2007 Summary of Accomplishments
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CAP's 2006 Annual Report
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2005 Report on Accomplishments
Community Action Project of Tulsa County (CAP) is a comprehensive anti-poverty agency that provides supportive services to low-income families in the Tulsa area. Our mission is to help families in economic need achieve self-sufficiency. In response to significant growth in services, CAP launched a comprehensive strategic planning effort in 2005, which resulted in the adoption of a strategic plan to guide our efforts over the next 5-7 years. The plan identifies our strategic goals (centered around the school readiness and economic success of very young low-income children, their families and communities); our management goals (including a governance and leadership structure built upon a collaborative leadership team model); our goals around effective partnerships and coalitions; and our goals connected to financial stability (development and diversification of funding sources).
Assistance Provided to Evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina & Rita: In 2005, CAP provided services to 35 families (118 individuals) displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We helped evacuees relocate to Tulsa by providing housing and early childhood education as well as case management, financial, medical, food, and transportation assistance. Our service to these families will continue in 2006.
Strategic Goal: Young Children Are Prepared to Learn & Succeed
Early Childhood Education & Childcare We believe that early childhood education coupled with family strengthening programs represent the best pathway out of poverty for low-income families, improving prospects for academic success, improved wage-earning capacity, and economic independence. Our Early Childhood Education program encompasses our Head Start, Early Head Start, and Educare programs, family support services for those enrolled in our early education programs, and our participation in the Partnership for the Availability of School Supplies (PASS) program. Early Childhood Education is our largest program, reaching more than 1,300 low-income children ages 0-5 every year. Each of our classrooms is staffed by a lead teacher holding at least a Bachelor's degree. Our commitment to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers reflects our conviction that early childhood education significantly improves the prospects for the long-term economic success of very young children. CAP partners with Family & Children's Services of Tulsa to provide family support and parent involvement services for families. Additionally, we operate our program in close collaboration with Tulsa Public Schools.
Opening in 2006: Educare. Local philanthropist George Kaiser, along with CAP, Tulsa Public Schools, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Family & Children's Services, and other philanthropists are establishing an early childhood Educare center for infants and toddlers with an on-site healthcare clinic. The Educare center will be located in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood and will serve 183 low-income children in a state-of-the-art learning center, providing a range of educational, medical and social-emotional supports for each child and family. The Center will serve as a model of excellence that will illustrate to both the public and private sectors the impact that high quality early education can have on children's lives and futures.
New Early Childhood Education Centers. Based upon plans to expand enrollment in our Early Childhood Education program, CAP is currently seeking support to construct three new early childhood education centers.
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Strategic Goal: Families with Young Children Have Greater Opportunities for Economic Independence & Success
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Campaign & Intercultural Tax Service CAP's free tax preparation program is intended primarily to serve low-income families who qualify for the federal EITC. During the 2005 tax season, over 250 volunteers contributed more than 10,000 hours preparing tax returns. As a result, CAP served 17,772 clients and generated $23.8 million in refunds. Average client household annual income was $16,895 and average refund per client was $1,299. The average refund represented 10% of household income for the year, making the EITC a critical source of supplemental income support for low-wage workers. Our Intercultural Tax Service helps non-English speakers file taxes, file for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, and reconcile issues with the IRS.
Public Benefits Eligibility Screening CAP uses an Internet-based eligibility screening tool, benefit calculator, and electronic application generator intended to help low-income families access food and nutrition programs, health care, job training, financial planning, and other family and work support services. In 2005, CAP screened over 5,100 clients for nearly 50 public benefits including Food Stamps, Medicaid, Section 8, the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program for children, Childcare and Drug Prescription Assistance. The system can also electronically submit Food Stamp and other applications to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
First-Time Homebuyers Program As a HUD-certified housing counseling agency, CAP provides both pre- and post-purchase housing counseling and financial management education. All services are offered in both English and Spanish and are designed to help low- and moderate-income clients prepare for successful home purchase and ownership. Down payment and closing cost assistance (up to $2,000) is also available. In 2005, CAP provided program information to over 5,200 clients and assisted 88 families with down payment assistance, helping to fulfill their dreams of homeownership.
