OZARK OPPORTUNITIES, INC.

701 E. PROSPECT P.O. BOX 1400 HARRISON, ARKANSAS 72602 (870) 741-9406 FAX: (870) 741-0924

This agency is in compliance with Titles VI and VII Civil Rights Act “Equal Opportunity Employer”

www.ozarkopp.org

Agency Progress Report Report for March 2018 Board of Directors and Stakeholders

I. Chief Executive Officer Update:

Agency Finances are (still) going well. We have no issues with making payments to vendors on

time, and cash flow is not limited due to access to funds.

We have received all regular funding from all sources EXCEPT Emergency Solutions Grant

reimbursements of approximately $1,500.

Most of the Early Head Start Startup funds have been spent, and the EHS locations are looking

great. We will have a final total of funds left over in the coming month.

II. Child Development (ABC Pre-K, HS & EHS)

A. Arkansas Better Chance Pre-K Program:

Enrollment: We now have 50 Arkansas Better Chance Pre-K slots available; 32 in Baxter

County, and 18 in Boone County, and they are fully enrolled.

Attendance: ABC Monthly Avg.= 74.05%. The ABC Program requires 80% Average Daily

Attendance; however, there are excused absences for sickness, so we are good.

OOI Finance Stoplight; Green= ALL GOOD!

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B. Head Start & Early Head Start:

a. Sharon Burnett- Health and Nutrition:

Nutrition:

Below is the amount of Breakfast, Lunches, and Snacks that were served to the

children and the total amount that our program was reimbursed for the cost of

food.

CACFP CLAIM SUMMARY Head Start; February 2018

Breakfast= 3554 Lunch= 3652 Snacks= 3167

Total $22,567.97

Early Head Start PROGRAM; February 2018

Breakfast= 711 Lunch= 729 Snacks= 635

Total $ 3,744.19

ABC PROGRAM; February 2018

Breakfast= 662 Lunch= 710 Snacks= 655

Total $ 3,540.91

Total for all programs combined $29,853.07

Health- HS:

98% of students have completed Dental Exams

98% of students have completed Lead Testing

97.6% of students have completed Physical Exams

98% of students have completed immunizations, 1.5% have a waiver

(4 children)

Health- EHS:

92% of students have completed Dental Exams

100% of students have completed Lead Testing

98% of students have completed Well Child Check ups

96% of students have completed immunizations, 1 has applied for a

waiver

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b. Tawnya Akins: Mental Health, Licensing, Safety, and Facilities:

Construction is underway in Marshall at the Early Head Start Training

Center. Completion is expected by the end of March.

The Valley Springs playground has been updated.

We are currently getting quotes for new flooring at some Head Start

locations.

Mental Health observations have been completed and will be reviewed

with the teaching staff in March/April.

I attended several meetings with parents concerning their children’s

behaviors in the past month.

c. Terri Beard- ERSEA & Family and Community Partnerships:

ENROLLMENT UPDATE: At the end of February we had 261 Head

Start children enrolled and 48 Early Head Start Children for a total of 309.

We are fully enrolled.

HS/EHS ATTENDANCE UPDATE: We are at 82.78% Average Daily

Attendance (“ADA”) in Head Start Pre-K & 84.48% ADA in Early Head

Start, so we are within the regulations for both programs (85% minimum.)

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Head Start Attendance:

Early Head Start Attendance:

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d. Ryan Clayborn- Program Manager/ Education Coordinator:

Teachers are completing home visits and will be finished by mid-March.

The second round of Developmental Assessments have been completed and we

had a School Readiness/HSAC meeting on March 13th.

Data from the first and second rounds of Teaching Strategies Gold observations

has been compiled and analyzed to present to Policy Council.

CLASS observations are underway and will be completed by March 15, 2018.

The Boone County Imagination Library met at OOI in Harrison on February 6.

We are currently providing books 1,068 children in Boone County. There have

been 647 children graduate the program.

Received all EHS, ABC, and HS Lesson Plans, Home Visit Sign-Ins and Parent

Conference Sign-Ins.

All of the Coordinators have been busy ordering supplies & materials for EHS

with the carryover startup funds.

I created the February Early Childhood Newsletter that highlighted staff

member, Kathy Weaver, for her dedication and work ethic the past two years-

GO KATHY!!!

e. Patricia Murray- Disabilities & Center Supervisor:

Thirty-nine (39) children are receiving services including 20 children

received Speech services and 19 children receiving Developmental

services. This is 15% of our students.

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f. Krystal Mayes: Parent Engagement

“SLIME TIME” AND MAKING “DINOSOUR FOSSILS”

III. Community Services Rebecca Hanlin; Community Services Manager

a. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program:

The Winter non-emergency program will begin on January 16 and run through March

31, 2018 or until funds are depleted.

The crisis (emergency) Winter program will begin on February 12 and run until funds

are depleted or until the State closes the program.

