/* Please refer to readme.html for full Instructions Text[...]=[title,text] Style[...]=[TitleColor,TextColor,TitleBgColor,TextBgColor,TitleBgImag,TextBgImag,TitleTextAlign,TextTextAlign, TitleFontFace, TextFontFace, TipPosition, StickyStyle, TitleFontSize, TextFontSize, Width, Height, BorderSize, PadTextArea, CoordinateX , CoordinateY, TransitionNumber, TransitionDuration, TransparencyLevel ,ShadowType, ShadowColor] */ var FiltersEnabled = 0 // if your not going to use transitions or filters in any of the tips set this to 0 Text[0]=["American Indian Head Start","American Indian Head Start programs support the rich, diverse and unique Indian language, heritage, and legacy. Programs are encouraged to integrate language and culture into their curriculum and program goals as they provide comprehensive developmental services for preschool children ages three to five and their families. In Florida, there is one American Indian Head Start program with the Miccousukee Tribe."] Text[1]=["Appropriation","Legal authorization to make expenditures for specific purposes within the amounts authorized in the appropriations act."] Text[2]=["Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[3]=["Child Care Executive Partnership Program (CCEP)","The Child Care Executive Partnership Program (CCEP) is an innovative public-private strategy designed to help employers meet the child care needs of their workforce. The Child Care Executive Partnership Act was established by the 1996 legislature, section 409.178, Florida Statutes to expand child care subsidies for low-income working families by utilizing state and federal funds as incentive for matching local funds from local governments, employers, charitable foundations and other sources. The Child Care Executive Partnership Program is a part of the Florida Partnership for School Readiness. At the state level, it is governed by a board of nine members of the corporate or child care community appointed by the Governor and a representative of the Executive Office of the Governor. On the local level, child care purchasing pool funds are administered by the community coordinated child care agencies or the state resource and referral agency."] Text[4]=["Child Care Resource and Referral Network","The Child Care Resource and Referral Network (CCR&R) provides information and referral services for individuals seeking child care services and provides training and technical assistance to current or potential providers to enhance the quality of care or expand the capacity for services. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness has a contract with the Florida Children's Forum to act as the administrative agency to coordinate the statewide child care resource and referral network with 25 local CCR&R agencies. Statewide services include technical assistance, collection of relevant data, public education and outreach materials, statewide reporting, and coordination of administrative activities. Local services include toll free telephone access and counseling in all 67 counties and coordination of services with local school readiness coalition."] Text[5]=["Early Head Start","Early Head Start is a federally funded program that provides early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income families. The purpose of the Early Head Start program is to enhance children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; to support parents' efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and to help parents move toward self-sufficiency. Early Head Start programs serve low-income pregnant women and families with children from birth to the age of three who are at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. There are no parent fees for this program. There are Early Head Start programs in 35 counties in Florida."] Text[6]=["Even Start Family Literacy Program","The Even Start program is a federally funded family literacy program designed to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving educational opportunities. Even Start provides an integrated program of adult literacy or adult basic education, early childhood education, and parenting education. It is implemented through cooperative projects that build on existing community resources to promote achievement of the National Education Goals and assist low-income children and adults to achieve state content and student performance standards. Even Start provides a broad range of services to the most-in-need families and their children, birth through age seven years. There are no parent fees for this program. Funding is provided from the U.S. Department of Education to the Florida Department of Education and through an inter-agency agreement to the Florida Partnership for School Readiness at the Agency for Workforce Innovation."] Text[7]=["Federal Poverty Guidelines","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[8]=["Fiscal Agent","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[9]=["Florida Partnership for School Readiness","The Florida Partnership for School of Readiness (Partnership) was created in the 1999 School Readiness Act, section 411.01, Florida Statutes. The Legislature recognized that school readiness programs increase children's chances of achieving future educational success and becoming productive members of society. It was the intent of the Legislature that school readiness services be an integrated and seamless system of services. The Partnership is the principal organization responsible for the coordination of birth-to kindergarten services for all eligible children, unified leadership for school readiness through local school readiness coalitions and improving the educational quality of all publicly funded school readiness programs. The Partnership is assigned to the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) for administrative purposes."] Text[10]=["Florida Partnership for School Readiness Board","The legislation created the Florida Partnership for School Readiness Board (Board). The Board is composed of the Lieutenant Governor, the Commissioner of Education, the Secretary of Children and Family Services, the Secretary of Health, the Chair of the Child Care Executive Partnership