Randolph ChAMPS
Randolph ChAMPS grew out of the KidsReadyNC initiative, an 18-month project (April 2018-October 2019) designed to help four selected communities in North Carolina strengthen leadership capacity within their local early childhood system. Our Randolph County team is Randolph ChAMPS: Children’s Advocates for Maximizing Potential and Success.
The Initiative
The 18-month initiative that began this work was facilitated by the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at N.C. State University and funded in part by grants from The Belk Foundation and The Duke Endowment.
Randolph County, along with Catawba, Chowan and Rockingham counties, received tools and technical assistance through IEI in support of its county-level team, known as Randolph ChAMPS.
The Team
Randolph ChAMPS is a group of 20+ community leaders and stakeholders comprised of partners from, but not limited to, county, city and charter schools; Randolph Community College; child care centers; Communities in Schools; public libraries; Head Start; pediatrics; early intervention; social services; mental health; county government and the Partnership. The team also recruits interested service partners and parents of young children to serve on Implementation Teams.
The Focus
The focus of Randolph ChAMPS is to identify services and care opportunities in place for the birth-3 population, identify areas of need, and problem-solve to ensure the best start possible for our Randolph County infants and toddlers.
What We Do
• Building community awareness of Resilience
• Facilitating community adoption of The Basics
• Facilitating policymaker education
• Increasing quality & availability of infant & toddler care
• Guiding parent training & professional development
Key Facts
There are 9654 children age 0-5 in Randolph County; about 4327 are age birth-3 (2019 Census.gov)
52.8% of children in our county live poor or low-income homes (2017 NC Child)
The obesity rate for children 2-4 years old in Randolph County is 14.5% (2018 NC PedNESS)
20.9% of children in Randolph County live in food-insecure households (2017 NC Child)
69% of children age birth-5 in Randolph County live in households in which all parents are working (2018 NC Early Education Coalition)
We have 373 children enrolled in NC Pre-K in 9 communities (RPC 2020)
73% of Randolph County’s child care lead teachers have an AA or higher degree in the early childhood field (RPC 2020)
3608 children are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library as of June 30, 2020, a 63% increase over 2019 (RPC 2020)
3 pediatric offices in Randolph County participate in Reach Out and Read through RPC, and 1 participates on their own. (RPC 2020)
More than 700 newborns’ families (all those born at Randolph Health) receive Books for Babies bags annually (Friends of Randolph County Library)
Why We’re Doing It
We are doing this work with the intent of positively impacting outcomes at kindergarten entry and grade-3 reading proficiency; which in turn will positively impact the overall workforce and community-at-large.
For more information, contact the Partnership at advocacy@randolphkids.org or 336-629-2128 ext. 12.
