ARROW Grant Proposal (Final Paper)

7/29/2019 ARROW Grant Proposal (Final Paper)

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Running Head: RISING AS ONE PROGRAM!! 1! !

Rising As One Program

Nikia Poch

University of Georgia


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RISING AS ONE PROGRAM 2!

Abstract

Every day infants are born into families with restricted access to adequate resources tosustain and cultivate healthy physical, social, and emotional development. This realityrings true in Athens, GA. Forty-eight percent of individuals living below the poverty line

are under the age of five. To pave a brighter future for our innocent children, ARROWhas made it its personal mission to expand its early childhood development center toreach the very groups research indicates benefits most from intensive early childhoodeducation programming.

After reviewing the literature, an early childhood intervention model that embracedARROWs core values was identifiedthe Carolina Abecedarian Project. This projectfollowed over one hundred low-resource families from infancy to early adulthood. Thefindings revealed that with structured, high-quality early childhood services, childrenborn into poverty could excel. Major components of the Carolina Abecedarian Projectincluded: child-based instruction, home visits, and parent group session. In an effort to

produce similar results on a smaller scale, ARROW will be adapting the CarolinaAbecedarian Project to itsRising As One program.

By partnering with reputable agencies and organizations in the community, ARROWintends to recruit new participants from low-resource communities and providecomprehensive services to a group of parents and children that would otherwise lackaccess to high-quality services. Over the course of four years, the same families willprogress through the Rising As One program. Parents will be heavily involved in theplanning and implementation phases by working closely with the Home Family SupportSpecialist and Center Caregivers to prepare an Individualized Family Service Plan.

Agency Description

ARROW was founded in February 2013 by two moms who shared a similar vision tocreate a simplistic community space for their young children. ARROW was inspired bythe Waldorf and Reggio Emilia methods, which emphasize the use of a natural, healthy,artistic environment for children to learn by exploring their imagination. Parents areengaged in on-site activities with both their children and other parents to create acommunity where parenting strategies are shared with each other.

Currently, ARROW offers a range of fee-based services to families from middle classbackgrounds in two, four-hour blocksfrom 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

To make a greater impact in the community, ARROW would like to expand its servicesto reach socioeconomically disadvantaged families.

Needs Statement

The ramifications of poverty on individual well-being are devastating. The lack ofresources available to obtain basic necessities leaves many people in compromisingsituations. Unfortunately a number of individuals have come face-to-face with the


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harmful effects of poverty and low resources. Nationally, 13.8 percent of the UnitedStates population was living in poverty in 2011 (American Community Survey Briefs,2011). That same year, an estimated 21.6 percent of Georgia residents were living belowthe poverty line. Shockingly, an estimated 39.2 percent of the Athens-Clarke Countypopulation was living in poverty in 2011 (American Community Survey Briefs, 2011).

Of the total number of individuals living below the poverty line in Athens-Clarke County,48 percent were children under five years of age. Research indicates that children fromeconomically disadvantaged communities between 0-4 years of age are more likely toexperience cognitive and behavioral challenges at higher rates than children from moreaffluent backgrounds.

To mitigate the potentially life-damaging effects poverty can have on children during the

first few years of life, early childhood programs have been implemented nationwide. The!significance!of!early!childhood!education!programming!has!been!investigated!from!multiple!perspectives,!including!its!long;term!economic!impact!as!well!as!its!effect!on!moderating!child!maltreatment.!!According!to!the!Coalition!of!Juvenile!Justice!

(2001)!approximately!$7.10!is!returned!to!society!for!every!dollar!spent!on!early!childhood!education!initiatives.!!Additionally,!studies!have!validated!the!assertion!that!children!who!attended!well;structured,!demanding!preschool!and!parental!support!programs!reached!higher!educational!attainment,!were!more!likely!to!be!employed,!and!less!likely!to!interact!with!the!legal!system!than!their!peers!who!did!not!attend!similar!rigorous!early!childhood!development!programs!(National!Institute!of!Child!Health!and!Human!Development,!2011).!!More!significantly,!children!from!economically!disadvantaged!communities!achieve!greater!benefits!from!high;quality!early!childhood!education!programs!than!children!from!financially!advantaged!communities!(Stegelin,!2004).!!!

