begin school (FY19 – 85.5%)
• Children are safe form abuse and neglect (FY19 – 97.6%)
• Parents and children experience improved, positive family interactions (FY19 – 94.1%)
• Teens and children are more socially and emotionally healthy and relate well to others (FY19 – 94.8%)

Program Participation

• In FY19, ReadyKids impacted 9,152 local kids, families and early childhood educators!

Healthy Families

Healthy Families fosters nurturing family relationships for pregnant moms and safe environments for young children. Healthy Families decreased assessments and outreach to focus efforts on intensive home visiting services for clients already enrolled in the program. We continue to partner with Child Health Partnership (formerly Jefferson Area CHiP) to provide mental health counseling to new mothers. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $1,827.

Inside Out

Formerly known as VOCA, Inside Out Counseling provides counseling to help kids and families who have experienced trauma begin the healing process. Inside Out continues to be our fastest growing program and recently received additional state funding. Coupled with private support, funding now allows the Inside Out Counseling team to include 12 full-time masters-level counselors and 3 masters-level interns. Despite the ongoing expansion, the program continues to have a 50+ person wait list. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $1,135.

REAL Dads

REAL Dads coaches fathers to have Responsible, Empowered, Available and Loving relationships with their kids. The REAL Dads class at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail has 14 fathers on the wait list. Quarterly direct contact visits between incarcerated fathers and their children at the jail provided safe and nurturing environments for fathers to improve their relationships with their children. A combination of more community dads staying in the program for longer time and more dads in group rotating in and out of jail increased the number of participants. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $1,168.

Teen Counseling Program

The Teen Counseling Program provides individual and family counseling to foster positive, nurturing family relationships and to ensure that teens are safe and healthy. TCP saw an increase in the intensity and complexity of at-risk behaviors by teens in the program. In order to allocate sufficient time for crisis-based counseling, outreach efforts were decreased this past year. In FY19, the cost per beneficiary was $717.