SMART START Programs 2020-2021

Family Support Activities

Child Care Subsidy

Child Care Subsidy assists parents on a fixed income with the cost of child care. For assistance, parents must apply in person at the Yadkin County Human Services Agency (336-849-7910).

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library gives children the gift of reading. Every month, until their fifth birthday, Yadkin County children are eligible to receive a FREE developmentally appropriate book shipped to their home address. To register, call our office at 336-679-7833 or visit www.yadkinchild.org.

Early Childhood Resource Center

The Early Childhood Resource Center provides access to child development resources and materials such as, but not limited to books, manipulatives, reference materials, and curriculum kits, which are available for check out by early childhood educators and families. Guidance on the appropriate use of the materials is provided. The Early Childhood Resource Center also houses a resource room with access to die cuts, laminating machines, a copier, a book binding machine, and bulletin board supplies. The Early Childhood Resource Center is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on nights and weekends by appointment.

Motheread/Fatheread®

Motheread/Fatheread® teaches adults literacy skills in a child and family development context. Parents improve their own reading skills, learn how to help their children become better readers and thinkers, and develop better family communication skills. The target population is parents of young children ages birth to five.

Nurturing Parenting Program

The Nurturing Parenting Program is a home-based program for families and their children ages birth to five living in Yadkin County and at risk for child abuse and neglect and/or domestic violence. Families will receive weekly face-to-face visits from a Parent Educator for 16 to 24 consecutive weeks to learn about nurturing parenting routines, alternatives to hitting, child development, and ways to build self-esteem and self-concept in self and children. The Parent Educator is employed by the Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina.

Preschool Scholarships

Smart Start of Yadkin County provides funding for two different programs that help income-eligible children attend preschool through Yadkin County Schools. For additional information, parents should contact Kristy Pardue at the Yadkin County Board of Education (336-679-2051).

Reach Out and Read®

This activity partners with medical care practices to provide pre-literacy opportunities for children and their parents. During each well-child visit, parents receive a new, culturally and developmentally appropriate book to take home and read to their child. Medical care providers discuss the importance of reading and model reading a book aloud to the child. The program begins at the child’s six month visit and continues through the age of five.