Utility assistance checks are written weekly, on Wednesday. Through 3/7/2018 we’ve

written checks on 2,170 non-emergency applications the amount of $274,254 and 100

emergency applications in the amount of $22,173.10.

Monitors are scheduled to review Winter HEAP records March 13-15, 2018.

The following charts express data that has been collected since the beginning of the

program, through March 2nd:

NON-EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Counties Received Approved $ Pending Denied

Baxter 565 505 $63,532.00 3 57

Boone 708 626 $77,956.00 28 54

Marion 336 295 $37,569.00 1 40

Newton 258 232 $29,145.00 2 24

Searcy 243 227 $28,954.00 2 14

Van Buren 333 312 $39,731.00 1 20

Total 2,443 2,197 $276,887.00 37 209

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b. Vehicle Repair Loan Program:

Current balance is now $5,180.99; Current funds loaned out is $1,341.69.

$500 maximum loan amount. Loan must be repaid within one year.

Income eligibility is 200% federal poverty level.

From start of program we’ve had 8 individuals receive a loan, three are paid in full;

four are in the repayment process; one is delinquent.

We are currently working with Community Partners to spread the word about this

program. Partners must be willing to sign a referral letter and help with contacting

approved clients if they default on the loan.

c. Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG):

Program implemented December 8, 2017.

Baxter, Boone, Marion and Newton counties grant application: $14,000 (Rapid

Rehousing: $6,000 and Homeless Prevention: $8,000).

Searcy and Van Buren counties grant application: $7,000 (Rapid Rehousing: $2,000

and Homeless Prevention: $5,000).

The program was put on hold on February 5, 2018, until reimbursement from the State

occurred.

ESG Activity through January 31, 2018- we have assisted 10 Families (28 Individuals).

County Rapid Rehousing Homelessness

Prevention Match Total

Baxter $0.00 $1,357.50 $1,357.50 $2,715.00

Boone $1,141.00 $445.00 $1,586.00 $3,172.00

Marion $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Newton $560.00 $0.00 $560.00 $1,120.00

Searcy $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Van Buren $0.00 $1,337.50 $1,337.50 $2,675.00

Total $1,701.00 $3,140.00 $4,841.00 $9,682.00

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Counties Received Approved $ Pending Denied

Baxter 37 32 $7,415.18 2 3

Boone 41 27 $5,537.04 3 11

Marion 19 19 $4,591.69 0 0

Newton 20 16 $2,710.16 2 2

Searcy 10 9 $2,158.55 0 1

Van Buren 26 23 $5,757.73 1 2

Total 153 126 $28,170.35 8 19

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d. Community Services Block Grant (CSBG):

A CSBG Discretionary Funds Proposal was submitted (1/9/2018) for FY 2018

program year. The proposal is for Emergency and Stability Assistance to help with

medical, dental, optical and housing needs; similar to last year.

March 30th is the end of the second quarter, that report will be due the end of April.

In April we’ll be attending training meetings in preparation of the FY 2019 CSBG

Grant Application.

e. Agency Capacity/ Resource Development:

Researching grant opportunities for homelessness initiatives, dental services,

childhood literacy, youth music outreach and general family stabilization through

emergency services.

Lead agency of Boone, Baxter, Marion, Newton Continuum of Care (BBMN CoC).

Next meeting to be held on 3/8/2018 in Harrison, OOI conference room. Harley

Thompson has been working with a HUD Technical Assistance provider on

development of a required Coordinated Assessment process for assisting homeless

persons through the CoC. This has been through a series of conference calls held on

1/19, 2/9, 2/16, and 3/2.

Interviews have been conducted for two Outreach Worker positions, Baxter/Marion

and Boone/Newton. We hope to have those positions filled by the end of March.

Activity Overview for Potential Funding Opportunities:

Focus

Funding

Amount

Grant

Guidance Activity Result

Community

Improvement

$500 -

$1,500

Met Submitted app 2/14/18 for support

of homeless initiatives.

Awaiting Response

Dental Health $1,000 Met Toured Rotary Dental Clinic and

met to assess needs. Preparing

grant app for 3/15/18 deadline.

Community Health

& Human Services -

Crisis Support

$25,000

and up

Met Submitted 8/11/2016 Awaiting Response. Have not

been contacted and no

recipient list published yet.

Continuum of Care

Planning

$6,980 Met Submitted 9/28/2017 APPROVED!! – Awaiting

grant agreement and

procedures for processing

expenditures.

Foundation Grant -

Low Income

Initiatives &

Solutions

$5,000 Met Submitted 1/30/2018 Awaiting Response.

Submitted for micro-shelter

materials funding.

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f. Family Development & Empowerment:

As of March 1st we have 28 families enrolled in SUCCESS. Of those nine are eligible

for A-16 activities under the new “recommendations” from the State. The breakdown

by county is 23 (Boone), 2 (Baxter), 2 (Searcy), 1 (Newton). We will continue

recruitment in all 6 counties.

