The Caribbean Child Support Initiative has embarked on the

Caribbean Child Support Initiative June 2007 CCSI Embarks on Phase 2 of its programming New Phase he Caribbean Child Support Initiative has embarked on the 2nd five year phase of its programming (2007-2011) with continued funding from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and administrative and management oversight from the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD) Phase 2 of the CCSI seeks to consolidate experiences garnered from Phase 1 while exploring new modalities for achieving the programme purpose of strengthening the care environment for children up to age three by promoting stimulating and interactive parenting styles in four Eastern Caribbean countries. T IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE GUIDED BY THREE CORE ELEMENTS: PROGRAMME (1) Family and Community Interventions, (2) Knowledge Building and Application (3) Policy Advocacy and Communications. At the field level, this will mean continued replication of the Roving Caregivers Programme (RCP) with the addition of new family and community intervention models to include Family Learning and Maternal Infant Child Health programmes. Continued on Page 3 New Staff New Focus ocumentation and Communication now have an integral position and role within the CCSI. Effective April 1, 2007, Mrs. Colleen Wint-Smith, came on board with the CCSI as Documentation and Communications Officer (DCO). Mrs. Wint-Smith previously coordinated CCSI’s pilot Regional Radio Project, and was Project Coordinator with Parenting Partners Caribbean. She holds a Masters in Media from the New School and BSc. Social Administration, University of the West Indies. With research being such a critical component of the CCSI’s thrust to inform programme development and assessment, as well as policy formulation and public education, Mrs. Janet Brown has been engaged by the CCSI as the Coordinator for the Learning Community. Mrs. Brown - a Social Worker by profession and formerly the TutorCoordinator at the Caribbean Child Development Centre, School of Continuing Studies at the University of the West Indies - has been engaged in many research projects and initiatives in the region. D Susan Branker-Lashley (L), Programme Mrs. Coleen Wint-Smith Director of the Caribbean Child Support Documentation and Communications InitiativeOfficer Chatting with parents at a recent parent meeting in Castle Bruce, Dominica. Mrs. Janet Brown Coordinator for the Learning Community 2 Continued from Page 1 learning community programme has been established with an informal network of researchers studying selected aspects of Caribbean families and their childrearing practices with special focus on the early years. This programme will continue to serve as a conduit for knowledge building and application throughout the region and will seek to influence public opinion, extend the knowledge base of practitioners and provide a platform for the research community to share relevant data. Together with its regional partners, the CCSI will focus increased attention on the need for advocacy particularly as it relates to increased policy formulation and implementation for increased resources and attention to the early childhood development sector. Crucial to the various advocacy related activities will be the implementation of a cross-cutting communications strategy. The communications strategy will allow for the documentation and dissemination of key messages derived from both the field interventions and the knowledge building and application activities. The CCSI programme will therefore be working towards a number of short and medium term outcomes for children and their parents, in particular, the programme will seek to encourage parents to adopt a more interactive style of care which leads to improved cognitive and social development among children growing up in disadvantaged situations. LONG TERM Similarly, from a long-term perspective, the programme would have impacted on the following: - Expansion of coverage for birth to three year old children - Improved (quality) service delivery - Influenced policy makers about Early Childhood Matters - Enhanced the awareness about children’s issues among various stakeholders A Undoubtedly, while much has been achieved under the first phase of the CCSI programming, over the coming years, the programme will invite for strengthening of existing partners and the forging of new ones. The programme will continue to be guided by wide consultation, participatory planning and the engagement of stakeholders in implementation. Ongoing assessment, monitoring and evaluation will continue to be at the corner-stone of our efforts to demonstrate measurable outputs, impact and outcomes for parents and children in the Caribbean region. Knowledge Building and Application Strengthening the Care Environment Family and Community Interventions Policy Advocacy and Communications 3 Family Literacy A Caribbean version of family literacy is being developed by the Caribbean Child Support Initiative in two project countries. However, the CCSI refers to it as FAMILY LEARNING and has engaged a consultant, Dr. Joanie Cohen-Mitchell, to spearhead the development of the Family learning programme, FLP. CCSI is supporting the start-up and piloting of two stand-alone Family Learning Programmes in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines based on their existing capacity and level of readiness. The other two RCP pilot countries, Grenada and Dominica, will benefit from the family learning extensions to the RCP as well as regional training, materials and curriculum development. So, what exactly is Family Learning? Dr. CohenMitchell developed a concept paper in preparation for consultations with stakeholders in St. Lucia and St. Vincent in May. Excerpts from it are reproduced here. and children - or more broadly - adults and children - learning together. Also known as intergenerational literacy, and in some cases, community literacy, the