A Letter from Institute President and CEO Jerry Jensen

Siskin Children’s Institute has a 60-year history of making life better for those in need. The historical anecdotes from those who have been helped – and those who have served as helpers – are truly inspirational and give us insight into the impact our founders and the organization have had on thousands in our community.

But a modern organization also must demonstrate its worth through data-driven methods.  Our programs and services have grown in size and complexity, and so has our need for reliable information from which to plan, execute and measure our work.  Leaders of the Institute recognized this need several years ago and began implementing a process to collect and analyze information. That effort has resulted in meaningful data from which to make strategic decisions, demonstrate how we are achieving our mission, continuously improve our programs,  and confirm for our supporters that what we do each day is making a difference in the lives of children and their families.

The full evaluation report provides an overview of our outcomes for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. For this report to be possible, a vast volume of data from dozens of sources must be collected, organized and analyzed. Therefore, more detailed information is available for those who are interested in a specific topic or area.

As our outcomes program matures, you can expect to see our information mature as well. In this report, we note areas in which we are challenged by current limitations, sometimes only allowing us to tell part of the story. As the outcomes program evolves, we will overcome many of these challenges, we will have historical data to compare with current results, and we will have the ability to delve deeper into our program analysis. The mechanics behind our outcomes program will evolve as well, making real-time analysis— and therefore our ability to make timely decisions regarding our priorities and areas of improvement—possible.

Although the science of proving our effectiveness is essential, we must not forget that the faces behind the numbers are what drive our organization. It’s the story of a child who can speak because of a dedicated teacher, the family whose hope has been restored about their child’s future, and the knowledge an education or healthcare professional learns and shares with countless others that are the true successes we should celebrate. You can read some of these stories on our website at  www.siskin.org/familystories.

On behalf of the children and families we serve, thank you for your interest in and support of the Institute.

Warm regards,

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  2009-2010 Impact Overview

View the full 2009-2010 Evaluation Report

Read the news release

The 2009-2010 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 2009-2010 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 all year made excellent progress in key indicators of development: independence, social skills and acquisition of knowledge and skills. In 2010-2011, we also will begin measuring their level of engagement. Independence, social relationships and engagement are the cornerstones of the Engagement Classroom Model, which was implemented fully this year. 

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 122 communities in six states (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana and Wyoming) 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 an eight-month wait time to see the pediatrician. In 2010-2011, the center will add an additional pediatrician 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 (300 families), the outreach and resource center (349 families) and the developmental behavioral pediatric center (614 families).  Families that attended training sessions gained knowledge and understanding they were able to use with their children, and most families told us they were satisfied with individual support they received. In 2010-2011, the early learning centers will increase the quality and quantity of communication between teaching staff and families, and the research center will measure the quality of life for families it serves through the Home- and Community-Based Early Intervention program (HCBEI) and the ESCALATE program (focusing on children with autism and their families).

GOAL: Professionals and decision-makers have evidence-based knowledge to serve young children effectively.
Professionals from around the region, the country and the world interacted with the Institute through workshops, lectures, one-on-one consultations, requests for information 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.
Eight research studies were completed or were in progress through our research center in 2009-2010.