What is Capital Area Successful Start?
Capital Area Successful Start (CASS) is the name of the Shawnee County collaborative that receives funding from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and delivers services to at-risk children in our county.
This funding is part of the Master Tobacco settlement dollars that flow into our state and utilized to support efforts focused on school readiness. To learn more about the Kansas Children’s Cabinet, visit kschildrenscabinet.org. All efforts funded by the Kansas Children’s Cabinet align with the Blueprint for Early Childhood. More information about the Blueprint for Early Childhood can be found by clicking here.
Shawnee County is one of the targeted priority communities in our state to receive this funding because of the number of at-risk children in our community and the low test scores reported by USD 501 Topeka Public Schools.
Capital Area Success Start (CASS) Partners
Why It's Important
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have an impact on lifelong health outcomes and opportunity. For these reasons, early childhood experiences are an important health issue.
ACEs have been linked to:
- risky health behaviors
- chronic health conditions
- low life potential
- early death
As the number of ACEs increases, so does the risk for these outcomes.
Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children can have a positive impact on many health concerns and on the development of skills children need to reach their full potential. Click here for more information about ACEs.
How Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Affects Society
LIFE EXPECTANCY
People with six or more ACE's died nearly 20 years earlier on average than those without ACEs.
ECONOMIC TOLL
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the lifetime costs associated with child maltreatment total over $121 billion.
ACE Score & Work Problems
Who We Serve
From June 2016 through May 2017,
CASS served
908 children
from
832 families.
CASS serves more children with an IEP/IFSP than any other grantee in the state.
Percent of Families Served by Risk Factor
At-Risk Criteria
- Children whose family income would qualify them for participation in the federal free or reduced lunch program.
- Children and families whose first language is not English or English is not the language primarily spoken in the home.
- Children at-risk for developmental delays or have an established Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP).
- Children in foster care or custodial grandparents/kinship.
- Families whose parent(s) has less than a high school education.
- Teen parent(s).
Everyone can invest today in tomorrow’s success by taking the time to Talk, Read and Play with the children in their own community! Click here for great ideas to help you talk, read and play more!
Our Local Approach
The CASS project partners utilize the following guiding principles as their theory of change:
- Most critical brain development occurs during the first few years of life.
- Family-centered services focusing on developmental parenting, family strengths and parent/caregiver empowerment positively impact the nurturing skills and the competency levels of parents and other caregivers.
- If caregivers/parents receive information about best practices and coaching support to transfer that
knowledge into practice, child care program quality will improve and health and development of children ages birth to 5 years old will be positively impacted. - Partnerships and positive relationships between parents, caregivers and program staff are important and will impact children’s development.
- High-quality early learning environments allow children to grow and gain skills needed to be successful in school and life.
Project services fall into three basic areas:
- Early Identification
- Home Visitation
- High-Quality Early Childhood Learning Experiences
Services for at-risk children and families are customized to fit the unique needs of each family, with program intensity varied by family needs and risk factors.