Strategic Goal: Communities in which Young Children and Their Families Participate are Strengthened
Community Development & Resident Support Services Our Community Development and Resident Support Services are designed to provide affordable, quality housing options for both rental and homeownership. Our services also focus on improving the neighborhoods in which our clients live. CAP operates two multi-family apartment complexes and rents out 36 single-family homes in low-income areas of the city. We also acquire and rehabilitate single-family homes for purchase. We provide resident support services to all families in our rental properties, including referrals to CAP programs and other organizations; health fairs, safety and drug awareness education, and community-building events; the formation of active, sustainable resident associations that train residents in successful leadership and community organizing strategies and hold monthly resident council meetings; case management services and the administration of emergency aid; and the implementation of a new learning center at our Brightwaters Apartment complex.
Public Policy & Advocacy Our Public Policy department provides information and analysis to the public and to legislators about public policy issues that affect low-income families and the working poor. In 2005 we facilitated the first Walk-A-Mile program in the state. Walk-A-Mile is a national grassroots program that links legislators with low-income constituents receiving some type of social assistance so that they may learn more about each other's lives, gain new perspectives, and ''walk a mile'' in each other's shoes. 29 state legislators from across Oklahoma (15 Republicans and 14 Democrats) were partnered with low-income constituents. Oklahoma's program was one of the largest Walk-A-Mile programs in the nation to date.
A Special Thank You to Our Supporters
We strive to operate all of our programs with a diverse funding base through a blend of federal, state, United Way, and private donor funds. We continuously approach both public and private funding sources for ongoing and expanded support, leveraging contributions from all available sources. Additionally, we look to local businesses for in-kind contributions and support, and to community partners for continued involvement.
We would be unable to continue our important work without the generous support of our donors, program partners, and volunteers.
We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to everyone who helps us fulfill our mission consistently and effectively.
Early Childhood Education & Childcare
We believe strongly that early childhood education coupled with family strengthening programs represent one of the best pathways out of poverty for low-income families, improving prospects for academic success, improved wage-earning capacity, and economic independence. The need for quality early childhood education and family support services for Tulsa's low-income families is enormous. Nearly half of all children ages five and under (almost 17,000 children) in Tulsa County live in low-income families, and approximately 75% of these children live in working parent households and rely on outside care. For many families, finding affordable, high quality educational and childcare programs is a struggle.
Our Early Childhood Education program encompasses our Head Start, Early Head Start, and Educare programs, family support services for those enrolled in our early education programs, and our participation in the Partnership for the Availability of School Supplies (PASS) program. While CAP offers other supportive services to low-income families, Early Childhood Education is our largest program, reaching over 1,300 low-income children ages 0-5 every year. Of the children we served through this program during the 2004-2005 school year:
- 100% came from low-income families
- 8% were minority children
- 60% lived in single-family households
- 46% entered our program without health insurance
- 28% did not speak English as their first language
Head Start & Early Head Start
As the primary designated Head Start agency for Tulsa County since 1998, our Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide early education and family support services to 1,376 children ages zero to five (1,216 three-and four-year-olds and 160 infants and toddlers). CAP has combined traditional Head Start philosophy and operations with innovative best practices, including our collaborative partnerships with area school districts, childcare providers, social service agencies, and healthcare providers. Our program has been identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as one of the most innovative in the country. Several of our centers have achieved the highest level of national recognition for providing quality childcare programs with accreditation from the National Association for Education of the Young Child (NAEYC).
CAP partners with Family & Children's Services of Tulsa Oklahoma to provide family support and parent involvement services for families. The services provided to families through this partnership are much broader and more intense than those typically associated with early childhood education programs. Our families receive comprehensive case management services from a staff of 29 degreed Family Support Specialists that includes family support, parent education, family literacy efforts, fatherhood strengthening initiatives, crisis intervention, counseling, and leadership training.
Additionally, we operate our program in close collaboration with Tulsa Public Schools to coordinate facilities, teacher training, mentoring, food service, and certain assessments for children in the program. In 2004, we opened two newly constructed, state-of-the-art Early Childhood Development centers that collectively serve more than 300 low-income preschool aged children. Both facilities are co-located with a Tulsa Public Elementary School, allowing for seamless transition to kindergarten. Both centers are located in East Tulsa, an area that is currently experiencing a rapid growth in Hispanic and Latino populations.
For the past few years, CAP has participated as one of 15 Free to Grow sites nationwide, grooming potential leaders to initiate community-wide change aimed at child and substance abuse prevention. We are also one of 23 sites in the nation participating in the Child Welfare Initiative, providing Early Head Start families in the foster care system with intensive support and family reunification services in a safe environment.