One of the most successful studies that demonstrated pointed gains in children receivinghigh-quality early childhood education programming was the Carolina AbecedarianProject model. The Carolina Abecedarian Project is a highly regarded randomizedlongitudinal study that was led by the FPG Child Development Institute at the Universityof North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study was instrumental in determining thatchildren born into poverty who participated in high-quality early intervention programshad higher cognitive test scores from their toddler years to age 21, as well as higherlevels of academic achievement in both reading and math from the primary gradesthrough young adulthood compared to participants in the control group (Ramey &Campbell, 1991). Participants were followed from infancy to 21 years of age. The mostrecent follow-up study of Abecedarian participants was published in 2012 documenting

participants academic attainment and employment status at the age of 30. In hopes ofproducing similar results, ARROW intends to duplicate the model utilized by theCarolina Abecedarian Project in itsRising As One program.

Program Summary

TheRising As One program will be a community-based parent engagement programimplemented in Athens, GA. In order to successfully, implement theRising As One


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program, ARROW is requesting $382,267. The program will be designed to providecomprehensive support for parents from low-resource communities with childrenbetween 0-4 years of age in order to increase child school readiness. TheRising As Oneprogram will be provided to all participating families free of charge. TheRising As Oneprogram model will be based on the Carolina Abecedarian Project model, which operated

Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., fifty weeks per year. Threecomponents will be central to theRising As One program: center-based instruction, homevisits, and parent group meetings.

Center-Based Instruction

Center Caregivers will be essential figures during center-based instruction. Sincechildren will spend a great deal of time with Center Caregivers, selecting caregivers witha background in early childhood development will be imperative. Additionally, assessingcurrent level of cultural competence will be necessary to gauge which candidates wouldbe most suitable to work with participants in theRising As One program. Providing

ongoing multicultural training to Center Caregivers will be crucial to the success of theprogram.

Home Visits

Individualized Family Service Plans will be developed and updated every two weeks foreach family throughout the implementation process. The Home Family SupportSpecialist will be instrumental in providing specialized services, resources, and activitiesto families. The main functions of home visits are to provide families with consistentsupport, problem-solving strategies, child development materials, and child-specificactivities that facilitate their childs cognitive and social development. The Home Family

Support Specialist will use role playing, in-home training, and written materials to equipparents with concrete problem-solving strategies that will help parents effectively resolveeveryday issues as they arise.

Parent Group Meetings

Parent group meetings will serve two major functions. The first function is to encourageparents to interact with other parents in similar situations to promote a strong sense ofopenness and togetherness in a communal setting. The second function of the parentgroup sessions is to link parents to resources and experts in the community they may notbe accessible to otherwise. Recruiting child development leaders in surrounding areas,

such as Atlanta may be easier to achieve when parents are assembled in a group settingthat is housed within a child development organization.


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Goals and Objectives

Goal: The goal ofRising As One is to increase child school readiness by providingcomprehensive services to economically disadvantaged parent(s) in Athens, GA.

Objectives:

1. Identify and recruit 6 low-income parent(s) and 12-15 children to participate inthe program by February 2014

2. With the annual completion of theRising As One program and every yearthereafter, families will achieve 85% of the parenting and parent/child interactiongoals as listed on the Individualized Family Service Plans.

3. With the annual completion of the program and every year thereafter,Rising AsOne children will make one years progress toward learning/literacy goals asidentified in the Individualized Family Service Plan based on pre-post measuresof the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development and the McCarthy Scalesof Childrens Abilities assessment tools.

Rising As One Work Plan

Overview

TheRising As One program will follow the same families from infancy to kindergarten.Families enrolled in theRising As One program will receive three home visits per week

on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in addition to center-based instruction. Thenature of the home visits will adapt to the changing needs of the parent(s) and children asboth children and parents advance through the program. From infancy to three years,home visits will primarily involve providing parental support, introducing parents to childlearning techniques, as well as problem-solving strategies. When the toddler turns three,home visits will be centered on providing arts-based learning activities that reinforceactivities introduced during center-based hours in addition to other goals that are adjustedto the individual learning needs of each child. Home visits on Mondays, Thursdays, andSaturdays will be flexibly scheduled for two hours between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Parents will receive concrete strategies and support necessary to handle their individual

circumstances and familial needs. Parents will also be encouraged to attend three parent-group sessions held each month. A total of four parent group sessions will be held andsessions will cover a wide range of topics related to parent problem-solving techniques,family development, and educational activities. Children will receive additionalinstruction and individualized activities that correspond with the center-based activitiesthey will be doing from the time they are three until they enter kindergarten. ARROWwill partner with prenatal clinics, the Department of Family and Children Services torecruit parents in need.


