Child Development Division

UMOS DELIVERS QUALITY EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE

Kids sitting in classroom​

The UMOS Child Development Division provides safe, nurturing and high quality, early childhood education programs with school readiness at the heart of everything we do.

The Child Development Division is comprised of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Migrant Child Care. The programs are operated in Wisconsin, Missouri, and soon to be in Arkansas.

MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START SERVICES: READING, WRITING AND READINESS

Children playing in classroom

 

Preparing children for school readiness is a central focus of the UMOS Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program (MSHS). The UMOS Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program delivers comprehensive and high-quality Head Start services designed to prepare children for school, to prepare families to support their children’s learning, and to prepare schools to be ready for UMOS children. UMOS MSHS views school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning in life.

 

UMOS operated MSHS programs as the grantee in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Wisconsin District 6, providing early childhood development and education; health, dental, mental health, nutrition, family engagement, and parental involvement services. These services are responsive and appropriate to each child’s and each family’s development, culture, linguistic heritage, and experience.

Services are provided to children 6 weeks through 5 years in a center-based design for 9 to 12 hours daily. During the peak of the harvest, UMOS MSHS has braided funds to also serve children during weekend hours. This additional childcare service allows parents the ability to continue agricultural work extending throughout the weekend while their children are in a safe, nurturing, high-quality early childhood education program and rather than in the fields.

The grantee and District 6 provided Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) services to 457 migrant children and their families in Wisconsin and Missouri. There are four Wisconsin grantee MSHS sites located in Amery, Montello, Plymouth and Whitewater.

The Missouri sites are in Malden, Mt. Vernon and Lexington. The total funded enrollment for the Grantee is 257.

UMOS District 6 centers, also in Wisconsin, are in Aurora, Beaver Dam, Plainfield, and Spring Lake District 6 is funded for 159 children.

UMOS promotes parental involvement at each site through parent-teacher conferences, parent groups, and classroom volunteer opportunities. These opportunities help parents gain the confidence and skills necessary to support their child through their educational journey.

Before children enter kindergarten, they would have gained the academic foundation and social skills necessary to succeed.

The MSHS program also serves families and children with limited or no English language proficiency. To support dual
language learners, UMOS provides services to children and families in their home language while introducing English throughout the day. The UMOS dual language program emphasizes learning, talking, and engaging with children in their home languages and cultures as an important part of their classroom day.

The MSHS program serves 10% of its funded enrollment with special needs children. Identifying children with unique
developmental needs, ensuring they receive appropriate and timely services remains a priority. An additional priority is identifying and enrolling families who are homeless or face other unique challenges.

 

GRANTEE WISCONSIN AND MISSOURI

 

During the 2018 season, the grantee was unable to meet the funded enrollment. The cumulative enrollment was 210/257
children.

  • 3 (2%) pregnant mothers were served,
  • 87 (62%) families were below the federal income poverty guidelines.
  • 39 (28%) families fell into the 100% to 130% of the poverty guidelines.

 

DISTRICT 6

 

For the 2018 season, District 6 met its funded enrollment by cumulatively serving 200/159.
  • 81 (71.1%) families were below the federal income poverty guidelines.
  • 21 (18.4%) families fell into the 100% to 130% of the poverty guidelines.

 

TOTAL AMOUNT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDS RECEIVED

 

UMOS child development programs continue to be funded by state and federal funds. In Wisconsin, UMOS utilizes Department of Children and Families Child Care funding in the amount of $548,000 to provide migrant childcare services. In addition, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Head Start grant helps supplement services in Plymouth.
UMOS is funded directly by Department of Health and Human Services to provide services to 257 MSHS children of which 60 slots are seasonal in both Wisconsin and Missouri, 16 for Early Head Start to serve infants, toddlers and pregnant women. In addition, the grantee (District 6) serves 159 children in Wisconsin of which 50 slots are seasonal.

MIGRANT CHILD CARE PROGRAM

 

The Migrant Child Care (MCC) Program is funded through the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Children and Families. The program extends or bridges services for un-served/underserved migrant children throughout the state of Wisconsin. The program also collaborates with MSHS to support additional services needed by children outside the Head Start hours.

The MCC program also affords families with avenues for additional child care services when their children are no longer age-eligible for MSHS services. The school-age requirement for MCC is 6 to 12 years of age. MSHS children can be transitioned to MCC when they are 5 years 11 months. UMOS has several licensed centers in Wisconsin that also provide an educational, nurturing and safe environment.