The March seminar on the 8th will have a guest speaker, Trudy McManus (UA

Extension). She will cover nutrition basics: reading labels for nutritional value and

bang for your buck; food sugar shockers; my plate, and food hazards. March seminars

will be on the 8th at 5:30 pm and the 24th at 10:00 am at the Community Services Building

in Harrison. An additional seminar may be set for other locations if attendance

permits.

The April seminar will go more in depth into the nutrition topics from the previous

month along with a possible food demonstration. As of now the seminar is scheduled

for April 12th at 5:30 pm and April 21stat 10:00 am. These seminars are scheduled to be held

at the Community Services Building in Harrison. More dates will be set as the

enrollment in each county increases.

Last month we highlighted Jane Smith’s story through her involvement with our

SUCCESS program this month we wanted to share a follow-up.

As you may recall in our previous story, Jane was one of our first Emergency

Solutions Grant (ESG) recipients. She came to us straight out of drug rehab. facing

eviction from her home. Fast-forward one year and she has remained drug and alcohol

free(!), is employed, has her driver’s license back and has her own vehicle. One of her

greatest regrets was losing her family because of her addiction, as Jane has adult

children that she has not had contact with until recently. She was happy to announce in

last month’s seminar that she has a new grandchild, and has begun rebuilding the

relationship with her son and his children. Although Jane still doesn’t have a

relationship with her daughter, it is her hope that she will be able to mend that fence as

well, in addition to other family members that were hurt by Jane’s addictions. The

healing has begun, and Jane is hopeful that by building these bonds it will positively

influence her daughter’s opinion and open the door to re-establishing a healthy

relationship.

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g. Community Engagement & Staff Development:

Blaine Lawrence and Rebecca Hanlin are undergoing training to become a Nationally

Certified ROMA Implementers. They are scheduled to be in North Little Rock March

20th to complete the second phase of this training. Ms. Hanlin and Mr. Atkinson are

renewing their “Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer” or NCRT credential as well.

Community Services leadership staff are currently working on a Best Practices

Manual for all programs implemented within the Community Services Department.

Progress on the new location for the Boone County Community Services Outreach

Office is going well. Everything seems on track for staff to start moving the week of

March 26th. The new address is: 1856 Church Park Drive Suite 2 & 3 in Harrison.

It is just down the street from our current location.

Representatives from all OOI departments worked on the 2017 Annual Report; a draft

has been submitted to the CEO for review and will be presented to the Board at the

next Exec. Committee Meeting.

2/16/2018 – Harley met with Mr. Gerald Matheson, representing a local ministerial

alliance.

2/23/2018 – Harley attended a meeting of Arkansas Coalition of Housing &

Neighborhood Growth for Empowerment (ACHANGE) in Little Rock.

2/27/2018 – Harley attended a ministerial alliance meeting at Church 180 in Harrison

and spoke about OOI and its programs.

3/8/2018 – Cathy met with Judy Nickens with Goodwill. Cathy looks forward to

building a strong partnership with them.

3/9/2018 – Harley attended a Continuum of Care meeting for Northwest Arkansas in

Springdale.

3/23/2018 – Time Management Training through SkillPath was available for staff to

attend at the administrative office from 1-2:00 pm.

3/28/2018 – Harley and Rebecca will conduct a ROMA Refresher Training for staff in

preparation of the second quarter report.

3/30/2018 – Harley will attend Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) meeting in North

Little Rock regarding the FY 2018/19 program year funding opportunity.

IV. Corporate Services (& Human Resources) Jane Bueg, Chief Operating Officer

February 2018

Hires Education Community Services Administration Total

2 2 0 0 2

All Departures Education Community Services Administration Total

1 0 1 0 1

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Other/Training:

GoogleApps in-kind report: $285.00 (Head Start) $170.00 (Early Head Start)

$50.00 (ABC)

Contractor List Update Child Maltreatment Registry Checks –staff

Criminal Background Checks –staff

Termination of Benefits: 1

COBRA Notice: 1

Dept. of Labor Survey for January (Van Buren County statistics)

Technology: inventory, trouble shooting, problem solving,

Tech Talk

Posting, Advertise Vacancies - 1

Workers Comp: 1

Governance meetings: Policy Council, Board of Directors

Policy Revisions: Annual Leave Policy

EEO-300 A report & staff board updates: Jasper HS, Harrison ABC, Harrison

EHS

Interviews scheduled: 2/5/18, 2/8/18, 2/13/18, 2/21/18, 3/7/18, 3/8/18

Workers Comp Audit w/finance

Training webinars: Mastering the Art of Coaching & Teambuilding; The

Brave New World of I-9 and E-Verify Compliance; How to Effectively

Supervise Off-site Employees

Reference Checks: 4

Renew Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification

Orientation: 2

Staff Status change to exempt: 24