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Screening Process

During the initial home visit, the High-Risk Index will be administered to parent(s) todetermine whether significant risks of delayed cognitive development are present. The

index was constructed based on factors such as household income, parental education,school histories of family members, welfare payments, parental intelligence, and parentaloccupationsall factors that had been associated with mild mental retardation andacademic failure (Ramey & Campbell, 1988). Once families are determined to be anadequate fit for the intense early childhood programming services, the infant will begiven a simple two-choice visual discrimination task at 6 weeks. During the same homevisit, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development will be administered. Thisscale examines all facets of a young childs development from 1-42 month. The scalewill be administered once per month. The final assessmentthe McCarthy Scales ofChildrens Abilitieswill be administered at 54 months. Following the initial homevisit, a second appointment will be made less than one week later to complete a joint

Individualized Family Service Plan whereby the Home Family Support Specialistcollaborates with parents to develop childrens literacy goals twice per month.

Home Family Support Specialist

Subsequent home visits will be held for two hours per visit. Home visits will be centeredon providing parents with in-home parenting strategies, including healthy disciplinepractices, utilizing early child learning opportunities, social support, child nutritioninformation, and exposure to activities that will be implemented during the center-basedinstruction in the upcoming week. Home Family Support Specialists will have Master-level degrees in early childhood education as well as ongoing multicultural training. TheHome Family Support Specialist will also meet with the Center Caregiver once per weekto determine which activities the child will be involved in during the upcoming week.Once center-based activities for the upcoming week have been gleaned from the CenterCaregiver, the Home Family Support Specialist will create attractive, fun activities toreinforce the learning activities that will be implemented during each upcoming week.The activities developed by the Home Family Support Specialists will provide parentswith concrete learning strategies to implement throughout the week.

Due to the consistent, one-on-one involvement the Home Family Support Specialist willbe afforded by working with parents in their natural environment, they will beresponsible for identifying resources, sharing developmentally appropriate materials withparents, and updating the Individualized Family Service Plan every two weeks.Additionally, the Individualized Family Service Plan should be reviewed once per weekby Home Family Support Specialists to ensure parents are properly completing literacylogs, literacy implementation checklists, observation matrices, and anecdotal records onparenting strategies utilized and parent/child activities.

Center-Based Instruction

Center-based instruction will use both curriculum materials designed to enhance


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cognitive, language, perceptual-motor, and social development skills created by Sparlingand Lewis, as well as Individualized Family Service Plans that will be created jointly byparents, Home Family Support Specialists, and Center Caregivers. Parents will beencouraged to engage with Center Caregivers daily for approximately twenty minutes atthe close of the day to discuss their childrens overall daily activities and any areas of

concern identified by Center Caregivers.

The infant and child curriculum developed by Sparling and Lewis have been 1) dividedinto gamelike episodes, 2) are applied in cycles and 3) integrated into all aspects of thechilds day (Ramey, Bryant, Campbell, Sparling, & Wasik, 1988). Four broaddevelopmental themes characterize the curriculum: cognitive and fine motor skills,social/self skills, motor skills, and language skills. Examples of specific skill areasrelated to cognitive and fine motor development are awareness of object permanence,matching skills, and awareness of cause and effect. Examples of specific skill areasrelated to social/self development are awareness of self-image, skills in sharing with anadult, and skills in interacting with other children. Examples of motor development

include, rhythm skills, balance skills, and skills in throwing, pushing and pulling.Examples of language skills include, dialogue skills, skills in using books, and skills intalking about picture-object pairs.

Nutrition

To ensure children receive adequate nutrition and care during their participation in theprogram, ARROW will provide nutritious meals throughout the course of each day.Children will eat nutritious meals in a family-style setting at a table large enough to seatall participants at the same time. Conversational dialogue will be introduced whilechildren are eating to encourage language development as children are enjoyingnutritional meals. Parents will also partner with the Athens Land Trust to ensure families

have access to healthy food options outside of center operating hours through theCommunity Garden.

Parent Group Sessions

To cultivate a meaningful support system, parents will be strongly encouraged to attend aminimum of three parent group sessions per month. A total of four parent group sessionswill be held four times per month. Parent group sessions will be held for 1.5 hours oneday each week. To maximize parent group participation, specific session days and timeswill vary depending on parents schedules. Topics covered during parent group meetingswill range from creative behavioral strategies, nutritional information, self-care

techniques, information regarding the child development process, and early literacyapproaches that enhance language development.