The MCC program’s unique structure has
added service options:

  • Early: morning services
  • Evening: after hour of the MSHS
  • Holiday: Child Care/4th of July, Labor Day
  • Saturdays: full-day services based on family needs
  • Post: After the MSHS funding has ended
  • 6-12 Program: providing services to children ages 6 to 12 that are no longer eligible for MHS Services. Three centers operate from mid-July to the end of August.
  • Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

 

MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM

UMOS was funded to serve two Migrant Education in 2018. Title I migrant education is a federally-funded program that assists selected local school districts in providing supplemental education services needed by migratory children. The program helps children ages 6 years to out of high school, develop oral and written language, and other communication skills as well continued support to complete their high school education. The program also focuses on reading, mathematics, and other core subjects to improve student achievement. Coordinated supportive services may also be provided. This program was housed at the Berlin and Randolph sites.

SCHOOL READINESS

UMOS has established school readiness goals that are appropriate for the ages and development of enrolled children in the following domains:

  • Approaches to Learning
  • Social and Emotional Development
  • Language and Literacy
  • Cognition
  • Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development

 

The UMOS MSHS uses the Creative Curriculum along with the guidance of the Head Start Early Learning Outcome Framework and the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards, Missouri, Florida, and Texas, as well as Common Core Standards for its education programming focusing on developmentally appropriate, child-centered environments in which children can explore and progress in their “school readiness” skills.
 
Additionally, MyTeachingStrategies which is directly linked to the Creative Curriculum, is used as the ongoing assessment for the program. With input from parents and the MyTeaching Strategies, staff collect data, determine outcomes and form individual goals for each child’s success. The regional staff analyze center and program-wide outcome data to determine if the program needs to revise the school readiness goals; to inform program improvement; and plan staff development to strengthen teaching practice. The school readiness goals and objectives for children are aggregated and analyzed at three assigned formalized checkpoints during each season through MyTeaching Strategies.
 
Finally, each family meets with their child’s teacher to discuss their child’s progress toward their individual goals, and to track school readiness. In addition, center staff and local kindergarten/district staff meet to determine the most effective ways to help the child with a successful transition to kindergarten.
 
There are two parent/teacher conferences and two home visits conducted for each child during the program year.
 
UMOS MSHS staff provides the following support to families to ease their child’s transition to kindergarten:
 
  • Parent-teacher conferences and home visits
  • Transition and information meeting with a guest kindergarten teacher
  • Information packets with school locations, enrollment dates, and open house
  • Reading materials on preparing children for the transition
  • Field trips to local kindergarten classes
 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

 

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

Many of the UMOS families reside in rural communities with both parents employed during hours that do not enable them to drop their children off at the nearest MSHS Center.
 
In 2018 UMOS was awarded $211,671 for 2 new school buses for the MSHS program, replacing two antiquated buses. One bus is a 48-passenger school bus with integrated seats and seat belts. The second is a 48-passenger school bus with wheelchair lift integrated seats and seat belts.
 

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT SCORING SYSTEM (CLASS®)

CLASS focuses on teacher-child interactions. CLASS assesses processes rather than structure. This means that CLASS is not looking at the content of the physical environment, materials, or specific curricula. At the broadest level, CLASS describes three domains of teacher-child interactions that support children’s learning and development: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support.
 
UMOS MSHS preschool classrooms teachers use CLASS and the data to guide professional development. In 2018, there was a decrease in Emotional Support as many of the staff were new to the program however, the Classroom Organization and Instructional Support Domains remained consistent from the previous year.
 
The data received from CLASS observations has been incorporated into professional development targeting specific skills sets through training and technical assistants in efforts to enhance teaching staff overall performance.
 
The CLASS scores have shown a slight decline within the past two years which is due to the high teacher turnover rate within the program. UMOS is taking a 3-tiered proactive model approach to address this situation. First, with the recent award of duration funding that has increased the program to an 8-month operation; this additional time increases support to staff by providing CLASS training and implementation over a longer period. Second, UMOS program administration will contract with an independent consultant to assess the current system and determine improvement strategies for 2019 and 2020. Finally, each year after the initial assessment, scores will be evaluated to determine focus areas, coaching plans, and training models.
 
 

We take pride in meeting the needs of our families while meeting the financial and many other Head Start performance requirements.

