Page 3 - Head Start Annual Report 2021-2022

Dear Friends

Throughout 2021-2022, Children's Friend worked diligently to support our children, parents,
families, and staff while Covid continued to impact how we delivered our services and our
communities.

Amid the "great resignation," we faced staffing shortages that prevented us from being fully
operational, regardless of robust efforts to recruit and retain talent. However, we remained
optimistic, forging forward, and laser-focused on fulfilling our mission.

We were grateful for our staff's creativity, resiliency, and determination, which resulted in many
accomplishments. We revamped our electronic medical record, improving service delivery
efficiency. For our dedicated team of educators, we leveraged our funding streams to provide
retention bonuses, salary adjustments, and other comprehensive benefits.

Ensuring the safety of our children, parents, families, staff, and community partners has remained
our top priority. Our Covid-19 Task Force worked tirelessly to ensure everyone was safe at our
centers. We are proud that we continue to see no evidence of any center-based spread of Covid.

We were thrilled to see the children in our centers and classrooms, learning in our high-quality
environments to prepare them for kindergarten and beyond! We were delighted to find safe ways
that allowed parents, families, and community partners back in our centers for the first time in
over two years!

We continued to serve expecting families, infants, and toddlers as part of our Early Head Start
Program. We facilitated hybrid home visits and socialization opportunities with our children,
parents, and families at our centers and in the community.

We are committed to our principles of being family-centered, seamless, outcome-driven,
advocates for the youngest and most vulnerable children in Rhode Island, and stewards of the
resources entrusted to us. It is only possible to serve our families and uphold these principles
with a dedicated team of professionals and diverse community partners.

We are grateful to all who have supported Children’s Friend throughout the past year. We look
forward to our continued work together!

With gratitude,

Tiana Ochoa Jennifer Heywood

Tiana Ochoa Jennifer Heywood
Director of Head Start Deputy Director

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