Transportation

Transportation will be provided free of charge to all participants in theRising As Oneprogram to ensure all eligible participants have access to the programs services.


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Project Rising as One Time Line Fiscal Year 2013 to 2014

Objectives Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Objective 1.1 Identify and recruit 6

low-income parent(s) and 12-15children to participate in the

program by January 2014

Develop and distributeinformational pamphlets X X X X X X X

Hold information sessions atprenatal clinics and social serviceagencies in Athens, GA X X X X

Administer High Risk Indexfamilies X X

Objective 1.2 Families will achieve

85% of the parenting and

parent/child interaction goals as

listed on the Individualized Family

Service Plans by January 2015

Family needs assessedX

Develop individualized familyservice plans X

Implementation of individualizedfamily service plans begin

X X X X X X

Home visits begin X X X X X X

Parent group sessions begin X X X X X X

Link parents with others who havesimilar needs identified in theirindividual learning plan to serve asa support system

X X X X X X

Evaluation report X X

Objective 1.3 Children will make

one years progress toward

learning/literacy goals as identified

in the individualized family service

plans

Child assessments administered X X X X X X

Literacy goals reassessed as child

ages

X X X X X

Center-based instruction begins X X X X X

Continue implementation of allactivities

X X X X X X


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RISING AS ONE PROGRAM 9"

Inputs

Low-income parents with children

between ages 0-4

Children ages 0-4

2 Home Family Support Specialists

Center Caregivers

Social Worker

Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler

Development Instrument

McCarthy Scales of Childrens

Abilities

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Multicultural Training/Assessment

Lending libraries with age appropriateoys, games, books, and information

bout education, health, and social

ervice opportunities for parents and

hildren

Parenting skills curriculum

ournals

Parent group facilitators

Evaluation coach

Prenatal clinics and Department of

Family and Children Services

Collaboration

Formal rules and procedures

Activities

Outreach to bring low-

income parent(s) with

children 0-4 years of ageinto the program

Providing home visits to

assist in literacy

development,

Develop joint

individualized family

service plans with parents

Convening early

education programming

at the center

Hold parent group

meetings to discuss a

range of topics

Conduct screeningassessments of children

Conduct screening

assessment of parents

Conduct training for

program staff

Connect parents with a

range of resources and

information

Review journals and

materials parents

document concerning

their activities with

children

Outputs

6 families recruited into

the program

Number of home visits

conducted

6 joint individualized

family service plans

completed

Number of days children

attend center-based

instruction

Number of parent group

meetings attended

Number of assessments

conducted

Number of screening

assessments conducted

Number of training

sessions conducted

Number of resources used

by parents

Number of entries written

Number of hours spent peractivity

Initial Outcomes

Staff successfully link parents to the program

and its comprehensive services

Parents are knowledgeable of age-appropriate

literacy activities for their children

Parents are knowledgeable of learning

opportunities for their children

Parents are knowledgeable of the specific

goals they will be working toward with their

children

Parents are knowledgeable of the activities

children are involved in during center-based

instruction

Parents feel supported by other parents

involved in the program

Program staff is knowledgeable of childs

developmental gains

Parents are knowledgeable of childs

developmental gains

Program staff is knowledgeable of culturally

competent best practices

Parents are knowledgeable about child

nutrition

Parents are knowledgeable about proper rest

needed for their children

Parents are knowledgeable about creative

play activities

Parents understand the importance of reading

to their children

Int. Outcomes

Children are

achieving

developmentalmilestones

Parents are

utilizing the

resources

available to them

Children are

developing

literacy skills as

expected for their

age

Parents are

utilizing the

strategies for

healthy emotional

development of

children daily

Parents are

utilizing the

strategies for

healthy social

development of

children daily

Parents can reach

out to other

parents for social

and emotional

support

Parents can reach

out to other

parents to share

resources

End Outcomes

Children are

academically successful

in kindergarten

Children are

academically successful

in first grade

Parents are actively

involved in developing

materials that will

increase child literacy

and learning

Children achieve

appropriate milestones

for physical developmen

Children achieve


for motor skills

development

Children achieve


for verbal development

Children achieve social

development milestones

Children show positive

social development

Children show positive

emotional development

Children receive proper

nutrition

Parents provide a

positive, nurturing home

Logic Model

"

