Statewide Directives
Step Ahead was initiated statewide to coordinate early childhood services, including family literacy, education, job training, professional development, nutrition, family support, and health, for children - birth to 13. Step Ahead is a system that will increase the availability of quality, affordable services for families and children by linking local, state, federal, and private resources more effectively.
County Step Ahead Councils are in place in all of Indiana's 92 counties. Each council is conducting a county needs assessment and developing a plan of action. Using this information, community leaders will create links, expand programs, and enhance the local service delivery system. The plan will be a road map for providing services as county leaders implement, monitor, and evaluate its progress.
Decision-making and prioritizing focus on active efforts to reduce the number of children who require services later in life.
Legislation
Indiana Code 20-1-1.8, establishing goals for the Step Ahead program, was passed with the support of both parties and the Governor and took effect July 1, 1991.
Funding Sources
Sources include Title IV-A Guaranteed, Transitional, and At-Risk Child Care; Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) Child Care; Child Care and Development Block Grant; School Age Child Care (SACC) Project Funds; Dependent Care Development Grant; and the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Mental Health.
Implications
State Policymakers
Decision-making and prioritizing focus on active efforts to reduce the number of children who require services later in life. Early screening and diagnostic services are promoted. Funding is coordinated to enhance prevention services. Family-centered policies address family needs to increase self-sufficiency and decrease dependence on services.
State-Level Agency Heads and Staff
Efforts are designed to maximize parental choice and ensure latitude in decision-making for local leaders. Funds are linked for more efficient use of resources. Programs and initiatives are evaluated based on the community's and family's holistic needs. Public awareness materials and consumer education information are disseminated to local leaders. Agencies are encouraged to collaborate and keep channels of communication open.
Local Agency Staff
Decisions reflect the identified county priorities. Funding follows the child. Programs are monitored and evaluated for consistency with the county Step Ahead mission and plan of action. The service providers disseminate consumer education and public awareness information.
Consumers/Families
Consumer participation, input, and decision-making on the county Step Ahead Council are strongly encouraged. Parents monitor and evaluate the service providers and receive educational materials and training to support their roles as consumers of services.
Constraints
All participants must be willing to foster change. The attitude of state and local leaders must change from:
Future
In the first year of planning, councils began the countywide needs assessment and a plan of action. The second year coordination grant allows communities to continue developing their council structure and their evaluation and monitoring systems to ensure that the plan of action responds to local needs, and allows the option of funding a project for one year that is based on their plan.
Future goals include: enhancing and expanding services; effectively using local, state, federal, and private resources to ensure that high-quality services are accessible to all Indiana children; and evaluating the outcomes of local efforts.
Posted on March 23, 1995
URL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/93-3in.htm