Another area in which CAP's Early Childhood Education program stands out is our commitment to placing high-quality, college educated teachers in the classroom. In 2004, we committed to staffing every one of our classrooms with a lead teacher holding at least a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education (or a related degree with no less than 18 hours of Early Childhood Education coursework). In August 2005, we instituted a requirement that all teacher assistants also hold a degree that relates to Early Childhood Education or hold a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Our teachers are supported by highly skilled and experienced mentors who provide hands-on training and support in matters involving classroom management, helping the teachers to translate skills learned in college into best practices in the classroom. According to research by the National Institute for Early Education, most early childhood educators nationally do not hold a bachelor's degree, and teacher salaries in the field of early education average about half of public school teacher salaries. CAP's commitment to recruit, retain, and provide competitive salaries and benefits to highly qualified teachers reflects our conviction that early childhood education and intervention significantly improves the prospects for the long-term economic success of very young children. The immediate result is an Early Childhood Education program that is of exceptional breadth, depth, and quality. The longer-term result of CAP's investment in early childhood education will be literally thousands of low-income children who are equipped with the educational tools to break free of the cycle of poverty.
Educare
In December 2004, local philanthropist George Kaiser, along with CAP, Tulsa Public Schools, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Family & Children Services, and other local philanthropists announced plans to establish an early childhood Educare center for infants and toddlers with a healthcare clinic on-site. Private foundation investments to fund the new $7 million center have been secured, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in October 2005, and the center is expected to open in the fall of 2006. The Educare center will be located in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood and will serve 183 low-income children in a state-of-the-art learning center, providing a range of educational, medical and social-emotional supports for each child and family. The center will serve as a model of excellence that will illustrate to both the public and private sectors the impact that high quality early education can have on children's lives.
Partnership for the Availability of School Supplies (PASS)
In 1997, CAP helped found and organize PASS, a collaborative partnership of local foundations, businesses, and organizations teaming together to purchase and distribute basic school supplies for children at targeted elementary schools in low-income areas of Tulsa. The program annually distributes school supplies to children at the beginning of the school year. During 2005, PASS served 18,654 students at 50 schools. Thanks to our ability to secure additional funding, we were also able to supply mid-term school supplies to participating elementary schools. CAP's partners in this effort include the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Tulsa Community Foundation.
Social Services & Emergency Aid
In previous years, CAP operated a Social Services & Emergency Aid program, including a food bank, that served low-income members of the community on a walk-in basis. In 2005 we altered our service delivery model for this program and moved from providing short-term, episodic assistance to the community at large to providing long-term, more targeted social services to a smaller number of clients – namely, to residents of our rental properties and families involved in our Early Childhood Education program. This focus allows for more effective leveraging of our current staff and funding capacity, including our strong network of Family Support Workers assigned to Head Start families and community case workers who work with residents of our properties.
Families in our Early Childhood Education program and residents of our rental properties are eligible for short-term and long-term assistance multiple times throughout the year, including assistance with rent and utility payments, food assistance, healthcare costs, transportation and housing needs. Staff who are knowledgeable of each family's history and needs, and who work with these families on an ongoing basis, are able to ensure that assistance is provided where, when, and as often as it is needed in order to move these families toward a greater degree of financial independence. In turn, families benefit from a deeper and more sustained relationship with CAP and their needs are addressed more holistically. The goal of this particular program is to promote the long-term self-sufficiency of these families by helping to alleviate immediate burdens while addressing the root causes of the family's poverty status.
New Construction - Early Childhood Education Centers
CAP has developed and constructed five new Early Childhood Education Centers in the past six years for the Tulsa Children's Coalition, Inc. (TCC). Previously dependent on leasing space in which to operate programs, CAP and TCC have developed a collaborative relationship with the local school system and a financing model that has helped to provide higher quality facilities for Tulsa's low-income children. The long term plan calls for CAP to continue providing construction management services as TCC replaces its remaining leased facilities with newly constructed centers.
Based upon the number of Head Start and Early Head Start slots allocated to CAP (1,320) in addition to slots that are privately funded (56 in 2005, 112 projected for 2006), it is likely that we can support the development of four new centers. We are planning to construct the Educare Center (as described above) and three early childhood education centers that will be similar to our last two. Upon completion, the three centers will be owned and operated by TCC and CAP, respectively. The Educare Center will be owned by Tulsa Educare, Inc. and CAP will provide direct services to the children. CAP will manage the development of these facilities. We are currently working on final financing; construction of these facilities will likely begin in summer/fall 2006.
Community Development & Resident Support Services
Our Community Development and Resident Support Services are designed to provide affordable, quality housing options for both rental and homeownership. Our services also focus on improving the neighborhoods in which our clients live.