"

"


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Evaluation Logic Model

Outcomes Indicators Outcome Targets Data Source Data Collection

Method

Initial

Staff successfully link

parents to the program and

its comprehensive services

Percentage of referral

resources used by parents

60% of program

participants will use 65% of

resources available to them Program Participants Resource Checklists

Parents are knowledgeable

of age-appropriate literacy

activities for their children

Percentage of participants

who can name specified

number of age-appropriate

activities

65% of program

participants can identify 6

age-appropriate literacy

activities

Participants Observation Checklists


of learning opportunities

for their children

Percentage of learning

techniques parents can

articulate

65% of program

participants can articulate 6

learning activities

Participants Observation Checklists


of the specific goals they

will be working toward

with their children

Percentage of parents that

can articulate the goals they

will be working on with

their children

65% of program

participants can clearly

articulate the goals they

will be working on with

their children

Participants Observation Rating Forms


of the activities children are

involved in during center-

based instruction


can clearly state the

activities their children are

involved in during center-

based instruction

60% of program


state the types of activities

their children are involved

in during center-basedinstruction

Participants Pre-Post Survey

Parents feel supported by

other parents involved in

the program

Percentage of parents who

feel supported by other

parents involved in the

program

60% of program

participants feel supported

by other parents involved in

the program

Participants In-Person Interview

Program staff is

knowledgeable of childs

developmental gains

Percentage of program staff

who can clearly state the

types of developmental

gains their children have

achieved

85% of program staff that

can clearly state they types

of developmental gains

their children have

achieved

Program Staff Pre-Post Survey


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of childs developmental

gains


can clearly state the types

of developmental gains

their children have

achieved

60% of program


state the types of

developmental gains their

children have achieved


Program staff are

knowledgeable of culturally

competent best practices

Percentage of program staff

that are knowledgeable of

culturally competent best

practices

75% of program staff that

can articulate how to

integrate culturally

competent practice when

working with families

Program Staff Pre-Post Survey


about proper child nutrition


can articulate what

constitutes a healthy meal

65% of program

participants can identify

components and foods that

make up a healthy diet for

children



about proper rest needed for

children


make sure children get the

designated amount of sleep

each night

70% of program

participants ensure that

their children get

designated amount of sleep

each night

Participants Observation Checklist


about creative play

activities


can name a specified

number of creative play

activities

65% of program

participants can name at

least 5 creative play

activities


Parents understand the

importance of reading to

their children


read to their children for a

minimum of 1 hour per day

70% of program

participants can read to

their children for a

minimum of 1 hour per day

Participants Literacy Log

Parents understand how toencourage language

development in their

children

Percentage of parents thatcan name a minimum of 3

language development

activities to do with their

children

65% of programparticipants can name a

minimum of 3 language

development activities to

do with their children

Participants

Pre-Post Survey

Intermediate

Children are achieving

developmental milestones

Percentage of children who

are achieving


65% of program

participants are achieving


Participants

Home Family Support

Specialists

Pre-Post Survey


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Parents are utilizing the

resources available to them


are utilizing the resources

available to them

65% of program

participants are using 60%

of services available to

them

Program staff Resource checklist

Children are developing

literacy skills as expected

for their age

Percentage of children who

are developing literacy

skills as expected for their

age

70% of program

participants are developing

literacy skills as expected

for their age

Participants Pre-Post Surveys

Parents are utilizing the

strategies for healthy socialdevelopment of children

daily

Percentage of parents

utilizing strategies forhealthy social development

of children daily

60% of program

participants utilizing aminimum of 3 strategies for

healthy social development

of children daily

Participants Observation Rating Forms

Parents can reach out to

other parents for social and

emotional support


are actively attending a

specified number of parent

group sessions

65% of program

participants are attending a

minimum of 3 parent group

sessions per month

Participants Interview

Parents can reach out to

other parents to share

resources and information


are actively seeking

assistance from parents in

the program

65% of program

participants are actively

seeking assistance from

parents in the program

Participants

Interview

Long-Term

Children are academically

successful in kindergarten

Percentage of children that

satisfactorily completed

standards-based instruction

in kindergarten

65% of program

participants satisfactorily

completed standards-based

instruction in kindergarten

Participants

Teachers

Observation Rating Forms

Children are academically

successful in first grade

Percentage of children that

satisfactorily completedstandards-based instruction

in first grade

65% of program

participants satisfactorilycompleted standards-based

instruction in first grade

Participants

Teachers

Observation Rating Forms

Parents are actively


materials that will increase

