Albany Community Action Partnership - Essay Example

? of the of the Number Operation of ACAP ACAP: Introduction Albany Community Action Partnership, commonly known as ACAP is a nonprofit organization registered under section 501(c) (3). The establishment is currently headquartered in the state of New York. The establishment was incorporated in the year 1966, and is one of the 100 national Community Action Agencies (CAA’s) and New York’s 52. CAA’s are usually independent nonprofit organizations, nominated by the federal government in the year 1964 for the purpose of combating poverty in various localities in and around the state of New York. One of the key intentions of the company is to remain consistent in what they are doing. The company started its operation 40 years back with the aim of offering different type of connections and services to the economically weaker section of the society and uplift their position. Strengthening the economical condition of the individuals and their families is one of the key requirements of the firm. The organization offers a range of social services to the community. The services are generally provided to the people through their offices in Cohoes and Albany. Furthermore, the organization also offers its services from the early childhood development classrooms. The mission of the company is to work in partnership with the communities and families so as to empower people and achieve financial stability and lead a quality life. As the establishment continues to spread its wings in different places on earth, it also continues to diversify and expand the services of the firm. Despite numerous changes the establishment has remained consistent in its mission and vision statement. This makes ACAP an exceptionally safe and accessible place for the individuals to find a better way of life and a jubilant place for the employees where they can excel. Some of the key services provided by the establishment are as follows: - ACAP provides comprehensive and centralized support services to the local people who are in need of it. ACAP brings together all community support systems that include nonprofit, governmental and corporate sector so as to offer benefits to each of its customers independently. ACAP constantly reports a computable impact on poverty in the neighboring communities. The establishment involves the community as well as the customers for the overall development of the society. ACAP also provides employment opportunities to a number of people and along with that it offers competitive wage and comprehensive benefits. Most importantly, it also offers career growth opportunities to the employees (“About Us”). Services Offered by the Firm The organization is best known for providing a wide range of services to the individuals and communities. Apart from directly offering services, it also initiates a number of other programs so as to create awareness among the target population. Some of the evident ones are child care services, early childhood education services, food pantry services, community action services, career services, housing and energy services and tax assistance services. However, this essay will only focus on the early childhood education services. Albany Community Action Partnership (ACAP) offers a number of options for the early child education in and around the Albany County. Each of the early childhood programs that are operated by ACAP maintains a strict adherence to the licensing regulations. This is instituted by NYS Department of Education and NYS Office of Children and Family Services. Furthermore, these programs not only meet the guidelines of the federal government, but often reach beyond the requirement of law so as to ensure comprehensive care and quality of the Albany County children and families. Some of the services offered by the company in the context of Early Childhood Education also include to and fro transportation to the education centers. The current locations through which the organization operates are Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Cohoes, Albany and Watervliet. The two major programs offered by the company are Head Start Program and Universal Pre-K. The two programs are discussed below in detail. Head Start Program Head start programs are the programs initiated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. These services are meant for providing a comprehensive solution to health, education, nutrition and parent involvement services to the low income families. The resources and services of the program are designed in such a manner that it enhances emotional and physical well being of children, fosters stable family relationships and aims to establish an environment so as to develop strong cognitive skills. The concept of head start program was originally initiated by Jule Sugarman in the year 1965 and the idea was to originally conceive as a summer school program that provides opportunities for the children belonging to low income family (“About Head Start”). The importance of such programs kept on increasing and as a result of that millions of children participated in these initiatives. However, the effectiveness of head start programs has always been a subject of debate. Some of the scholars have claimed that the success of this program is obvious, but certain group also believes that it produces both substantial success and failure. Even some of them claimed that the failures are sufficient to mark its abolition. Despite several challenges, the head start programs have been accepted by millions of people across the country. Some of the common services of a head start program are promotion of healthy parental outcome, fostering family and community partnership so as to embrace an overall development and promote school readiness programs. ACAP also initiates head start programs in Albany County for the purpose of promoting the well being of the low income families and children. The head start program of ACAP was initiated in the year 1965, but it was only a pilot activity. Its success finally made it a permanently funded