Chan Conner

Financial Liaison Advance, UMOS Accounting Department

Children playing outside

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS (DLL)

Most of the children UMOS serves are dual language speakers. Program data collected by family surveys and home visits indicates the language most spoken at home is Spanish. The second most spoken language is English; followed by very small percentage of children speaking Native Central American, South American, and Mexican Languages.
Therefore, UMOS is committed to employ Spanish speaking teachers in the infant and toddler classroom for developmental continuity from home to school. UMOS also commits to providing staff with resources and training that reinforces the benefits of being bilingual, the importance of maintaining home language, and the value of becoming fully bilingual.

HEALTH AND DENTAL SERVICES

The early detection of a child’s health problems has always been a priority for UMOS. Every child receives a physical examination, immunizations, hearing and vision screening completed by a qualified medical provider.
Statistics demonstrate that children with an ongoing source of health and dental care are more successful in school. Driven by this data UMOS strives to provide these services to support children’s educational success!

In 2018, the number of children requiring follow up due to vision problems was 7 out of 368 children. From 2016 to 2018, the percentage of children with vision concerns has ranged from 2% (7 children) to 4% (15 children).
In 2018, hearing problems were identified in 4 out of 368 children (1%). From 2016 to 2018, the percentage of children with hearing concerns has ranged from 1% (4 children) to 2% (9 children).

SPECIAL SERVICES / MENTAL HEALTH / TRANSITION

The Special Services program area focuses on three areas: disabilities, mental wellness and transitions. Ten percent (10%) of our funded enrollment slots are allocated for children with disabilities. Close coordination and combined staffing efforts to ensure quality services are provided between Specialists and Managers for early identification and immediate services to high risk children. This will ensure a coordinated approach to early identification of suspect children resulting in an increase of children diagnosed and served.

A recruitment plan is developed in coordination with Family Services in hopes to reach all eligible families of children with disabilities. UMOS is making concerted efforts to recruit children with disabilities. Historically, the primary diagnosis of most children with disabilities in our program is speech/language impairment. For the Delegate program, UMOS served 13 out of 200 children with diagnosed disabilities which is 6.5%. For the Grantee program, UMOS served 11 out of 251 children with diagnosed disabilities which is 4.3%.

FARM WORKER APPRECIATION

The UMOS Montello Center hosted the Annual Farmworker Appreciation celebration on August 11, 2019. This event celebrates all the families and children of agricultural workers; where they are honored with food, live music, events, games, informational booths, and raffles to the families on their special day.

ENROLLMENT DATA

UMOS services begin with recruitment and outreach while families are in the home states of Florida, Missouri, and Texas. Prior to their arrival to Wisconsin recruitment plans are developed to strategically locate families who need Migrant Head Start Services.
UMOS recruitment plans are revised on an annual basis and new/enhanced strategies are implemented with staff and parents from Wisconsin. Extensive recruitment is conducted in Texas, Missouri and Wisconsin with families while in their home states and visiting other agencies that serve migrant families.

The grantee was under enrolled this program year due to several factors. First, there was severe crop damage due to the unseasonal rain that occurred early in the Spring. Second, the separating of migrant children from their families created great fear when it was time to migrate. Many chose not to travel due to the fear of immigration. However, the program was able to maintain a 90% Average Daily Attendance.

RESULTS OF THE MOST RECENT REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY AND THE FINANCIAL AUDIT

UMOS submits Single Audit Reports to Department of Health and Human Services as required.

UMOS’ last federal review of the Grantee occurred in dates listed below and was found to comply as noted:

  • Last Delegate Federal Review in 2013: In Compliance
  • Last Grantee Federal Review in 2016: In Compliance
  • Last Grantee Federal Review in 2017: In Compliance

RESULTS OF THE MOST RECENT REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY AND THE FINANCIAL AUDIT

UMOS submits Single Audit Reports to Department of Health and Human Services as required.

UMOS’ last federal review of the Grantee occurred in dates listed below and was found to comply as noted:

  • Last Delegate Federal Review in 2013: In Compliance
  • Last Grantee Federal Review in 2016: In Compliance
  • Last Grantee Federal Review in 2017: In Compliance

BUDGETARY EXPENDITURES AND PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR

The budgetary expenditures for 2018 aligned with the proposed expenditures. Budgeted funds supported client services for staffing, medical, dental, follow-up activities, disabilities and mental health, transportation, facility and overall operational costs.
For 2018, a 2.60% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was awarded to UMOS which was applied to increase staff wages.