child literacy and learning

Percentage of parents

actively involved in

developing materials that

will increase child literacy

and learning

60% of program

participants are actively


materials that will increase

child literacy and learning

at least 3 times per week

Participants

Program Staff

Observation Checklists


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Children achieve

appropriate milestones for

physical development

Percentage of children

achieving appropriate

milestones for physical

development

65% of program

participants achieve


physical development

Program Staff Pre-Post Surveys

Children achieve


motor skill development


achieving appropriate

milestones for motor skill

development

75% of program



motor skill development


Children achieve

appropriate milestones forverbal skill development


achieving appropriatemilestones for verbal skill

development

65% of program

participants achieveappropriate milestones for

verbal skill development


Children achieve

appropriate social



achieving appropriate social


65% of program


appropriate social



Children display positive

social development


displaying positive social

development

65% of program

participants display positive

social development

Program Staff

Participants

Observation Checklist

Children display positive



displaying positive


65% of program

participants display positive


Program Staff

Participants


Children receive proper

nutrition


receiving proper nutrition

65% of program

participants are using

Community Garden

resources 50% of the time

Program Participants

Participants

Observation Checklists

Parents provide positive,

nurturing home

environment for their

children

Percentage of children are

living in a positive,

nurturing home

environment

60% of program

participants are providing

adequate learning materials,

proper nutrition, and

reading activities to

children 65% of the time

Program Staff

Participants


Literacy Logs


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RISING AS ONE PROGRAM

Evaluation

TheRising As One program will monitor progress based on the outcome-focused

empowerment evaluation. Program staff and parents will participate in the plannin

development, implementation, and data analysis processes. An evaluation coach w

responsible for providing technical assistance and pointed guidance as program staadvance throughout the first year of the program. The collaborative approach to

evaluation is representative of the collaborative nature of the entire Rising As One

program. Parents and program staff will continually assess progress and collect da

through literacy logs, literacy implementation checklists, observation matrices, sur

and anecdotal records on parenting strategies utilized and parent/child activities. T

evaluation coach identified to assist in evaluating this program is Margaret Burchi

Both the evaluation coach and the executive director will work collaboratively to a

and report information for the entire program at the conclusion of year one.

Margaret Burchinal was a Senior Scientist and the Director of the Design and Stati

Computing Unit at the FPG Child Development Institute and a Research ProfessorPsychology Department at the University of North Carolina. She has served as the

primary statistician for many educational studies of early childhood, including the

state Pre-Kindergarten Evaluation for the National Center for Early Learning and

Development; the longitudinal study of 1300 children in NICHD Study of Early C

Care; the 4-state evaluation of child care in the Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes

the 3 site study of family child care homes in the Family Child Care and Relative C

Study, and the Abecedarian and CARE Projects.

Key Evaluation Questions

Process Evaluation Questions:

Are the Individualized Family Service Plans being maintained and implemconsistently by family support specialists and parents? If not, why not?

Are parents consistently adhering to the goals outlined in the IndividualizeFamily Service Plan each week?

Have children consistently met developmental milestones as indicated on tBayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development?

Are parents attending at least three parenting sessions per month? If not, w Are family support specialists creating appropriate supplemental activities

parents?

Are there any modifications that we need to make in our service delivery bour outcome findings?

Outcome Evaluation Questions:

Have children in theRising As One program met developmental milestoneindicated on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development appropr

their age group?


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RISING AS ONE PROGRAM 15#

How will the outcomes of children receiving the intervention compare withsimilar children not served outside of center-based instruction?

If children steadily grew according to their age, how much change was made inrelation to the control group?

What practices appeared to contribute most to children achieving developmentalmilestones?

What other causal factors have an impact (positive or negative) on the desiredprogram outcomes?

Description of Evaluation Design

For theRising As One program, we will employ the quasi-experimental design to recruit

parents from similar SES backgrounds, testing similarly on the High-Risk Index who

have elected to use relatives as primary caregivers during the workday as the comparisongroup. Using a comparison group will help eliminate alternative explanations for any

gains participants in the Rising As One program may achieve. Additionally, recruiting

similar families that are currently enrolled in less intensive early childhood educationsettings will eliminate any ethical concerns. Both the intervention group parents and thecomparison group parents will receive an initial screening assessment to determine

eligibility. Monthly assessments will be given to the comparison group at the same time

assessments to children are administered to the intervention group. At fifty-four months,

the final assessment will be administered to both the intervention and comparison groups.

