About Us

The Smart Start Model

The Smart Start-Centre County model proposes a new approach, by forming a network of concerned citizens, child care professionals, academics and teachers, medical professionals, parents, and businesses. By pulling together the experts in the fields most important to the development of young children, Smart Start is able to act as a clearinghouse for sharing information, an advocate for early childhood, a support vehicle for existing and new projects, and a search engine for resources. By working together, we can affect change.

The History of Smart Start-Centre County — 1998 – 2006

In 1998 a Needs Assessment Task Force was formed to try to determine the most critical human service needs in Centre County. In 1999 and the beginning of 2000, studies by various groups found that children and youth programming were among the top five needs of the county.

In August 2000, after attending a United Way of Pennsylvania meeting focused on early child education, school readiness programming and public policy issues, it was decided that now was the time for Centre County to start this initiative.

January of 2001 found members of the county coming together toward this goal, with both money and physical space. They included the Child Development and Family Council of Centre County, Inc., Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, Centre County Commissioners, Centre County Community Foundation, Centre County United Way and others. The Centre County Community Foundation Board of Directors, in July 2001, voted to set aside funding to for up to five years for an executive director and child education/school readiness program, to be named Smart Start-Centre County. In November 2001 the first Steering Committee was named for Smart Start-Centre County with the following agencies being represented: county schools, county commissioners, Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, College of Health and Human Development of Penn State University; Centre County United Way, The Second Mile, Centre County Community Foundation.

Early in 2002 a Memorandum of Understanding among the Centre County Community Foundation, the Centre County United Way and Child Development and Family Council for operating procedures for Smart Start-Centre County was executed and February 2002 saw Kathleen Paterson hired as the first Executive Director.

In June 2002, Smart Start received designation as a Local Council by the Centre County Board of Commissioners for the Early Learning Opportunities Act (EOLA) grant application, and the Centre County Strategic Plan 2002-2004 was completed. In July 2002, a $40,000 continuing planning grant was received from the Department of Public Welfare in conjunction with research conducted by Penn State University’s Prevention Center with Dr. Mark Greenburg.

In August, the Steering Committee was expanded to add a representative of the Board of the Child Development and Family Council, Inc. and Centre Community Hospital. Employers and employees of Centre County were surveyed concerning work and child care issues.

The accreditation process for nine child care centers and eleven family child care homes was started in October 2002; and December the first logo and first brochure for Smart Start-Centre County were published.

In January 2003, $50,000 was received from the DPW for implementation of the EOLA Planning Grant. The first 13 students enrolled in T.E.A.C.H. Program at Penn State began their course work in pursuit of quality professional development in the early childhood arena.

Spring of 2003 showed Smart Start providing technical support for the PSU Prevention Research Center; sponsoring parents workshops in Millheim, Bellefonte, Port Matilda and Snowshoe; and held its first Job Shadowing in collaboration with Stand for Children.

In June of 2003 Smart Start helped negotiate the Nurse-Family Home Visiting Partnership for in-home care and assistance to low income mothers, which includes Centre County Home Nursing Agency of Altoona and the Knight Foundation and also helped negotiate a partnership for CenClear Dental Van to provide dental assistance for young mothers.

Smart Start published its first newsletter, "Connected for Kids" in July 2003 and also received $2,020 from State College Women’s Club for a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship. Kathleen Paterson resigned as executive director to assume a similar position in Vermont.

In September a new executive director, Elly Yost, was hired. Elly was a nurse with extensive experience in Nurse Family Partnerships and programs on Native American reservations in the Southwest. Also in September, a Speakers Bureau workshop was held; the Smart Start Web site was established; Smart Start received its first endowment fund of $25,000; it received a $35,000 Transition Grant from DPW; and The Family Resource brochure (first edition) was completed and distribution initiated.

November 2003, the first PreK/Kindergarten In-service was held and in December, the first meeting with faith community was held. December also saw the distribution of Babies Rock with Books (first edition). This program included a "Prescription for Reading" from Pediatricians and a First Book for families to encourage Early Childhood literacy.

The first of eight Mental Health Community Forums focusing on the young child's mental health was held in February, 2004; and in March, in collaboration with Centre County Cooperative Extension, ten people were trained to teach preschool staff an exercise and nutrition program for preschool children. The series was entitled "Babies from the Bottom Up".

In April, 2004, the Prescription for Reading pilot program began, with prescribed reading for parents during the well-baby check-ups. Also in April, a Public Issues Forum was co-sponsored by Smart Start regarding preparation for learning for young children. Smart Start also coordinated special activities for the National Week of the Young Child.

Smart Start and Stand for Children sponsored a Legislative Job Shadowing for county commissioners and legislators in May 2004, which featured early child care and education and after school programs.

In June of 2004, Elly Yost announced plans to accept a position with Nurse Family Partnership at its national headquarters in Colorado in the coming months. In the meantime, she wrote a 2004-2005 update to the original Strategic Plan. In January 2005, Edie Kiratzis was hired as Administrative Assistant while a search for a new Executive Director was underway.

In January of 2005 the Parenting and Literacy Committee embarked on its Get Ready, Get Set, GO! Kindergarten Bound calendar. The calendar, for use by parents and child care providers, was designed to prepare 4-year-olds for entry into kindergarten. Sponsored entirely by local businesses, the calendar was distributed by committee volunteers to child care facilities, libraries, and pediatricians' offices in Centre County.

