Early Years

What it reported doing in 2024

Federal, state & local initiatives:100% of regional lead ccr&r agencies indicated that assistance received from the r&r council was helpful and indicated that the ccr&r council has enabled the improvement of r&r services. All 14 regional lead agencies successfully implemented the following three ccr&r core services: consumer education and referral, professional development and technical assistance. The birth-to-three quality initiative achieved 107% of its three year (fy23-fy25) goal of reaching 700 statewide practice based coaching participants by providing 234 individuals pbc in fy23, 250 individuals pbc in fy24, and 265 individuals in fy25. Under the b-3 quality initiative, 2394 child care providers participated in training sessions representing 120% of the established goal of 2000 participants for fy 25. Under the statewide core services during fy25, 94% of parents responding to follow-up surveys indicated that they chose 3, 4, or 5 star care. Eight of the 14 regions reported that at least 89% of the customers surveyed responded that they chose 3, 4, or 5 star care, with seven of 14 reporting that at least 97% of parents indicated they choose this level of care. Statewide 89% of parents responding to follow-up surveys during fy25 indicated that they used quality indicators in their search for care. Nine of 14 regions reported that at least 90% of the customers surveyed responded that they used quality indicators in their child care search. Statistical data from dcdee indicates that 74% of all children enrolled in licensed care in the state of North Carolina were enrolled in 4- and 5- star care. This is a significant percentage of the state's children in higher quality care. Furthermore, at the conclusion of fy25, only 4% of children enrolled in licensed child care in North Carolina remain enrolled in 1- or 2-star care.child and adult care food program (cacfp): early years serves as a sponsor for cacfp, a federally-funded program which provides financial reimbursement, training and technical assistance to child care institutions for the provision of nutritious foods for children in their care. - cacfp served 36 child care homes in the triangle area. - there were 133,028 nutritious meals and snacks served this year meeting the usda meal patterns to an average of 226 children per month from diverse populations. - there were 99 monitoring visits made to child care programs to review records, observe meals and provide technical assistance as needed.technical assistance and professional development and support services: - the technical assistance team members provided support, coaching, and educational resources to 667 early childhood teachers serving a total of 1273 children from birth to age 5. - there were 225 professional development workshops conducted for 1,733 (unduplicated) 3,149 (duplicated) child care professionals in the triangle area. - there were 471 in-service hours received by the attendees. - there were 55 early educators trained in ceu topics completing a total of 630 continuing education hours (ceus)/67.5 in-service credit hours. - 95% of educators attending workshops reported feeling confident in their ability to apply the knowledge and skills gained through training.child care program scholarship services: all durham county smart start contracted scholarship funds were fully utilized, for a total of $2,821,710.00. - scholarships supported 626 children in child care facilities with an average star rating of 4.8, and 90% of children were enrolled in 5-star licensed facilities. - 392 children were jointly funded through the durham county nc prek program. - 1 children received scholarships through the early head start set-aside fund. - 0 children receiving services had documented developmental needs. - 26% of children lived in families where spanish was reported as the primary language. $29,496.85 was provided through the orange county scholarship program, supporting five children attending 5-star child care faci

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 92.2%; rating input score 92
• Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 93
• Fundraising efficiency: $386.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.3; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings