OZARK OPPORTUNITIES, INC.

701 E. PROSPECT P.O. BOX 1400 HARRISON, ARKANSAS 72602 (870) 741-9406 FAX: (870) 741-0924

This agency is in compliance with Titles VI and VII Civil Rights Act “Equal Opportunity Employer”

www.ozarkopp.org

Agency Progress Report Report for October 2019 Board of Directors and Stakeholders

I. Chief Executive Officer Update:

Agency Finances are (still) going well. We have no issues with making payments to

vendors on time, and cash flow is not limited due to access to funds.

We have received all regular funding from all sources.

We are still completing projects and purchasing items listed in our HS/EHS One

Time Funds grant. We have completed several additional much-needed

improvements at the centers, have replaced aging technology, and are looking

forward to additional classroom materials and updates in the near future.

OOI Finance Stoplight; Green= ALL GOOD!

Mr. Jim Sprott, our “Private

Sector” Board of Directors

Member for Boone County was

recognized on October 9th as one

of this year’s John Paul

Hammerschmidt Men of

Distinction!

Congratulations!!!

Page 2 of 21

II. Community Services Rebecca Hanlin; Community Services Manager

1. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program:

The Summer 2019 Energy Assistance Program (both Non-Emergency and Crisis) closed to

the public on Monday, September 30, 2019.

Final utility checks were written October 16, 2019.

2. Community Services Block Grant (CSBG):

September 11, 2019 State CSBG monitors conducted an extensive review of our agency. This

was a full review of our agency with eight areas they scrutinized; Organizational Standards,

Financial/Personnel, Payroll and Travel, Procurement, Property Management, Board,

Performance Management, Client Files. Due to time constraints Beverly and her team took a

lot of information back with them to conduct a “desk audit” of materials they were not able to

review while at our office.

October 14, 2019 CSBG Monitors contacted OOI and conducted an exit interview regarding

their review of our agency that began September 11th. There were no findings in seven of the

eight categories reviewed. Two findings were identified in the Board section; two vacancies

exceeding 90 days for a public elected official in Boone County and a private sector

representative for Baxter County. We are currently recruiting and expect to have the

vacancies filled by the November OOI Board of Directors Meeting.

Non-Emergency Assistance Counties Received Approved $ Pending Denied

Baxter 625 560 $64,153 0 65

Boone 660 607 $69,339 0 53

Marion 311 276 $32,480 0 35

Newton 196 172 $20,011 0 24

Searcy 211 185 $20,765 0 26

Van Buren 302 251 $29,546 0 51

Total 2,305 2,051 $236,294 0 254

Emergency Assistance Counties Received Approved $ Pending Denied

Baxter 102 90 $17,212.01 0 12

Boone 146 118 $18,238.30 0 28

Marion 61 52 $10,077.71 0 9

Newton 32 23 $3,667.33 0 9

Searcy 13 12 $1,466.66 0 1

Van Buren 45 35 $5,578.52 0 10

Total 399 330 $56,240.53 0 69

Page 3 of 21

A Funding Announcement for 2019 CSBG Discretionary Funds was made August 27, the

application was due and submitted by the September 27th deadline. To date we’ve received

notification that our application request was received but no results have been provided.

The CSBG Fourth quarter, and program year, ended September 30, 2019. The quarter report

is due to the State by October 30, 2019.

3. Vehicle Repair Loan Program:

Current balance is $4,383.08. $500 maximum loan amount.

Current outstanding funds are $1,965.50.

Loan must be repaid within one year. Income eligibility is

200% federal poverty level.

From the start of the program we’ve had 15 individuals receive a loan;

We have had one new loan since last reporting.

o Six are paid in full. Two are in the repayment process.

o Five are delinquent, collection efforts being made. Two are in default.

We are working with Community Partners to spread the word about this program. Partners

must be willing to sign a referral letter and help with contacting approved clients if they

default on the loan.

4. HOPE Revolving Loan Fund:

Ozark Opportunities, Inc. administers an interest-free micro loan program through the Housing

Opportunities Partnership Exchange (HOPE 501(c)3) that is intended to assist homeless

individuals/families with the upfront costs such as rent deposits, rent payments and/or utility

deposits when establishing a home.

Activity from September through October 12 includes:

o No new clients were processed. No new payments received.

o Revolving loan account current balance is $1,388.56. 13 letters were sent to clients

who have become delinquent on loans; 3 letters returned undeliverable, 3 loans are

now in default.

5. Stability Funds:

A total of $17,951.19 in funds have been dispersed on behalf of clients since October 1,

2018. Funds were used for items such as water disconnects, housing deposits, overdue rent,

eye glasses, dental work, and building a handicap ramp.

County

October 1-September 30, 2019

# of Apps Total Amount

Baxter 15 $5,266.17

Boone 27 $8,500.00

Marion 5 $1,814.03

Newton 1 $196.18

Searcy 1 $260.00

Van Buren 6 $1,914.81

Total 55 $17,951.19

Page 4 of 21

6. Family Development & Empowerment:

As of Sept 30, 2019 we have 114 families enrolled in SUCCESS(!!!)

The SUCCESS Banquet was AMAZING this year. Thank you all so much for

helping us celebrate our participants. We will be sending out Thank You Cards

for the following businesses for donating to the banquet:

United Healthcare, Lillie Hobbs Mercantile, White River

Designs, Casey’s, Jerry Jackson Realty, Bounce Mania and

Skate Mania, Sonic, Mudslingers, Maurices, El Mexica Lindo,

AMayesing Sweet Sauce, Prairie Market, Neighbors Mill,

Shelby’s, Titanic Museum, Anstaff Bank, Cavendars, Centry

21, Hibbett Sports, Hardees, Good Guys Pizza, Leonardos,

Breadeaux Pizza, Harness Boots, OOH LA LA, Laura’s

Mexican Kitchen, and Total Image. This year’s donations

totaled $3,804(!)

WE TRULY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!!!

We are actively recruiting new families for the SUCCESS

Program(!)

Success with SUCCESS: “Rebecca” joined the SUCCESS program in February of 2019

at the age of 71. Around 5 years ago she was in a bad accident while on a job while

driving for a trucking company that forced her out of the workforce and onto Social

Security. As a single person and homeowner, she quickly began to struggle due to the

major shift in income.

Rebecca came into Ozark Opportunities seeking assistance with her utilities when she

learned about the SUCCESS program. Although she may be considered “non-traditional”

for the program, she made it clear that she was determined to change her status. Rebecca

was tired of struggling just to get by every month. The goals Rebecca set were lowering

her utility costs, getting the ticket from her accident removed from her record, paying off

the court costs, repairing her credit, passing a D.O.T. physical, and returning to the work

force(!). Her ultimate goal was to return to driving a truck again.

Page 5 of 21

Rebecca was very worried that she would not be taken seriously at her age, so she worked

on a backup plan by applying with the NCBA program (previously known as Experience

Works). She was accepted into the NCBA program and they began to look for her duty

station.

In the meantime, Rebecca and Family Development Worker Ferrin Carlton met multiple

times over the several months to complete items on her “to do” list toward her goals; they

included: crafting a “Letter of Explanation” about her accident, updating her resume, and

a spending plan to pay off her fines.

Rebecca also joined the Getting Ahead In a Just Gettin’ By World class, where she

brought an interesting dynamic to the program due to her broad range of experience, from

times where she had to problems paying bills, to her current situation where there were

daily struggles. After a lot of progress and hard work another issue occurred- she had

begun to incur additional fees on her fine payments and she couldn’t afford to keep paying

them. Feeling she had no choice, Rebecca pawned one of her prized possessions, her

laptop computer, to finish paying all of the fines in one payment. At this point Rebecca

was discouraged, frustrated and felt taken advantage of.

Thankfully, soon afterward, (during An OOI workshop she was attending) Rebecca

informed the group of amazing news! She would have to leave the SUCCESS group and

Getting Ahead classes because she passed the D.O.T. physical and was offered a driving

position! At 71 years old she had met her long-term goal of returning to her desired

career. It must be noted that she was able to complete this goal in just four months!

After years of struggling and feeling slighted, Rebecca is finally getting another chance to

live the life that she wants and deserves! We are excited to see where all of her hard work

takes her… (which at this point is literally across the country!)

Page 6 of 21

2019 SUCCESS Banquet- in Pictures

SUCCESS GRADUATES!

9 SUCCESS participants were celebrated for graduating the program. Back

Row: Cathy Brownell (Family Dev. Specialist), Arrianne Grunewald, Kathleen

Peters, Michele Prince, Paige Rogers, Shelly Cotterell, Ferrin Carlton (Family

Dev. Worker); Middle: Takara Morris, Melissa Ritter, Sabrina Stone, Kelli

Zurcher; Front: Richard T. Atkinson, CEO

Page 7 of 21

15 SUCCESS Participants received the “Initiative Award”. From back; Cathy Brownell- FDS, Melissa

Ritter, Kathleen Peters, Cindy Cross, Brianna Werb, Brittany Brandon, Sherry Monistere, Palmira

Robertson, Leslie Wagner, Ferrin Carlton- FDW ; Middle row: Sabrina Stone, Ashley Ramsey, Tim Chase,

Jennifer Chase, Danielle Cooper, Sabrina Binam, Tommy Moore; Down front: Richard T. Atkinson, CEO.

12 SUCCESS Participants received Getting Ahead in a Just-Getting’-By-World Completion Certificate:

From left; back: Cathy Brownell- FDS, Kathleen Peters, Michele Prince, Melissa Ritter, Palmira

Robertson, Leslie Wagner, Brittany Brandon, Sherry Monistere, Tommy Moore, Richard T. Atkinson;

Front; Sabrina Stone, Tim Chase, Cynthia Cross, Ferrin Carlton- FDW

Page 8 of 21

Right; Michelle Prince received

the Community Service Act of Valor

Award.

To the right: Cathy Brownell- FDS,

Ms. Prince, OOI Board Chair

Paulette Hill, and CEO Richard T.

Atkinson.

Left top middle: Excellence in

Community Service Award winner

Tommy Moore.

To the left, from left: Ferrin Carlton-

FDW, Mr. Moore, OOI Board Chair

Paulette Hill and (front) Richard T.

Atkinson.

Page 9 of 21

Above; Cathy Brownell and Richard T. Atkinson present the ACAAA Diamond

Empowerment Award to Maxine O’Brien.

Kelli

Zurcher

shared a

heartfelt

story about

her

struggles

and

successes as

she worked

to better

her life-

Bravo

Kelli!;

Thank You

for

sharing(!)

Michelle Prince

shared her

experience with

the loss of her

son, and

struggle to

finish school

and work her

way back to a

sense of normal.

It was a heart

wrenching

account that

ended with

hope as she

showed

forgiveness and

grace in the

face of

adversity.

Page 10 of 21

A good time was had by all!!!… In addition to SUCCESS

Participants, we also had several OOI Board of Directors Members and

their families attend- it was a great night of celebrating hard-earned

success, and it is always a touching night.

Page 11 of 21

Page 12 of 21

7. Healthy Families Arkansas: September Activity:

Total enrollment of 25 families (83% capacity) – 15 in Van Buren County and 10 in Searcy

County

Received 3 new referrals, had 1 new baby born to a family enrolled prenatally, completed 36

home visits, & did outreach with HUB Program students at the Clinton School(!)

Melissa Smyth represented the OOI Healthy Families America (Arkansas) program at the first

meeting to reestablish the Local Interagency Coordinating Council (Local I.C.C.) in Morrilton on

September 26, 2019. The Local ICC is a multi-county coalition of community stakeholders

committed to improving results for children 0-5 with developmental delay and/or disability. This

coalition encompasses the Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative area and includes the

following counties: Van Buren, Cleburne, Pope, Perry, Conway, Faulkner, and Yell.

It is facilitated by First Connections and DHS: Division of Developmental Disabilities Services

and is a joint effort between the regional Part C (First Connections- early intervention ages 0-3)

and Part B representatives (Early Childhood Special Education ECSE - ages 3-5). The Local

ICC’s primary roles and functions are: finding children in need of services, increasing public

awareness, identifying the local network for Early Intervention/Early Childhood providers,

planning for smooth transitions for children and families, and providing input to the State ICC.