Board, and the Chair of the Board of Directors of Workforce Florida, Inc. or their designees. In addition, the Partnership includes 14 members of the public appointed by the Governor. These members and their families must not have a direct contract with any local coalition to provide school readiness services and must be geographically and demographically representative of the state."] Text[11]=["Florida Partnership for School Readiness Quality Initiative (FPSR-QI)","The Florida Partnership for School Readiness Quality Initiative (FPSR-QI) is a model training and technical assistance system designed to support the continuous improvement of school readiness coalitions and programs as they work to provide high quality and effective services to children and families. The FPSR-QI provides statewide, regional and local assistance to coalitions and service providers based on an in-depth needs assessment, strategic goals and objectives, emerging priorities in school readiness and local requests. The FPSR-QI reflects a statewide commitment to quality improvement, local capacity-building and on-going evaluation systems and services. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness has a contract with the Florida Children's Forum to operate the FPSR-QI. For more information on upcoming training and technical assistance opportunities call 1-866-FPSR-QI (1-866-437-7774) or go on-line at www.fpsrqi.org."] Text[12]=["FMAP Rate","(Federal Medicaid Assistance Payment Rate)
Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[13]=["General Revenue","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[14]=["Head Start","Head Start is both the name of a family of federal programs for low-income children and their families and the name given to the original program for children from three to five years of age. The Head Start family of programs includes: Early Head Start, Migrant Head Start, and American Indian Head Start. Head Start is designed to facilitate child development and promote school readiness by enhancing social and cognitive development through the provision of health, educational, nutritional, social and other services to meet the comprehensive needs of families. Eligibility for all Head Start programs is targeted at families at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. Ninety percent of the families must meet these financial eligibility criteria. Ten percent of the funded enrollment is set aside for children with disabilities. Funding for all Head Start programs flows directly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to local agencies. Communities provide a 25% local match to federal funds. There are no parent fees for this program. There are Head Start services for preschool age children in every county in Florida."] Text[15]=["Home Instructional Program for Preschool Children (HIPPY)","HIPPY is a home-based instruction program for at-risk families with children age's three to five. HIPPY programs provided educational enrichment activities for children and linkage to community agencies to provide a comprehensive array of services. HIPPY home visitors are highly trained peers that meet with the family on a weekly basis for the 30-35 weeks of the program. Parents commit to work with their children at home on literacy and other activities. Monthly parent groups are offered to provide information and support. HIPPY programs are provided through local school readiness coalitions, school districts, and/or local community based organizations in 12 counties in Florida."] Text[16]=["Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities (Part C)","The Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities program is a federally funded program for children from birth to age three with a developmental disability or an established condition that is associated with a developmental delay. The program is a family-centered, comprehensive, inter-disciplinary interagency program available statewide. Services are based on a Family Support Plan (FSP) developed with the family following an evaluation and assessment of the child. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education to the Florida Department of Health, Children's Medical Services. There are no parent fees for this program. Services are delivered by regional Early Intervention Programs (EIP) and overseen by Regional Policy Councils and a statewide Florida Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers (FICCIT)."] Text[17]=["Local Cash Match","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[18]=["Local Match","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[19]=["Local School Readiness Coalition","The School Readiness Act authorized the formation of a local school readiness coalition in counties that serve at least 400 birth-to-kindergarten children. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness Board has recognized 50 local school readiness coalitions representing all of Florida's 67 counties. The local school readiness coalition is responsible for developing a plan, selecting a fiscal agent and administering local school readiness services. The local school readiness coalition must have at least 18 but not more than 25 members composed of the Department of Children and Family Services district administrator (or designee), district school superintendent (or designee), regional workforce development board chair or director (where applicable), county health department director (or designee), children's services council executive director (if applicable), child care licensing agency head, one member appointed by the Department of Children and Family Services district administrator, one member appointed by a board of county commissioners, one member appointed by a district school boards, a central child care agency administrator, a Head Start director, a representative of private child care providers, a representative of faith-based child care providers. More than on-third of the members must be from the private sector."] Text[20]=["Migrant Head Start","Migrant Head Start programs modify the methods of service delivery to meet the unique needs of migrant and seasonal farm worker families. Migrant Head Start programs have an emphasis on serving infants and toddlers as well as preschool aged children, so they will not have to be cared for in the fields or left in the care of very young siblings while parents are working. Migrant Head Start programs provide a comprehensive array of services in 21 counties in Florida."] Text[21]=["Parent Fee","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[22]=["Prekindergarten Program for Children With Disabilities (Part B)","The Prekindergarten Program for Children with Disabilities is a federally funded program for children from three to age five with a developmental disability. The program is a part of the educational services offered to children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Services are based on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) following an evaluation and assessment of the child. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education to the Florida Department of Education. There are no parent fees for this program. Services are delivered by school districts personnel or community professionals."] Text[23]=["Proviso","Language that qualifies or restricts appropriation and which can be logically and directly related to the specific appropriation."] Text[24]=["Rural County","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[25]=["School Readiness Programs","School readiness programs are intended to be developmentally appropriate, research-based, involve parents as their child's first teacher, serve as preventive measures for children at risk of future school failure, enhance the educational readiness of eligible children and support family education. Services are delivered in a variety of settings including child care centers, faith-based facilities, schools, family child care homes, and in the homes of individuals or relatives. School readiness programs are provided, to the maximum extent possible, on a full-day, year-round basis to enable parent to work and become financially self-sufficient. Priority for participation in school readiness programs shall be given to children whose parents are receiving temporary cash assistance; children under the age of kindergarten eligibility who are determined at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation, children at risk of welfare dependency, children of working families whose income does not exceed 150% of the federal poverty level; three- and four-year old children with disabilities; economically disadvantaged children who are served through home visitor or intensive parent education programs; and children who are eligible for the migrant preschool program. Parents assist with cost of care based on a sliding fee scale based upon their ability to pay."] Text[26]=["School Readiness Uniform Screening System","The School Readiness Uniform Screening System (SRUSS) is intended to gather information about the readiness of all public school children entering kindergarten. Section 411.01(10), F.S., entitled “School Readiness Uniform Screening,” required that the Department of Education implement a school readiness uniform screening system, beginning with the 2002-2003 school year.

Beginning in the fall of the 2002-2003 school year, all public school districts were required to administer the school readiness uniform screening to each student entering kindergarten.

Information derived from the screening system is intended to serve multiple purposes. First, it will assist teachers in understanding the abilities of children entering school and will help target instruction for helping children to become successful learners. Information derived from the screening system should also assist teachers in curriculum planning and improve school readiness programs and services for K-1 school-age children.

The SRUSS includes two screening instruments. Every child will be screened using a developmental screening tool, entitled the Early Screening Inventory- Kindergarten (ESI-K), which is part of the Early Screening Inventory - Revised (ESI-R). Additionally, a behavioral screening instrument will also be administered to each child. School districts have selected either the Work Sampling System or the Ready-for-School Behavioral Screener for this purpose.

The Early Screening Inventory-K and the behavioral screening instruments are intended to measure readiness for school through the following factors:
Screening information may be helpful in planning classroom instruction and for sharing with parents. However, the results of screening cannot be used to block students from entering school, and children's results should not be used for the purpose of 'ability grouping'. Data from the screening instruments serve as only one source of information for a child. Significant decisions that influence educational services for any child should be based on multiple sources of information obtained over a period of time."] Text[27]=["Sliding Scale Fee","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[28]=["SSBG","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[29]=["Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)","Definition will be available soon. Please check back later."] Text[30]=["Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.)","Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) is an early childhood scholarship program with a primary goal to help change negative trends in the child care workforce. T.E.A.C.H. accomplishes it goal by providing direct support to early childhood caregivers and center directors to enable them to work toward earning a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or equivalency, an A.S. degree in Child Development and Education or a Director's Credential. T.E.A.C.H. links compensation and training and involves a partnership for the sharing of expenses by the caregiver receiving the scholarship, the sponsoring child care center or family child care home and the T.E.A.C.H. program. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness provides funding for the T.E.A.C.H. program. The Florida Children's Forum is the authorized agent for T.E.A.C.H. in Florida. For more information on T.E.A.C.H. call 1-877-FL TEACH (1-877-458-3224) or go on-line at