Data Collection

To monitor the level of growth children are making as they progress through theprogram, a pre-test will be administered using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler

Development. If children are one month old and older, the initial assessment will beadministered at the time of the initial home meeting. Thereafter, the Bayley Scales of

Infant and Toddler Development will be administered once per month to track thedevelopmental progress the child is making. The final Bayley Scales of Infant and

Toddler Development assessment will be administered when the child reaches 42 months.

Once the child is 43 months, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development will

no longer be used to evaluate child progress. The final instrument the child will use is theMcCarthy Scales of Childrens Abilities once the child reaches 54 months. All data

compiled will be used to inform goals determined in the Individualized Family Service

Plan throughout the first five years of the childs life.

Parents will be heavily involved in providing the day-to-day information related to theactivities they have engaged in with their child throughout the course of each week. The

goals parents will be expected to complete with their child will be developed jointly withtheir appointed Home Family Support Specialist during the initial meeting. Every

Saturday, the Individualized Family Service Plan will be revisited in order to review

completed objectives and update and/or create new objectives for the upcoming week.


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Scope of Work

Measurable Objective Implementation Activities Time Line Methods of Evaluating

Process and/or Outcome of

Objectives

Objective 1.1 Identify andrecruit 6 low-income parent(s)

and 12-15 children to

participate in the program by

January 2014

1.1.A Develop and distribute50 informational pamphlets

1.1.B Hold ten, 60-min

information sessions at prenatal

clinics and social service

agencies in Athens, GA

7/1/13 to 1/6/14

9/2/13 to 12/31/14

1.1.A. 50 pamphlets are printedand distributed, (Executive

Director)

1.1.B. A minimum of 10

information sessions are held at

prenatal clinics and other social

service agencies in Athens,

GA, (Executive Director,

Home Family Support

Specialist)

Objective 1.2 With the annual

completion of theRising As

One program and every year

thereafter, families will achieve85% of the parenting and

parent/child interaction goals

as listed on the Individualized

Family Service Plans (IFSP).

1.2.A. Develop one joint

Individualized Family Service

Plan per family

1.2.B. Record parenting

strategies observed during 2.5

hour home visit

1.2.C. Record parent/childinteraction goals for literacy

01/06/2014 to 01/31/2014

02/03/2014-02/02/2015

02/03/2014-02/02/2015

1.2. A. Literacy logs and

observation checklists will be

reviewed once per week

(Home Family SupportSpecialist, Participants, Center

Caregivers)

1.2.B. Literacy logs and

observation checklists will be

reviewed once per week; IFSP

will be updated twice per

month; Interviews will be

administered informally during

home visits (Home Family

Support Specialist,

Participants, Center

Caregivers)

1.2.C. Literacy logs andobservation checklists will be

reviewed once per week; IFSP

will be updated twice per

month; Interviews will be

administered informally during

home visits (Home Family

Support Specialist,

Participants, Center

Caregivers)

Objective 1.3 With the annual

completion of the program and

every year thereafter,Rising As

One children will make oneyears progress toward

learning/literacy goals as

identified in the IFSP based on

pre-post measures of the

Bayley Scales of Infant and

Toddler Development and the

McCarthy Scales of Childrens

Abilities assessment tools.

1.3.A. Assessment instruments

for children will be reviewed

and selected for use

02/03/2014 to 02/02/2015 1.3. A. Children scores will be

obtained each months to

determine if consistent

progress is being made (HomeFamily Support Specialist,

Executive Director, Program

Evaluation Coach


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Budget

Category

FTE Salary Range

(per month)

