Smart Start (education)

Smart Start is a North Carolina public-private initiative, founded in 1993, that provides funding to local non-profit organizations throughout the state to "ensure that young children enter school healthy and ready to succeed".cite web |url=http://www.smartstart-nc.org/ |title=Smart Start |publisher=The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. |accessdate=2008-06-07] Smart Start funding supports child care, efforts to reduce the cost of child care, access to health services, and family support. In 2007-2008, the budget for Smart Start is approximately $205 million, with at least 10% raised privately. [cite web |url=http://www.ncsmartstart.org/about/faqs.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc.] Administrative costs for the program are limited by statute to 8%.cite news |title=No Answer Yet on Whether Smart Start Works |date=1999-02-21 |accessdate=2008-06-08 |author=Joseph S. Stroud |publisher=Charlotte Observer]

History

The program was established in the 1993-1994 legislative session of the North Carolina General Assembly, and signed into law by North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt on July 9, 1993. [cite news |title=110 Days, 563 New Laws |publisher=News & Observer |date=1993-07-25 |accessdate=2008-06-07 |author=Van Denton; Bill Krueger; Joe Dew] cite web |url=http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/1993/Bills/Senate/HTML/S27v6.html |title=General Assembly of North Carolina 1993 Session Ratified Bill |accessdate=2008-06-07 |date=1993-07-01] Following initial funding of the program, applications were submitted from around the state. The law limited pilot funding of $20 million to 12 programs, one per state congressional district. The 12 pilot programs covered 18 counties. [cite news |title=18 Counties Picked for Smart Start |publisher=News & Observer |date=1993-09-27 |author=Van Denton |section=News |page=A1]

By 1996, Smart Start had expanded to 24 local programs, and a state-sponsored audit by Coopers & Lybrand praised its results, saying that it was "easy to see that there is an incredible amount of good being done by Smart Start".cite news |title=Audit: Expand Smart Start |publisher=Charlotte Observer |date=1996-04-24 |accessdate=2008-06-07 |author=Dennis Patterson |page=3C] The report also recommended financial changes, saying it was not convinced all local programs were ensuring they were getting the best value for their money.

Expanding to 55 counties and a $92 million budget in 1998, studies continued to show improvements around the state. A University of North Carolina study concluding that the quality of child care in the 18 counties that were initially funded had improved measurably. Researchers did not conclude that Smart Start was responsible for the improvements, but did note that participation in the program increased the likelihood of improvement. [cite news |title=Progress Report: Smart Start Has Goals, But is it Making the Grade? |date=1998-01-11 |accessdate=2008-06-07 |author=David Rice |publisher=Winston-Salem Journal |page=A1]

In 1999, the program announced that it had exceeded its private fundraising goal of $13.9 million by raising a total of $19 million for the year. [cite news |title=Smart Start gifts exceed state goal |publisher=News & Observer |date=1999-05-05 |accessdate=2008-06-08 |page=A5]

By the end of 2000, the program had expanded to all serve 100 counties in the state, with a budget of $263 million. [cite news |title=Smart Start is Worthy of Continued Support |date=2000-10-04 |publisher=Greensboro News & Record |page=A12]

Criticism

Critics of the program have expressed concern over the inability to measure whether or not it is successful.

Some audits have revealed financial mismanagement, especially at the local level. In fiscal year 2000, more than half of the local agencies either did not get a "clean audit" or didn't spend the required percentage of funds on child care subsidies. [cite news |title=Smart Start Audits Still Show Mismanagement - In '00, Local Agencies Didn't Spend Funds or Account for Spending |date=2002-05-21 |author=Associated Press |publisher=Charlotte Observer |accessdate=2008-06-08 |page=6B] Also in fiscal year 2000, the program was cited for overdrawing its bank accounts by $5.5 million.cite news |title=Smart Start Lessons - Part 1 |publisher=News & Observer |page=A1 |author=Trish Wilson |date=2002-05-19 |accessdate=2008-06-08] Karen Ponder, the director of the program at the time, responded that the issues were "the kinds of things young organizations always have".

imilar Programs

In 1999, representatives from the British House of Commons visited a Smart Start facility in Durham, North Carolina, studying how to create a similar program in England. They were impressed enough to say they would "push hard" to implement their program in a similar manner to Smart Start. [cite news |title=British lawmakers pop in for a look at Smart Start - Visiting MPs plan to start a similar program on the other side of 'The Pond' |author=Adam Hatch |publisher=Durham Herald-Sun |date=1999-10-16 |accessdate=2008-06-08 |pages=B1]

South Carolinians looked at Smart Start while creating a similar program called First Steps in 1999. [cite web |url=http://www.scfirststeps.org/legislation.htm |title=First Steps Legislation |accessdate=2008-06-08 |publisher=SC First Steps]

Awards & Grants

*1998 - $20,000 from the Ford Foundation and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government [cite journal |url=http://www.fordfound.org/archives/item/1998/text/93 |title=Ford Foundation Annual Report 1998 |pages=93 |date=April 1999 |accessdate=2008-06-07 |issn=0071-7274 LCCN|52|0|43167] [cite web |url=http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/awards.html?id=3791 |title=Smart Start |publisher=Harvard University |date=2005-05-18 |accessdate=2008-06-07]

References

External Links

[http://www.ncsmartstart.org/ NC Smart Start]