During this meeting, the attendees started forming the Local ICC by identifying organizations and

programs who needed to be involved, developing a vision and mission statement, and choosing a

priority area to focus their first efforts on. For the next quarterly meeting, members will identify a

leader and co-leader, invite other community stakeholders, and work on goals associated with the

priority area.

8. Community Engagement & Staff Development:

Community Services Leadership attended a “Developing Your Emotional Intelligence”

webinar on September 10th.

HFA staff assisted the Van Buren County Health Department with their Mass Flu Clinic on

September 26th and helped patients complete their flu shot paperwork prior to getting the

vaccination.

Rebecca Hanlin and Crystal Rogers attended the LIHEAP Affiliates Meeting in Little Rock

on Friday, September 27th.

All Community Services staff participated in “Stop The Bleed” training on October 2, 2019.

Evaluation committee met to review all SUCCESS case files on October 8th.

Rebecca Hanlin, Ben Glover, Cathy Brownell and Ferrin Carlton are now Getting Ahead in

the Workplace and Getting Ahead While Getting Out certified facilitators. They attended both

certification trainings on October 11th.

HFA is assisting Van Buren County Health Department with the Shirley School Flu Clinic on

October 11th and the Southside-Bee Branch School flu clinic on October 31st.

Rebecca Hanlin conducted First Aid and CPR testing for Child Development staff on October

15th and 23rd.

Training on: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Domestic Violence (Stats, Causes & Signs),

Teen Dating, Violence Prevention, and Getting Ahead will be held October 17th.

Child Abuse & Neglect, “Working with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities” or “Managing

Upset Clients”, “ROMA Basics” and “Getting Ahead 2” will be held October 30, 2019.

November 8th staff will attend an all-day Safety Training in Harrison.

Page 13 of 21

9. Community Services Staffing Updates:

We are currently looking for another Family Development Worker for Baxter & Marion

counties.

Shae Sutterfield, Family Development Worker for Searcy & Van Buren counties, was hired as

part-time. She will transition into full-time.

III. Child Development (ABC Pre-K, Head Start, & Early Head Start):

A. Arkansas Better Chance Pre-K Program:

90.4% September 2019 Attendance.

CACFP CLAIM SUMMARY- AUGUST 2019: ABC Pre-K

Breakfast= 558 Lunch= 559 Snacks= 551

Total $3,118.76

Page 14 of 21

B. Head Start & Early Head Start:

a. Health & Nutrition- Sharon Burnett:

CACFP CLAIM SUMMARY- AUGUST 2019: $19,866.72

Head Start

Breakfast= 2610 Lunch= 2695 Snacks= 2513

Total $16,899.17

Early Head Start

Breakfast= 486 Lunch=438 Snacks= 493

Total $2,967.55

HEALTH OUTCOMES: AUGUST Head Start Early Head Start: Status

70% 54% Completed Dental Exams

58% 41% Completed Lead Testing

70% 70% Completed Physical Exams (Well Child

for EHS)

90% 87% Completed Immunizations

6 1 Parents applied for immunization waiver

from ADH

SEPTEMBER 2019 Update:

Reconciled bills for payment- SGC, Hiland, Mtn. Valley Water, Pippin.

Processed CACFP Free & Reduced Lunch Forms for 3 centers.

Completed CACFP Food Monitoring Reviews for Harrison HS, Yellville-

Summit, Valley Springs, Western Grove, Mtn. Home HS, Norfork, & MH EHS.

Completed CACFP Application for 2020.

Management Team meeting on September 25, 2019.

Lead Screens completed at Bruno and St. Joe.

Attended CACFP Refresher Training in Little Rock on September 12, 2019.

Attended the AHSA Institute & Staff, CLASS and AHSA Board of Directors

Meetings on Sept. 18, 2019.

Interviewed potentials for hire September 11, 2019.

Assisted with Vision and Hearing screenings for EHS sites on Sept. 9th, 17th, &

19th.

Page 15 of 21

b. Program Manager/ Education Coordinator- Ryan Clayborn:

Traveled to each location and conducted a curriculum training with each teacher in

ABC, HS, and EHS. This training focused on them understanding expectations and

how certain items should be taught to be developmentally appropriate.

