REGION A PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN

Smart start programming. A north carolina state-wide early childhood and education initiative provides the following family-centered programming. Parents as teachers (pat) parent educators who provide home visits, group connections, and child development assessments to 89 families in region a. Smart start dollars were used to support the region's dolly parton's imagination library program with a distribution of 45,240 books to over 3,770 children in region a. Through smart start, region a staff also began providing technical assistance for qris modernization and the pathways to the stars in 22 childcare centers. Opportunities for helping sites navigate the pathways, learn more about the environment rating scales (ers), performing mock ers assessments, assisting with challenging behaviors management, creating and providing training for teachers and childcare staff, as well as assisting sites with the self-study process are new support services provided. Smart start funds continue to provide support to region a's north carolina childcare subsidy program, family support network, overall project management, and program evaluation.