activity in the late 1966s. During the year 2011, ACAP’s Head Start Program has served 530 families and children including the home based programs. During a visit to this social service organization it has been observed as well as identified that the head start program of the establishment provides a comprehensive dental, nutritional, mental health, familial development services, education and parent involvement. The center based children are entitled to receive two third of the recommended nutritional allowances through the lunch and breakfast provided by the head start program. Around 30% of the enrolled candidates have been diagnosed with different kinds of disabilities (“Head Start Program”). Along with these services, one of the key findings was that the organization also offers inclusive special education services to the needy children. One of the most evident aspects of this program is the comprehensive development portfolio. The ACAP head start child readiness programs therefore aims for social-emotional development, physical development, language and literacy development, and cognitive development. As a result of this program, the organization has succeeded to offer up-to-date immunization, complete annual health checkup, hearing and vision screenings, annual dental screening, developmental education screenings of the 100% enrolled candidates. One of the most beneficial aspects of this program is that it creates a long lasting and positive outcome by fulfilling the critical needs and offering new opportunities for the families. Furthermore, research has also shown that children who have undergone this training program have better physical and mental ability. Hence, from the above facts it is evident that the head start program initiated by the company has been instrumental in the development of child health and family. It has been observed that another vital initiative taken by the company is the Pre-Kindergarten program. The next section will discuss about the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program services offered by the company. Universal Pre-K Pre-kindergarten, commonly known as Pre-K is probably the first classroom oriented learning environment that a child residing in the United States usually attends. It generally begins between the age group of 3-5 on the basis of the length of the program. The pre-K schools are meant for preparing the children for succeeding in kindergarten. As a result of that, pre-K is also known as the nursery school. Majority of the pre-K programs in the US is operated by private organizations for the sole aim of educational and socialization benefits. The importance of pre-kindergarten has further increased in the last decade with pre-kindergarten program becoming necessary for the mothers so as to enter the workforce. The organization started to offer Universal Pre-Kindergarten program services after the legislation of kindergarten program was passed by the New York State Legislature in spring 1999. The idea was to simply offer the education and learning opportunities to the maximum number of families. The company has two Universal Pre-Kindergarten classrooms that are located at the Olivia Rorie Head Start and Lincoln Square Centers in Albany. The organization was only able to start the programs only when the New York State Education Department accepted ACAP’s proposal of collaboration with the Albany Community Action Partnership for the purpose of providing Head Start and Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs (“Universal Pre-K”). The proposal led to the successful partnership that prospered over the last few years. The organizations acquire funding for the Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs from the New York State Education Department and are granted to city school districts on the basis of the needs as well as enrollment criteria. The data presented above reflect the achievements of the organization in the year 2012. This makes it evident that the programs initiated by the organization are indeed helping the society as a whole. It has been also observed that apart from the early childhood education services, ACAP also offers child care programs. The details of the same are presented below in details. Child Care Program Albany Community Action Partnership (ACAP) also offers a number of child care programs in and around the city of New York. During the visit to a campaigning program of the organization, it was observed that it majorly stresses on the early learning center programs and family court children’s center services (“Child Care Program”). A short interaction with one of the managers clarified that each of the programs and services initiated by the company complies with the licensing regulations. In reality, the child care programs offered by the organization at times surpass the requirement for the sake of maintaining comprehensiveness and quality. The next section will throw light on the two programs initiated by the organization under this section. Early Learning Center ACAP’s Early Learning Center is a child care program that is meant for providing full day child care servicing facility. Only children aged between 6 weeks to 5 years are entitled to enroll in this program. The Early Learning Center program was initiated in the year 2003 and is operated through Monroe Street in Albany. During the visit to the learning center it was found that the program is offered from Monday to Friday. The aim of this program is to offer children with wide variety of developmental activities. In order to do so, the organization focuses heavily on the development of nurturing and warm environment at the highest possible affordable rates. One of the key findings during visit was that the center provides dedicated teachers, nutritious meals, napping and resting opportunities, and tenders scope of engaging in gross and fine motor activities (“Early Learning Center”). Family Court Children’s Center The Family Court Children’s Center attempts to offer a safe environment for the children to learn and play during the time when their parents