A Letter from Institute President and CEO Jerry Jensen

Last year, Baleigh learned to walk. Noah started eating solid foods. Samuel learned concentration skills to succeed better in school, and Alexandra mastered counting to 20. For these four youngsters, seemingly simple childhood rites of passage are actually far from simple. All four are challenged with developmental behavioral delays. With the help of their loving families and a dedicated team of professionals at Siskin Children’s Institute, they are building solid foundations for learning and life.

For more than six decades, Siskin Children’s Institute has been helping children like Baleigh, Noah, Samuel, and Alexandra. Stories of hope and help abound, and it’s the heart and soul of why donors support the work we do.

But these days, donors also need and deserve to know the data-driven measurements that define and direct our organization’s decision-making process. We are pleased to present them in this report.

The following pages provide a high-level overview of our outcomes for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. This compendium represents a vast volume of data collected, organized and analyzed throughout the fiscal year and gathered from dozens of information sources. More detailed information is available for those who are interested in a specific topic or program area.

Since 2008, our programs and services have grown in size and complexity as the graphs on page 7 highlight. Note that in 2009-10, the Institute served 948 children. In 2010-11 that number jumped to 1,560—a 65 percent increase! Why the uptick? It is due in large part to our increased reach through the Center for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, the launch of our Home- and Community-Based Early Intervention program, and the continued impact of our two Siskin Early Learning Centers.

As our outcomes program has matured—this is the fourth year of reportable data—the information presented also is more robust. With multiple years of historical comparisons, we are able to fine-tune the mechanics for data collection and analysis, recognize trends, and respond with timely and impactful improvements to our programs and services.

We invite you to delve into the data that quantifies the Institute’s impact. The science of proving our effectiveness is essential and noteworthy and allows us to confidently confirm for our supporters that what we do each day is making a difference in the lives of children like Baleigh, Noah, Samuel, and Alexandra.

Obviously though, the data only paints part of the picture. We encourage you to get to know the heart and soul of the Institute. Take a tour and see firsthand how donor dollars are helping children and families. Join us as a reading buddy or pediatric center volunteer. Attend our annual StyleWorks and StarNight fundraising events.

We welcome your support and interaction, your questions and comments.

Warm regards,

You can make a difference in the lives of children, families and professionals served by Siskin Children's Institute.  

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  2010-2011 Impact Overview

View the full 2010-2011 Evaluation Report

The 2010-2011 Evaluation Report is categorized by:

1) Impact overview
2) Our impact with children
3) Our impact with families
4) Our impact with professionals

The information below outlines the Institute's overall goals and impact for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The full evaluation report includes substantiating information and statistics.

GOAL: Young children have the skills needed to reach their full potential.
Children who attended one of our early learning centers (ELC) for the full year (354 total) made excellent progress in key indicators of development: independence, social skills, engagement and acquisition of knowledge and skills. Children who participated in our Home- and Community-Based Early Intervention program (HCBEI) or our ESCALATE program (284 total) learned skills and behaviors to help them participate meaningfully in home and community routines.

GOAL: The development of children and adolescents with developmental and behavioral conditions is maximized through high-quality developmental and behavioral health care.
Patients came from 149 communities in 11 states (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina,  South Carolina, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Maine, Louisiana and Wyoming) and one country (Russia) to visit our developmental behavioral pediatrician, our nurse practitioner, our psychologist and our therapists (PT, OT, SLP). The pediatric center is in high demand, with a wait time of 8 months or longer to see the pediatrician. The center continues to search for a second pediatrician and other clinical staff to decrease this wait time and to diagnose patients as young as possible.

GOAL: Families have the knowledge and emotional support to raise their children effectively. 
Families were supported through the early learning centers (562 families), the developmental behavioral pediatric center (922 families) and the research center (280 families).  Support services for families include one-on-one consultations; in-home services related to family routines with their child; access to our specialized library resources; individualized support, when needed; and family-teacher communication.

GOAL: Professionals and decision-makers have evidence-based knowledge to serve young children effectively.
Professionals from around the region, the country and the world interact with the Institute through workshops, lectures, one-on-one consultations, requests for information, student rotations and internships. In this way, the Institute acts as a conduit for knowledge and information that is passed on to the children and families served by those professionals.

GOAL: The fields of early intervention and early childhood special education are advanced through high-quality applied research.
Fourteen research studies were completed or were in progress through our research center in 2010-2011. (For more information about the research studies, please see our website (siskin.org/studies) or contact the research center at 423-648-1792.)

Four grant requests, totaling $4,941,100, were submitted by the research center in 2010-2011.