Presentation to the State Legislators

Representing Otter Tail County

November 20, 2006

VISION Statement

It is the vision of the Otter Tail Family Services Collaborative that families, communities and service providing agencies work together for a responsive, flexible system of education, support and services that focus positively on the needs, strengths and potential of each child and family. 

Working Together…

Serving Families…Improving Lives

MISSION Statement

The Story of

Chang and Eng

Why we work together

We believe that together we can improve outcomes for children and families and reduce costs by:1.Interagency collaboration to change

systems and integrate services

2.Prevention and early intervention services

3.Holding ourselves accountable

Interagency Collaboration• Systems change – developing more effective

and accessible service delivery systems

• Seamless, integrated service delivery

• Joint planning

• Joint training

• Implementation and evaluation of promising approaches which show evidence of effectiveness through the experience of key stakeholders

Traditional categorical funding goes to ‘deep end’services, but our priorities are:

• School-aged Early Intervention

• Early Childhood Early Intervention

• Child Care Early Intervention

• Truancy Early Intervention

Prevention and Early Intervention Services

Accountability

Children and familiesare involved in a variety of systems, therefore:

1. We are mutually accountable for outcomes

2. We evaluate rigorously

3. We do joint planning

Collaborative Funding – 1999-200573.59% Local Collaborative Time Study8.60% State Grants7.22% Foundation Grants6.90% 3rd Party Reimbursement2.30% Interest0.85% Miscellaneous0.36% Partnership Payments0.17% County

$-

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

StateWide LCTS Earnings - Historical Overview

1999 - Implementation phase in was extended to include the Otter Tail Family Services Collaborative

July 1, 2005 – Implementation of Medicaid School-based Administrative Claiming Guide

2006 – Estimated $17.1M, based on assumption all Collaboratives would continue to participate in LCTS following the implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

Collaborative Funding

-

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

LCTS earnings

Other Funding

-50,000

100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000450,000

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Other Funding

Partnership Payments

County

Interest

3rd Party Reimb

Foundation Grant

State Grants

Misc

$-

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Partner In-kind Contributions

School-age Early Intervention: Family Outreach Program

Family Outreach Facilitators provide early

intervention services to at-risk children and

their families, working with families in their

homes and communities on issues raised by

the family, in response to the referral from

school-based screening teams.

• Joint hiring

• Joint staff training

• Mental health providers working together

• County-school screening teams

• Common model used in all schools

• Development of earlier interventions to reduce special education referrals

Family Outreach Program: Changing Systems

• 1353 children served by program from 2000-05

• 425 children from 300 families served in CY05

• Demand for program services are so high that FY06 ended with 124% utilization rate

• Increased referrals have resulted in a waiting list to serve children and families

• Dramatic increases in student functioning scores

• Joint staff training

• Mental health providers working together

• County-school screening teams

• Common model used in all schools

• Development of earlier interventions to reduce special education referrals

Family Outreach Program: Program Impact

17

15

13

10

9

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

SCORE

# 1 ADMINENROLLMENT

# 2 ADMIN 3 MONTHS #3 ADMIN 6 MONTHS #4 ADMIN 9 MONTHS #5 ADMIN 12 MONTHS

215 STUDENTS

Family Outreach Program Impact (Reflecting School Functioning CAFAS Scores)

Family Outreach Program: Effects of Lost Funding

•Staff cut from 10.2 FTE and a fulltime director in FY06 to 6.3 FTE and half time director in FY07

•Maximum caseload was therefore reduced from an ability to serve 163 families in FY06 to101 families able to be served at one time in FY07

•425 children were served in CY2005 to 259 projected to be served in CY2006

Family Outreach Program:Working together,Serving Families, Improving Lives

"A lot of the things my daughter needed

were met. The program was a welcomed

event in my daughter's life and mine.“

"To put all this into words would take a long

time. To make it short, this program has

helped our son tremendously!"

Caring Connections Home Visitors

provide developmentally appropriate

information and support to new parents

in their homes at times convenient to their

schedules.

Early Childhood Early Intervention: Caring Connections Home Visits

• Joint training of Public Health, ECFE, ECSE, Head Start staff

• Development of common program model and curriculum

• Schools get connected with families much earlier

• Co-located and integrated early services

• Earlier identification of children with special education needs

• Increased utilization of WIC for nutrition benefits

• Communication between all early childhood programs and K-12 schools regarding what constitutes school readiness

• Some school districts have changed from referring to themselves as K-12 to B-12

Caring Connections Home Visits: Changing Systems

• 1811 babies and their families served

• 83% of enrolled families were reading to their children daily by age 3

• 78% of OTC family received at least one visit since 2001  

• 65% of families for whom Caring Connections helped their family to become more connected schools/communities 

• 100% of families served reported that they received new information which helped them better understand the needs of their family.

