Q1: What is Smart Start?
A. The Cumberland County Partnership for Children is a private, non-profit
organization that works in collaboration with the whole community to plan and
develop resources and services to help all children in our community to enter
kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed.
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Q2. Is Smart Start the same as Head Start?
A. Smart Start and Head Start are different even though they share
similar goals. Head Start is a program that targets a particular population
of at-risk children. It is based on a very specific program model and
federal funding. Smart Start is funded by state and private funds and,
although the program targets children with need, it improves services for ALL
children under kindergarten-age. The specific goal of Smart Start is
to assist young children to enter school healthy and prepared for success. Typically,
Smart Start funds are spent on a variety of different programs.
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Q3. Is Smart Start just for poor children?
A. No. Smart Start is making an impact on Cumberland County's early
childhood system which offers opportunities for all children to benefit. Many
projects that are funded by Smart Start are directed toward children who don't
have access to high quality services such as child care. When services
are improved for these children, they are improved for all children in care. Families
also have access to more resources through Smart Start.
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Q4. How many children has Smart Start served?
A. Potentially, all children in Cumberland County may be impacted
by Smart Start. Children may receive multiple services from a variety
of programs funded by Smart Start, such as subsidized child care, developmental
screenings, an enrichment program at the local library, and their parents may
receive parent education. Because of these multiple services, it is
difficult to know an exact unduplicated total number of children served, although
it is possible to determine a total number of children served in a particular
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Q5. Is Smart Start an invasion on the family and
family values?
A. Smart Start provides an opportunity for local citizens to make
decisions about services needed for their young children, based on each county's
particular circumstances, need and resources. In addition, Smart Start
allows citizens to hold local agencies accountable for the services they are
already providing and affords the opportunity to those who are most familiar
with local needs to fill in the gaps in services.
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Q6. How are private contributions used?
A. Approximately 95 percent of all funds contributed to Smart Start
by the private sector are directed to local programs in North Carolina. In
fiscal year 1997, the NCPC distributed more than $2.6 million to programs in
47 Smart Start-funded counties and nearly $600,000 to an additional 37 non-Smart
Start counties for expansion efforts.
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Q7. How is Smart Start evaluated?
A. The overall goal of Smart Start, school readiness, is being measured
by the University of North Carolina's Frank Porter Graham Research Center. In
addition, each individual project that is funded by Smart Start is being evaluated
to be sure it is getting results that will impact school readiness.
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Q8. What is the total amount of Smart Start funds
that are currently being spent on child care subsidies?
A.Currently, 30 percent of all Smart Start direct service allocations
are being spent on child care subsidies.
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Q9. What is the percentage and amount of Smart Start
funds that are currently being spent on child care-related services?
A.The total amount of Smart Start direct service funds currently being
spent on child care and child care-related activities is 70 percent. In
addition, to direct child care subsidies, Smart Start funds are being spent
on child care and education and teacher education and support.
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Q10. How does Smart Start relate to welfare
reform?
A. Without child care, welfare families cannot work. As Cumberland
County continues to reduce its welfare rolls, the need for child care will
increase.
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Q11 How is Smart Start different from other
state funded programs?
Smart Start provides an opportunity for local citizens to make decisions
about services needed for their young children, based on each county's particular
circumstances, need and resources. In addition, Smart Start allows
citizens to hold local agencies accountable for the services they are already
providing and affords the opportunity to those who are most familiar with
local needs to fill in the gaps in services.
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