are in Albany County Family Court. It also seeks to provide the children with the opportunity to break out the adversarial circumstances that often develop during family court. Furthermore, this allows parents to concentrate and stress more on their court matters. It has been observed that the children's center is endowed with special assistance from the friends of family court children’s center. Furthermore, in order to look after the operations and ensure better outcome, the establishment has provided dedicated professionals and spends significant amount of time, resources and money. It has been clearly observed that these professionals have made immense contribution towards running the operation of family court children’s center. One of the key facts about this venture is that it provides caring services to around 2000 children every year and thus it is obvious that family court children’s center is a vital service offered by the company (“Family Court Children's Center”). Impact of Early Education on Child Eminent scholars such as Johnson (1) posited education can make long lasting and significant differences in the daily lives of children. In the recent years, the education departments as well as the policy makers of the United States have thoroughly investigated the viability of the impact of early education for the development of a child. The findings show that proper education leads to excellent results. The developments will not be restrained only to theoretical knowledge, but will also develop the mental ability of a child. Some scholars have argued that caring programs and high quality early education will assist in closing the gaps that may take place between minority children and their counterparts. Different research agencies have stated that readiness for school is one of the key indicators and elements for the success and development of a child in the latter half of the life. Scholars have also indicated that early education also helps a child to prepare for school education and this in turn assists them in understanding the subjects more easily. Furthermore, literature pertaining to the subject of child education has suggested that high quality early education exerts positive effect on the cognitive outcomes of a child. Early education also plays imperative roles in maximizing the intelligence quotient (IQ) and general cognitive ability of a child. It has been observed that early education which is superior in quality promotes a healthy life and ensures overall development of a child. Eminent scholars such as Phillips and Adams (15) emphasized that, efficient early education strategies that combines different services for supporting families and early education has the ability to produce long lasting benefits and it can also result in reduced crime rates and antisocial activities. In order to cite evidence that reflects the impact of early education of the child, Abecedarian and Perry Preschool projects will be used. The Abecedarian project and Perry Preschool projects are the two early education initiatives. According to reports, this program has positively impacted the daily life and future of those children who have participated in the program (Schweinhart 15). Furthermore, evidences show that early education of a child helps in eradicating the negative effects and leads to the development of the child. Another example of The Carolina Abecedarian Project also illustrates the significance of early education in the life of individuals. The major findings of this project were that children who received education from the infancy level demonstrated high IQ levels. On the contrary, low level of IQ became prominent among the individuals who did not attend the early education training program. Therefore from the above facts and figures it can be concluded that education interventions that begun in the infancy phase and continued in the later years has a positive impact on the individual and this impact is long lasting. Hence, the theory as well as real evidences proves the statement ‘early education helps in the development of a child’. Operations of ACAP The operation of a firm plays indispensible role in its success because it is the sole function responsible for delivering the offerings to the customers. ACAP mainly operates through permanent offices and learning centers located at different parts of the city. The company also launches different campaigning programs which are meant for creating awareness about the services offered by them. The findings made it apparent that the workforce of the establishment is instrumental in running the day to day operation of the firm. However, in turn ACAP offers competitive and large number of benefits. For each task, they have dedicated personnel so as to ensure the operation runs smoothly and offer high standard services to the needy people. The social entrepreneurship venture has helped me realize that business can be done in various ways and one of them is to do it through socially responsible activities. Moreover, this venture also provides employment opportunity to a number of people which again reflects the commitment of the establishment towards the society. Works Cited “About Us.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. “About Head Start.” Ohs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. “Child Care Program.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. “Early Learning Center.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. “Family Court Children's Center.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. “Head Start Program.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. Johnson, Anna D. “The Effects of Early Education on Children in Poverty.” 2006. PDF File. Phillips, David. and Graeme Adams. “Child care and our youngest children”. Future of Children 1 (2001): 35-52. Schweinhart, Lawrence J. Benefits, Costs, and Explanation of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. 2003, Florida: CRC Press. Print. “Universal Pre-K.” Albanycap. ACAP, 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. Read More