• 16% of children were referred for special ed screening

Caring Connections Home Visits: Program Impact

• Caring Connections was designed to provide 10 visits to all children from birth through the second half of kindergarten

• In 2004 program was redefined to provide 7 visits to all children through age 3

• In 2005 program was narrowed to provide 4 visits to only first time parents from birth to 12 months

Early Childhood Early Intervention: Caring Connections Home Visits

Caring Connections Home Visits:Working together,Serving Families, Improving Lives“A program like this is really beneficial to

new and seasoned parents to answer

questions that you do not feel comfortable

asking anyone else. They also give you

information and ideas that you would not

think of. As a new mom, it really helped give

me good ideas and reassurance on raising

my son."

Child Care Early Intervention: Child Care Provider Visiting

Child care providers receive a series of

visits providing them with information and

support based on nationally recognized

curriculum to improve the quality of the

care they provide.

• Multi-sector partners focused on quality of child care in the County

• Increased awareness of the role of child care in the early care and education system

• Increased communication and coordination between Child Care Resource and Referral and other early childhood programs

Child Care Provider Visiting: Changing Systems

• 442 visits to 88 providers in 15 OTC communities

• 78% of participants that had been providers 5 years and less have continued to provide care

• 98% of participants reported that the visits helped to meet their needs as a child care provider

• Pilot showed cost effective way to deliver national curriculum: Average cost - $667 per provider, $94 per family impacted by improved quality child care

Child Care Provider Visiting: Program Impact

Child Care Provider Visits: Working together, Serving Families, Improving Lives

"Caring Connections helped me in many

ways. It opened my eyes to ways of caring

for children. It gave me new and safe

ideas!“

-Child Care Provider

School-age Early Intervention: Truancy Prevention Initiatives

1. School-based Attendance Interventions

2. Community-based Attendance Interventions

3. Individualized Direct Services for Early Intervention

School-based Attendance Interventions:Changing Systems

• Adoption of county-wide attendance policy• Consistent attendance tracking and record

keeping• Development of standard range of interventions

and documentation when attendance is an issue• Development of consistent communication with

families and communities about the importance of attendance

0100002000030000400005000060000700008000090000

100000

County-Wide Absences Per School Year

2003 2004 2005 2006

93200

7924571648

74215

School-based Attendance Interventions:Effects of Lost Funding

Schools absorbed functions of attendance

clerks and continue to track attendance and

interventions at a time of reduced school

funding.

School-age Early Intervention:

Community-based Attendance Interventions

Students with attendance issues and their

families are invited by the County Attorney

to a meeting with his staff, school

personnel and OTC Human Services staff.

Community-based Attendance Interventions:Changing Systems

• Brought together schools, County and judges for common understanding and to better meet the individual needs of each child and family

• Increased partnership with families to address attendance issues

• Provided students knowledge of consequences of truancy

Community-based Attendance Interventions:Effects of Lost Funding

No impact as community-based

programs have always been provided by

in-kind services provided by

Collaborative partners

School-age Early Intervention:

Individualized Direct Services

Individualized direct services provided in a

school setting designed to meet specific

needs of students identified as at-risk for

truancy and dropping out of school.

Individualized Direct Services:Changing Systems

• Program was developed with school, county and non-profit partners

• Students were identified as in need of earlier intervention services

• A broad array of entirely individual services were provided

Community-based Attendance Interventions:Effects of Lost Funding

Program was discontinued after

serving 238 at risk students

during the 15 months the

program was funded.

Truancy Prevention Direct Services: Working together,Serving Families, Improving Lives

"Our son needed the extra help in school

and there was someone there every step of

the way. Today he will graduate and will

now go onto College this fall and continue

his education."

2 - 5%

15%

80% of population

IntensiveServices – 60% of $$

Accessiblehigh-quality services and supports –35% of $$

Why Prevention and Early Intervention?

More Complex Needs

Less Complex Needs

Prevention and Universal Health Promotion – 5% of $$

Pires, S. 2006. Human Service Collaborative. Washington, D.C.

The Prevalence Triangle

We are asking

• Support for interagency collaboration

• Funding for the continuum of early childhood and child care prevention and early intervention programs

• Funding for school-aged early intervention services

Thank you!

We appreciate your time and interest in the

Otter Tail Family Services Collaborative!