A second project developed by the Parenting and Literacy Committee was launched that spring entitled "Baby Book Bags". These were small canvas bags containing an infant "board book", a welcome letter, and an invitation to join the library. The Baby Book Bags were given to agencies that do home visits to parents and babies, accompanied by an evaluation that would be completed by the home visitor, after observing the family’s reaction to the Baby Book Bag.

Building on the success of the 2004 Mental Health Community Forum Speaker Series, the second Mental Health Community Forum was begun in April, 2005. This year (entitled "Keeping a Step Ahead") the focus would be on toddlers, while the previous year had babies as the primary focus. The series of three speakers would present full-day Saturday workshops designed for child care providers, teachers, parents, and mental health professionals.

In the summer and fall of 2005, the Family Resource Guide (second edition) was updated with added resources. This publication was again distributed free through social service agencies, doctors’ offices, public libraries, and through child care providers.

The search for a new Executive Director ended in October, 2005, when Eileen Wise was hired. A teacher and preschool director, Eileen produced the fall 2005 issue of the Connected for Kids newsletter, expanding its readership to include the 900+ members of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, as a new member agency. She also wrote the 2005-2006 update to the original Strategic Plan.

In December of 2005, a grant for $4,000 was obtained from Centre County Community Foundation to fund two speakers for the 2006 Mental Health Community Forum. The third year focus for this series entitled "Building Bridges to Cooperation" was mental health issues for preschoolers.

In January 2006 work began on a revision and update of the Get Ready, Get Set, GO! Kindergarten Bound calendar. This calendar underwent a significant design change, incorporating original photographs of many local Centre County children. The project again received financial support from local businesses, making the calendar free to all.

During the months of February, March, and April, 2006 the Early Care and Education Committee presented "The Transition Series"—a series of three workshops designed for kindergarten teachers, child care providers, and parents to come together to learn and share ideas on how to effectively transition preschoolers into kindergarten.

The Health and Nutrition Committee supported the local day of free dental and vision services to low-income families in Centre County in April, 2006. The event, entitled Give Kids a Smile and Vision for the Future provides free screening and treatment to all qualifying families twice a year. Coordinated by Centre Volunteers in Medicine, and staffed by local dentists and optometrists, Smart Start helped publicize the event, and supported its efforts toward improving family health by distributing free digital thermometers (and instructions on their proper use) to families.

In July, 2006, Smart Start underwent a transition in financial support. It applied and obtained fiscal responsibility for the $34,000 continuing Community Engagement Team (CET) grant from the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) in the Office of Child Development (OCD) of Pennsylvania. (For the previous five years, the CET grant had been ably administered for Smart Start-CC by Ann Walker, Executive Administrator of Child Development and Family Council of Centre County, Inc.) Another change was the five-year support by the Centre County Community Foundation (CCCF) ended, as had been planned from the beginning. To fill the gap by the end of the CCCF support, Centre County United Way contributed a new grant to Smart Start of $45,000 for one year. The possible continuation of the United Way grant is contingent upon Smart Start obtaining its independent non-profit status during this year.

Since the summer, new partnerships and opportunities have emerged. Additional funding was sought and obtained from the Centre County Community Foundation to bring a special speaker from San Francisco to address a gathering of mental health and social service providers, as well as community leaders, parents, child care providers, and teachers. The speaker, Kadija Johnston (the leading national expert on mental health consultation to child care) addressed the need for mental health professionals to be available to child care and to work in partnerships with child care directors and staff, to enable them to better work with children exhibiting troubling behaviors. The long term goal is to reverse an alarming national trend for preschools to expel these young children because child care staff may lack the necessary skills for including and helping such challenging children. As a result of her two-day visit, the Early Childhood Mental Health Committee is committed to raise awareness and seek advocacy and funding to support mental health consultation to child care in Centre County.

In September, 2006 Smart Start received support from Centre County Communities That Care (CC-CTC) and the Bellefonte School District Pre-K Counts grant from the State of Pennsylvania to help sponsor the second speaker in the Mental Health Community Forum. The speaker presented an introduction to the Pre-School PATHS Curriculum, a highly respected program designed for use by early education teachers in child care and preschool settings. Both these new partners are expected to work with Smart Start on our mutual concerns in the future.

Another key partnership that began this fall was with PNC Bank. This company is a regional leader in supporting early childhood issues, including making prekindergarten available to all children through its Grow Up Great program. Recognizing the cost effectiveness of investing early in the next generation, PNC has allied itself with Smart Start to make us both more effective. Specifically, PNC Bank pledged to support Smart Start with its dollars. During the United Way campaign, all dollars pledged by PNC employees will be matched one-to-one by PNC corporate offices, and that extra pledge by PNC Bank goes to Smart Start. Secondly, PNC Bank has invested volunteer time by its employees. Employees helped area child care centers improve their facilities during the Day of Caring activities. Thirdly, PNC Bank is sponsoring Smart Start in a presentation to the business community through the Chamber of Business and Industry “Breakfast Before Hours” venue. This relationship is also expected to continue and to deepen in the coming years, as businesses become more aware of the need for engagement in early childhood as not only a children’s and families’ issue, but also a workforce development issue.

In November, 2006, two new Board Members joined Smart Start-CC. They were Robin Oliver, M.D. and Robert Sunday, bank representative.