FACT, Inc. believes in aiding children from birth to Kindergarten, but we also provide family support and encourage community involvement. Our agency works to the betterment of the whole family, which in turn makes for a better community for everyone.

FACT, Inc. helps parents and families in our program to reach goals such as:

• Getting a G.E.D.
• Applying for and taking college courses
• Improving reading skills
• Finding marriage, substance abuse, emotional and other counseling
• Finding assistance with chronic health problems
• Developing better parenting skills and increasing parent knowledge about child development
• Meeting housing and transportation needs
• Getting a driver’s licenses
• Coping with crisis situations
• Improving job skills and seeking employment
• Providing referrals to health care professionals
• Meeting financial needs
• And many, many more!

At FACT we offer a wide array of program options for birth to five-year-old children. We offer Early Head Start (center-based and home-based), Head Start, and Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) services. The overall goal of our program is to bring about a greater degree of school readiness and social competence in children of low-income families. Social competence is a child’s everyday effectiveness in dealing with the present environment and later responsibilities in school and life. We strive to address our children’s needs in all areas of development- physical, social, emotional, and cognitive–and to provide support and assistance to all those who affect the child’s development. We honor issues of cultural relevance, diversity, and inclusion through our validation of the individual strengths of the enrolled children and their families.

High-quality child care and early childhood education sets the stage for how well our children learn, how they think of themselves and how they interact with their world. We as parents, child care providers, educators and citizens have a responsibility to make sure all of our children have the very best experiences they can. FACT, Inc. participates in the Better Beginnings program, Arkansas’s Quality Rating Improvement System, which has been developed to do just that. Better Beginnings emphasizes parents’ understanding of the value of quality child care while providing them with an online vehicle for identifying and locating quality child care providers in their communities. Better Beginnings also gives Arkansas child care providers valuable tools for improving the quality of their programs at every level. By establishing recognized standards of excellence and providing a mechanism for providers to meet or exceed these standards, the quality of child care in Arkansas will continually improve and our children will get the start they need to be happy, healthy and productive citizens. 

FACT firmly believes that the lives of young children and their families can be enriched and strengthened by the quality of the educational program provided to them. The quality of the program depends on several factors:

• Providing a safe and nurturing environment.
• Providing a developmentally appropriate curriculum that addresses all areas of development-social, emotional, cognitive and physical.
• Providing learning experiences within the context of children’s culture and community; and
• Working in partnership with parents to plan, implement and evaluate the educational experiences provided for children and families.

 Scheduled Educational Interactions with Families:

• Volunteering in the classroom
• Attending agency trainings
• Attending monthly parent meetings
• Parent questionnaire
• Two home visits Fall/Spring
• Parent conferences Fall/Spring
• Transitioning of children from FACT Pre-K to the public school system

Children with special needs are welcome in any center in the five-county area that FACT serves. FACT, Inc., serves both typical children and children with special needs.

The agency screens all its children every year to discover if children have any problems with hearing, vision, speech, or if they may be delayed in their development in any way.

The agency works with specialists in each location to see that children get help with developmental delays, speech problems, or social-emotional problems. Children may receive occupational and/or physical therapy also when needed.FACT, Inc., provides Family Service workers to help families access all the resources available to meet their own special needs and the special needs of their children.

The agency ensures that each family has or gets a family doctor, that each child has a physical checkup as well as a dental exam every year, that each child is as up-to-date as possible on his/her immunizations, and that each child is checked daily for possible health problems. If a child is discovered to have a disability, all efforts are made to help that child and his family deal with and perhaps overcome difficulties related to the situation. Indeed, FACT helps as much as possible with any health-related situations presented by any member of the family. Family Service Advocates (FSAs) are available to assist parents with health concerns, to help complete applications for insurance and/or birth certificates, to offer referrals to appropriate agencies for social service or other needs, or to help with transportation needs in keeping doctor and dental appointments.

The agency provides services for families and children in the area of Mental Wellness. The Special Services Coordinator can provide information, training, support, and referrals for additional help. We partner with Mental Health Professionals across all our locations. They perform regular visits to each center as a resource for parents and staff.

Children receive a quality breakfast, lunch, and snack each day. We promote healthy eating practices and follow the requirements of the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Nutrition education is offered to children and parents, as well. The weight and height of each child is monitored at least twice a year. If a child is found to be underweight or overweight, appropriate steps are followed to help ensure the child returns to a more normal weight for his/her height.