rationale underlying such work is that caregivers (and adults in communities) are children’s first teachers; that much learning occurs beyond traditional school settings, and that learning is a life long process. The best way then to think about literacy in any community is in terms of literacy activities or literacy tasks. All of us engage in some form of literacy tasks – in our daily lives to help adults and children get things done, in the home, in the community, at work. Children bring home books from school and written communications from their teachers, parents are expected to help their children with homework. Health clinics require parents to keep track of children’s health records. Instructions for medicines are often written on the bottle or packet. In farming, pesticides and fertilizers have critical safety information written on the containers. Being able to read can mean saving a life. More and more messages of modern society are being written rather than spoken (e.g. text messaging etc.). We engage in some literacy tasks very easily, because we are used to them and feel confident about them; we engage in others with a feeling of being uncomfortable and frequently get other persons to help us. Family members need to be able to help and teach each other in order to survive in the fast paced world. Background: Literacy as a social, situated practice Literacy is part of communication in our daily lives. Communication can be in many forms - visual (i.e. using signs and symbols or color schemes), nonverbal (i.e. using signs we may make with our hands or other parts of our bodies), oral (using speech), or literate (i.e. using written texts of some kind or other). Many forms of communication combine different elements . Many people assum e that family literacy focuses solely All of us engage in communication every day of life. on teaching young children and preparing them for And all of us, including non-literate persons, engage school. But children are not the only family members in some form of literate communication frequently. who need to make use of literacy and numeracy skills Non-literate people, like others, use texts; they receive and schools are not the only place where reading and or send textual communications, they fill in forms, writing are used. Therefore, to understand family they pay bills. Although they may receive assistance literacy, we must look at how every family member with writing or reading, they are not excluded from uses (or needs to use) reading, writing, numeracy literate communication, although the scope of their and communication to accomplish everyday tasks. Additionally, the ethnic, racial, and cultural heritages communication can be limited. of families are reflected in the literacy activities in Literacy, then, is what we call a social practice and a which they engage, especially during special events “situated’ activity - that is, it is an activity which takes such as births, deaths, and marriages. place in a particular place at a particular time for a Family literacy is an important concept because the particular purpose. There are many different kinds of formal content of modern schools often ignores and literacies, just as there are many different contexts in may not always support the learning that takes place which literacy tasks take place (e.g. computer literacy, within the home and the community. Family literacy financial literacy etc.). encourages all community members – teachers, Family and Community Literacy parents and children- to better understand the needs Family literacy is a term used to describe parents Continued on Page 5 4 Continued from Page 4 What is a family literacy programme? Family Literacy programmes are driven by comprehensive, holistic approaches to education in which family and community members learn and grow together. Family Literacy programmes address the literacy strengths and needs of the family and community while promoting adults’ involvement in children’s education, recognizing adults as a powerful influence on children’s future academic success. Family literacy programmes also recognize the reciprocal nature of parent-child relationships. Well designed programmes provide both adult-initiated and child-initiated activities to support development Early of those relationships and Childhood to increase the motivation Development/ to learn for both adult Stimulation FAMILY and child. Opportunities for community- based Parenting literacy-based activities for Support all family members also feature in programmes that enjoy success in achieving their goals and sustaining themselves. Four types of structured learning opportunities are assumed to occur in family literacy programs: 1) Learning opportunities designed to improve the adult’s literacy and numeracy development; 2) Learning designed to benefit the child’s literacy, numeracy and overall development; 3) Learning to help with family management and life skills (e.g. self-sufficiency outcomes); and 4) Learning opportunities to strengthen family learning and community-based learning (e.g. communication skills, parenting skills, school-family communication). Family literacy programmes that have been able to document learning gains and behavioral changes among participants provide services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, in order to make sustainable changes in a family and a community. Programmes that meet at least two times a week for a minimum of three hours each week seems to show higher success rates. Family literacy programmes integrate all or most of the following activities: • Interactive literacy and learning activities for parents and their children •Education for parents in facilitating children’s learning and becoming full partners in their children’s education •Parent literacy training that leads to economic selfsufficiency and meets adults’ stated goals for using literacy and numeracy skills Adult Education/ Literacy •Age-appropriate education to support children’s learning