Funding

Request

ARROW

In-Kind Total

A. PersonnelExecutive Director 0.05 $1,800-$2,500 $15,000 $15,000 $30,000

Home Family Support Specialist 1.00 $3,000-$3,465 $41,580 0 $41,580

5 Center Caregivers 1.00 $1,620-$2,167 $130,020 0 $130,020

Social Worker 0.70 $1,828-$2,426 $29,106 0 $29,106

Administrative Assistant 0.50 $1,000-$1,250 $10,000 $5,000 $15,000

Parent Facilitators 0.30 $200-$253 0 $3,030 $3,030

Subtotal salaries $225,706 $23,030 $248,736

Benefits @ 28% $63,198 $6,449 $69,647

Total Personnel $288,904 $29,479 $318,383

B. Program Expenses

Program Evaluation Coach Consultant Fee $20,480 0 $20,480

Van $31,411 0 $31,411

Nutritional Food $12,780 $12,780 $25,560

Staff Development $6,528 $6,528 $13,056

Subtotal program expenses $71,199 $19,308 $90,507

D. Operating Expenses

Rent $4,204 $5,000 $9,204

Printing $3,560 $460 $4,020

Copier $2,835 $550 $3,385

Office supplies $1,876 $200 $2,076

Communications $1,684 $320 $2,004

Travel/Transportation $8,005 $470 $8,475

Subtotal operating expenses $22,164 $7,000 $29,164

Total Budget Request $382,267 $55,787 $438,054


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Budget Notes for Rising As One

Personnel

Executive Director:

The Executive Director will be responsible for the supervision of staff, a small part ofcommunity networking, and overall program management, representing 0.05 FTE (2hours per week) for $2,500 per month for 12 months at total of $30,000.

Home Family Support Specialists:

The Home Family Support Specialist will work full-time (100% time) to assist familieswith implementing comprehensive Individualized Family Service Plans, including childbehavior plans, parenting skills, literacy activities, and nutritional information (40 hours

per week) at $3,465 per month for a total of $41,580 per year.

Center Caregivers:

Five Center Caregivers will be work full-time (100% time) to instruct and provide forchildren throughout the day and provide home family support specialists with activityplans per child each week at a total of $26,004 per center caregiver each year at 40 hoursper week for a total of $130,020.

Social Worker:

One Social Worker will be assigned approximately 28 hours (70% time) on this project toassist families with accessing other resources in the community they may be eligible forat $29,106 per year (annual salary of $41,580 * .70).

Administrative Assistant:

One Administrative Assistant will be assigned 20 hour (50% time) on this project toprepare correspondence, make phone calls to schedule parent meetings, respond toquestions or requests for more information at a total $15,000 (annual salary of $30,000 *.50)

Parent Facilitators:

Parent Facilitators will be utilized to facilitate parent group sessions for 1.5 hours each, 4times per month. An additional 1.5 hours have been considered per session (total of 12hours per month) in order to allot for planning time necessary for facilitators at a total of$3,030 per year (annual salary of $10,100 * .30).


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Program Expenses

Program Evaluation Coach:

The Program Evaluation Coach will be responsible for aggregating the data, assisting the

executive director in monitoring data collection, analyzing the data, and reporting resultsat $32 dollars for 640 hours for a total of 4 months throughout the year for a total of$20,480.

Van:

Securing a 15-passenger van to transport groups of participants within the Athens areafrom the facility to their place of residence when necessary as well as making group tripsto the community garden at a one-time purchase of $31,411.

Nutritional Food:

Providing children with a range of healthy meals throughout the day as well as take-homemeals on weekends will ensure children receive the proper nutrients during the weekendand during center hours at $355 per family each month ($355 * 6 families = $2,130allotted per month for a total of $25,560 per year).

Staff Development:

Offering ongoing practical cultural competency training, as well as other childdevelopment trainings facilitated by experts in specific areas will ensure CenterCaregivers and the Home Family Support Specialist have the most current information

regarding best practices at $1,088 per month for approximately 8 hours of training for allfacilitators who present per month at $13,056 per year.

Operating Expenses

Rent

The facility used to conduct center-based instruction costs $767 per month, resulting in atotal of $9,204 per year.

Printing

Printing curriculum materials as well as evaluation materials necessary for reportingpurposes at an average of $327 per month (at $.10/copy= $3,270); 5o reports at$15/report = $750 at a total of $4,020 per year.


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Copier

Copying materials necessary to maintain an updated Individualized Family Service Planis paramount to the successful implementation of the program at $.10/copy = $3,385 per

year.

Office Supplies:

Office supplies and miscellaneous material at $173 per month for 12 months totals$2,076.

Communications:

Cell phone, long distance, and fax charges at $167 per month at $2,004 per year.

Transportation/Travel:

Local mileage ($.565 reimbursement per mile * 2. 0 FTE * 150 miles per week * 50weeks = $8,475 per year)


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