Attended multiple one on one meetings with parents and IEP meetings.

Attended the ICC meeting at OUR Co-Op concerning autism.

The Boone County Imagination Library met on September 3rd and is currently

providing books to 1,221 children in Boone County.

Completed interviews to replace vacant positions as well as trainings for the new

staff.

Updated several education forms for home visits.

Updated the School Readiness Agenda and the CLASS Implementation Plan.

I completed all MOU visits will superintendents and principals in all school

districts.

Trained the OOI Executive Committee on CLASS, Developmental Testing, School

Readiness, and the Training & Technical Assistance Plan.

Working on a new socio-emotional curriculum for teachers to implement into their

daily activities.

Playground updates- I seeded grass and covered the playground with hay at Valley

Springs Head Start.

Created the September Teacher’s Newsletter focusing on health, licensing, and

interaction skills.

c. Mental Health- Tawnya Akins:

Sent resources to staff for social/emotional and behavioral issues.

Mentored several teachers in classrooms.

Assisted with behavioral issues in several classrooms.

Scheduled trainings for Mental Health First Aid and ACES.

Page 16 of 21

d. ERSEA/FSW’s & Family and Community Partnerships- Terri Beard:

ENROLLMENT UPDATE: At the end of September we had 261 Head

Start children enrolled and 48 Early Head Start Children for a full enrollment

of 309.

HS/EHS ATTENDANCE UPDATE: We are at 90.45% Average Daily

Attendance (“ADA”) in Head Start Pre-K & 86.89% ADA in Early Head

Start (even with many illness-related absences the program was still over the

85% minimum regulations.)

Page 17 of 21

ELIGIBILITY UPDATE:

Page 18 of 21

e. Disabilities & Center Supervisor- Patricia Murray:

Substitute training is being held October 29, 2019 to insure they are properly

prepared to assist in our classrooms.

Staff have been busy making sure all students are screened for vision, speech

and developmental needs.

Conferences with parents are taking place now through the end of October.

Below is a breakdown of the current IEP’s and IFSP’s we are serving:

f. Parent Engagement- Krystal Mayes:

September In-Kind is being reviewed and entered for approval from finance.

The classrooms are starting off the year with excellent community

involvement- Just see the pictures below!

The Post Man in Mt. Home demonstrating how to drive the mail truck!

Page 19 of 21

Jasper Head Start learns how to be safe from a local Police Officer.

Mt. Home had a visit from REAL Army man!

Page 20 of 21

Jasper Head Start students explore a Fire Truck!

IV. Corporate Services (& Human Resources) Jane Bueg, Chief Operating Officer

September 2019

Hires Education

Community

Services Administration Total

5 0 0 5

Departures Education

Community

Services Administration Total

3 0 0 3

Page 21 of 21

Corporate Services Report

Other/Training:

GoogleApps in-kind report: $414.00 (Head Start) $192.00 (Early Head Start)

$54.00 (ABC)

Hire: 5; New Hire Orientations: 5

Income/Employment Verification– 1

CSBG Monitoring

Final Dept. of Labor Survey for August (Van Buren County statistics)

Employee Jury Duty: 2

Reference Check response: 1

COBRA Notice: 1

Contractor List Update

Child Maltreatment Central Registry Check – 13

Criminal Records Check – 15

Fingerprint Check – 12

Termination: 3

Termination of Benefits: 1

Driver List update

Child Care Licensing tracking updates

OSHA Survey for 2019, Boone County Community Services

4th Quarter CSBG Report

Job Posting & Advertisement: Teacher Assistant (Jasper), Early Head Start

Teacher (Clinton)

Garnishment: 3

FIRE Unit Unemployment Audits: 26

Policy Council Meeting

Technology: set up 17 new Head Start Laptops

Training: Employment Law & Legislative Affairs Conference

Schedule Interviews

Arkansas Workers Compensation Rule 32 resolution

New e-mail accounts: 5

Close e-mail accounts: 3

Delivered new HS classroom laptops

Employment Law Poster(s) updated