and prepare them for future success in school and life experiences •Opportunities to support parents in their interactions with the school and community •Community-based literacy activities for children and adults And finally, clear outcomes, ongoing assessment (participant gains both qualitative and quantitative) and programme evaluation are critical components to understanding how and why participants’ lives will be changed as a result of their participation in a family literacy programme. Dr. Joanie Cohen-Mitchell, Consultant for the Family Learning Programme, introducing the concept of Family learning to stakeholders in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 5 RESEARCHERS to form a LEARNING COMMUNITY Researchers with a focus on Caribbean families and child-rearing practices will have the opportunity to become a part of informal working networks, or a Learning Community, which is one of the pivotal activities of the Caribbean Child Support Initiative over the next five years. Creating this Learning Community is ultimately to enlighten those responsible for early childhood policies and practices and is substantially informed by the literature review and CCSI’s Caribbean Child-Rearing Practices meeting held in Dominica in May 2006. The Learning Community will draw on experience and knowledge of regional research colleagues who will designate four primary areas of research focus for specific attention between 2007 and 2011. Coordinated by Mrs. Janet Brown, the objectives of the Learning Community include: 1. Upgrading knowledge on Early Childhood development and parenting-related issues; 2. Raising awareness of policy makers and practitioners and larger public; 3. Documenting and giving access to regional practices and research findings; 4. Creating opportunities for advocacy; and 5. Documenting and communicating findings. The research progress and findings of these networks will be shared annually in a “Learning Event” which will recommend how such findings can most effectively inform programme development and assessment, as well as policy formulation and public education. Researchers, Dr. Carol Logie (L), University of the West Indies (St. Augustine) and Dr. Maureen Samms-Vaughan (R), UWI, (Mona) sharing ideas at a recent Think-Tank convened by the CCSI’s Learning Community to consider and select the topics for the four annual CCSI researcher’s “Learning Events.” Fourteen (14) Caribbean-based researchers attended the Think Tank in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 2007 6 Mr. Huub Schreurs (L) Senior Programme Officer, Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and Mrs. Ruth Phillips-Fevrierre (R ), Coordinator of the St. Lucia Roving Caregivers Programme, discuss FAMILY LEARNING AND EARLY CHILDHOOD issues after a meeting with stakeholders in St. Lucia in February 2007. Central to the discussion was the expansion of the home visiting programme, Roving Caregivers Programme (RCP) to include a Family Learning component. “Underpinning and informing these interventions,” stated Mr. Schreurs, “will be research on key aspects of child and family development, as well as communications and advocacy on policy development in these areas.” The RCP in St. Lucia is managed by the Early Childhood Unit of the Ministry of Education and Culture. INTERNS CONTINUE TO ASSIST PROJECTS. ixteen (16) of an estimated thirty (30) Caribbean students for this year have already been placed in CCSI projects through the Caribbean Internship Project (CIP). The CIP is a partnership between the CCSI and the Centre for Population Community and Social Change (CPCSC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona. By matching students from various departments of regional universities with those of parenting support and early childhood development agencies in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines (CCSI’s project countries), the CIP is able to support and impact CCSI’s strategies of work with its partner agencies in the region. Some benefits of the CIP include: •Assisting those regional territories in the delivery of social services and in building the capacity of local organisations •Enhancing student learning of theories and practice skills S •Contributing to research, documentation, communication and advocacy programmes to inform best practices and policy directions •Contributing to Caribbean integration with students experiencing and sharing their way of life and culture with their Caribbean counterparts Project Coordinator of the CIP is Mrs. Aldene Shillingford and can be contacted at csicip@uwimona.edu.jm Education, Communications and Social Work students from the University of the West Indies and University of Belize are selected for placement with projects 7 For the CCSI’s Family Learning Project , the objectives are to: •Deliver a multi-dimensional, integrated programme of child stimulation, early language development and parent education through family learning home visits to targeted families. •Equip parents with the knowledge and skills to support the emergent literacy development of their children. •Increase the quality and quantity of time parents spend reading, writing, talking, playing and listening to their children. •Encourage language development and learning in the home and the community. •Increase use of literacy skills by parents to meet daily life needs. •Conduct research to better understand approaches to family literacy interventions in the Caribbean and measure the outcomes of the interventions for children and their parents. •Document thoroughly the process and products of the family literacy programme so that it may be replicated in other Caribbean contexts. •Mentor local resource persons in FLP methodologies Caribbean Child Support Initiative 1st Floor, Weymouth Corporate Centre Roebuck Street, St Michael BB 11080 Barbados, WI Tel: (246) 427- 8535-6 FAX: (246) 436-1709 Email: infor@csinews.org www.cisnews.org Supported by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BvLF)