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From: "Bonnie Odiorne" <bodiorne@c4k.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:48] Re: Even Start, Equipped for the Future and Indicators of Well-Being
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Thank you, Meta, for a superb piece of work. You don't have to be an Even
Start Program to appreciate a viable set of performance-based core
indicators that would measure families' progress and outcomes. Great start!
I'm sure there would need to be very precise indicators, but the concept is
there. Thanks for the food for thought.
Bonnie Odiorne
Families Forward Through Technology
Computers 4 Kids
Waterbury, CT
bodiorne@c4k.org
----- Original Message -----
From: <MWPotts2001@aol.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 9:49 AM
Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:44] Even Start, Equipped for the Future and Indicators
of Well-Being
This may seem like a late posting for the very important deadline of June
30,
when the Even Start Performance Indicators are due in the federal offices,
and this assumes that you have completed the required PI s and are
interested, perhaps, in the development of an additional document for
measuring growth and development of care giving, which family literacy
programs attend to in both Parent Time and PACT Time.
I am working with a state that has committed to establishing and maintaining
a relationship between their family literacy programs and Equipped for the
Future. I have been looking for solid ground, upon which we can build a
Parent Time and PACT Time measure that demonstrates that relationship. The
EFF Parent Role Map provides a perfect foundation, in my opinion.
Then we found the compendium of indicators of American children’s
well-being,
released in 1999 in America’s Children: Key National Indicators of
Well-being. General areas are listed below. I have drawn some conclusions
about the relationship to Equipped for the Future and the possibility of
using these indicators for purposeful, contextual and constructivist
planning/curriculum development/instruction/ and possibly, measurement.
Core Indicator #1: Economic Security/Material well-being, meaning that
•family income is sufficient to prevent family/child poverty. This requires
secure parental employment.
•housing problems are minimal.
•food is sufficient to prevent hunger and other physical needs are met.
•families have access to health care.
I find a relationship to this core indicator in the EFF Common Activity:
Manage Resources
Specifically, the Family Role Map lists as a Broad Area of Responsibility:
Meet Family Needs and Responsibilities with Key Activities named as
•Manage family resources
•Balance priorities to meet multiple needs and responsibilities
•Give and receive support outside the immediate family
The Role Indicators tell us what these will look like when done well. They
give us outcomes in other words. There are too many to list here.
Core Indicator #2: Health, meaning that
•nutritional needs are met
•families have access to health care and negotiate the health-care system so
that all family members receive medical attention as needed
•children receive immunizations and preventative care
•children and other family members are reasonably safe
•children have emotional and spiritual well-being
I find a relationship to this core indicator again in the Common Activity:
Manage Resources.
Specifically, the Family Role Map lists a Key Activity to
•Provide for safety and physical needs
Core Indicator #3: Behavior and Social Environment meaning that
ÿ Warmth or emotional closeness between children and parents or their peers
play an integral part in shaping the direction of the children’s future
ÿ The support and responsiveness that children receive from the people
around
them help to forge their perspective of the world as an orderly or,
alternatively, a chaotic place
ÿ The adaptiveness of children is crucial to their coping with
every-changing
environments and potential hazards along the course of their development
ÿ Controlled challenges present opportunities for children to hone conflict
resolution skills and begin to explore the realm of personal autonomy
ÿ Sense of self allows children to begin to create their own identity and
discover their uniqueness, their strengths and their weaknesses
ÿ Sympathy and empathy serve as critical guideposts in children’s
interaction
with others and help children to develop prosocial behavior and a strong
moral character.
• The emotional and spiritual well-being of children are strengthened by a
strong sense of family.
I find a relationship to this core indicator in the Common Activity: Guide
and Support Others
Specifically, the Family Role Map lists the Broad Area of Responsibility:
Strengthen the Family System
And the Key Activities are listed as:
•Create a vision for the family and work to achieve it
•Promote values, ethics and cultural heritage within the family
•Form and maintain supportive family relationships
•Provide opportunities for each family member to experience success
•Encourage open communication among the generations.
Core Indicator #4: Education, meaning that children’s well-being is
dependent
on the attention to educational needs by family members. This study mentions
the importance of family reading to young children, early childhood care and
education, achievements in reading and mathematics, high school completion
and the pursuit of higher education.
I find a relationship to this core indicator in the Common Activities:
Provide Leadership, Guide and Support Others, and Create and Pursue a Vision
and Goals.
Specifically, the Family Role Map lists the Broad Area of Responsibility:
Promote Family Members Growth and Development.
And the Key Activities are listed as:
•Make and pursue plans for self-improvement
•Foster informal education of children
•Support children’s formal education
•Guide and mentor other family members
•Direct and discipline children.
I hope this makes sense to you and may give you more food for thought as we
seek more accountability in our Even Start Programs. Children's well-being
and that of their families are central to what we about, huh!
Meta Potts
Literacy FOCUS
Glendale, AZ
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