HomeMy WebLinkAboutFirst Steps LtrJune 13, 2011
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
520 NW Wall Street • Bend, OR 97701 • 541-693-5700 • FAX 693-5701
Deschutes County Commissioners
Tammy Baney, Tony DeBone, Alan Unger
1300 NW Wall Street, Suite 200
Bend, OR 97701
Dear County Commissioners: Tammy Baney, Tony DeBone, Alan Unger
I am writing to follow up on the presentation from High Desert ESD to the Deschutes County
Commissioners on June 1, 2011, concerning the funding for First Steps to Success. High Desert
ESD and Deschutes County have partnered to fund this program for almost fifteen years. It is our
sincere hope that we will continue to work together to ensure that First Steps is available to at -risk
children in our region for the foreseeable future.
Amount of Funding requested:
High Desert ESD is requesting $25,000 from the Deschutes County General Fund for next
year's funding. This is the same amount that we requested and received for the current
2010-2011 school year.
What the county is buying with their money:
By providing funding for First Steps to Success, the County is saving money by significantly
decreasing the likelihood that students who have participated in this program will enter the
Juvenile Justice system when they get older.
First Steps to Success is an evidence -based, preventive program developed at the
University of Oregon in the mid-1990s. It is designed to work with at -risk children while they
are still very young to increase their academic engagement and adaptive skills and to
decrease their maladaptive and aggressive behaviors. A great deal of research looking at
program outcomes has led the following agencies to certify the effectiveness of First Steps
to Success:
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Hamilton Fish Institute (School Violence Prevention)
• Center for Mental health Services (Federal Department of Health and Human
Services)
• Communities that Care (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention)
Our own research in Deschutes County has shown that 93% of the children who participated
in First Steps increased their adaptive behavior and academic engagement time and that
90% decreased their maladaptive and aggressive behaviors. Additionally we have tracked
the students who participated in the First Step Program since 1998 through the Juvenile
Justice Information System, and 89% of the students we served over the past 11years have
never received a referral to Juvenile Community Justice.
The bottom line is that the county general fund spent $25,000 last year to ensure that 89%
of at -risk K-3 students who participated in this program never entered the Juvenile Justice
system. We believe this to be a significant savings to the county.
What is being done to diversify the funding:
I am new to administering the First Steps Program, so Commissioner Baney's perspective
about diversification of funding was the first time I became aware that this has been a topic
of discussion around First Steps. I look forward to talking more about this topic when we
meet on June 15th. For the purpose of this letter, however, I looked back over the past five
years to determine the diversification of funding during that time. While the school districts
(through the ESD) and the County have always contributed to First Steps funding, the
amounts of each have varied from year to year. Additionally, there have been efforts during
that time to include other funding sources as well.
In 07-08, for example, the county (though the Children and Family Commission) funded
$64,000 of the $82,000 First Steps budget. Two years later, in 09-10, the county funded
$45,323 (through two different crime prevention pots of money), and the school districts
provided $23,303 for a total budget of $68,626. This year all three sources of funds (the
Commission, the county general fund and the districts) all decreased their funding for a total
budget of $57,942.
During that time, additional funding was provided by some modest donations, a Community
Justice grant, Foundations for Learning, and a presentation fee. The coordinator of First
Steps has written grants to the Oregon Community Foundation and other major foundations;
these foundations all cited increased demand for limited funds and were not able to fund
First Steps.
In looking at the outcomes of First Steps to Success, it is my opinion that the ESD and the
county are natural partners for funding this program. First Steps leads to greater academic
outcomes, which allows the schools to better serve all of their students. Additionally, First
Steps leads to a decrease in the likelihood that these children will enter the justice system
later in life. By increasing academic engagement and decreasing maladaptive behaviors
(thus keeping these children out of the county law enforcement system), both the county
and the schools greatly benefit from First Steps.
What will be the consequences of the county not funding First Steps:
The ESD will receive our allocation from the other two funding sources contingent upon
receiving funding from the County. The grant approved earlier this year by the Children and
Family Commission, for example, is specifically contingent upon receiving funding from the
Board of County Commissioners. Additionally, the Bend-LaPine School District, Redmond
School District, Sisters School District and High Desert ESD have approved their allocation
as leveraged funds to the amounts that the county and commission provide.
Without the requested funding, the program will cease to exist after July 1, 2011.
I can provide you with emails from teachers, testimonials by children, and letters from parents all
demonstrating that First Steps to Success has had an amazing impact on the lives of young
children and their families in our county. It is my sincere hope that we will be able to continue our
partnership and work together to ensure that more children have access to this successful,
preventive program in the future.
Sincerely,
l
Paul Andrews, Executive Director of Children's Services