Extension
It Starts With Us
2020 Parenting/Child Development (KBM, KLP)
Thriving Individuals, Strong Families
Kelly Mackey
Stories, Songs, and Stretches
Family Development General
Healthy couple and parenting relationships and resulting family stability benefit the well-being of adults and children. Co-habitating, same-sex, divorced, widowed and single households are the new majority. Children who live absent from their biological fathers are two to three times more likely to be poor, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. In 2013, 26% of all children who lived in subsidized care of non-parental relatives lived with grandparents as the primary caregivers. More than half of Kentucky’s 56 judicial circuits have some form of mandated divorce/parenting education; more such education is needed.
96,000 children in Kentucky live in kinship care. Kentucky ranks first in the nation for the most children in kinship care settings in the country. 15,000 children are in kinship care due to removal from their home. Kinship care providers need support.
"School-readiness" is a broad term that refers to multiple precursor cognitive, physical and social-emotional skills that indicate young children are prepared to learn and thrive in the school environment. A wide body of research shows a strong foundation in school readiness is indicative of school success. Emerging research also indicates that there is a synergistic effect when early learning activities activate physical and cognitive skills simultaneously, as opposed to doing so in isolation. However, in the state of Kentucky only 50% of children are deemed "school-ready" when they enter Kindergarten. These numbers indicate a need for more activities that support "school-readiness" by building multiple skill sets simultaneously.
-Increase the number of children who are "kindergarten ready" in the state of Kentucky
-Improve academic success for children in Kentucky
-Improve parenting education to result in fewer children being removed from their homes
-Increase opportunities and access to more preschool learning activities outside of the home
-Increase number of children who are "kindergarten ready" in Calloway County
-Increase number of learning activities experienced at home
-Increase child and parent social-emotional skills such as heightened self-awareness, responsible decisions making and self-management
-Increase caregiver advocacy for children in their care including legal, medical, social, and educational services
-Increase access of community services to caregivers
-Kentuckians understand the importance of developmentally appropriate play to their child's academic success
-Increase child's ability to express appropriate emotions
-Improve child's gross motor skills
-Improve child's early literacy skills including phonological awareness, print awareness and vocabulary
-Increase awareness of indicators of high-risk adolescent behaviors
-Identify key points of adolescent development
-Establish realistic expectations for teen behavior, and explore changing relationship within families
Outcome: Kentuckians learn fun age appropriate activities to aid in their child's healthy development
Indicator: Number of parents who expressed learning new activities to engage their children at home
Method: Laugh and Learn Play Dates survey
Timeline: January - December
Outcome: Increase child and parent social-emotional skills such as heightened self awareness, responsible decision making and self-management
Indicator: How many children increased their ability to express emotion after attending the program
Method: Stories, Songs and Stretches survey
Timeline: January - December
Outcome: Increase the number of children who are "kindergarten ready" in Calloway County
Indicator: Several - (i.e. How many parents reported improved gross motor skills, social-emotional skills, and early literacy skills?)
Method: Kentucky Governor's Office of Early Childhood Kindergarten Readiness Results
Timeline: July-June
Outcome: Increase skills and resources of caregivers to provide effective care for young relatives
Indicator: Several - (i.e. How many caregivers improve skills/knowledge in child development, discipline and guidance, legal issues, and advocacy?)
Method: Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA) Evaluation
Timeline: Post program evaluation
Outcome: Increase skills and resources of families to provide effective care for raising children
Indicator: Number of individuals (parents, caregivers, grandparent, or relative reporting: improved person knowledge (i.e. developmental stages of a child, techniques to encourage positive development, positive discipline techniques for children, healthy way to promote children's success in schools, and signs of abuse and neglect); improved parenting skills (i.e. skills to prepare child for life; use positive discipline techniques; use of empathy, family rules and effective boundaries; effective self-care techniques); using specific preventative and positive discipline techniques in response to a child's misbehavior; practice effective parenting skills, such as parental empathy, proper ways of establishing family rules and/or boundaries, or concrete support of their child; sought support from local community organizations and/or its individual members; extended any type of support to another parent, grandparent or relative raising a child; who attended parenting-related programs not identified as major programs; who attended age-related programs focused on relationships/communication/caregiving and other issues facing aging families not identified as major programs
Method: Self-report survey; specific curricula or program evaluations
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Audience: Preschool age children and their parents
Project or Activity: Various
Content or Curriculum: Laugh and Learn Play Dates
Inputs: FCS Agent, paid staff, Calloway County Early Childhood Council, Calloway County Public Library, schools
Date: On-going
Project or Activity: Various
Content or Curriculum: Stories, Songs and Stretches
Inputs: FCS Agent, Local preschools, Calloway County Public Library, Calloway County Early Childhood Council
Date: On-going
Audience: Kinship Caregivers
Content or Curriculum: Parenting a Second Time Around, Life Story/Memory Banking, Traditions, AARP Prepare to Care
Inputs: FCS Agent, Family Resource Centers
Date: Available Fall of 2021
Audience: Families and Individuals
Content Curriculum: Nuturing Parents, Nurturing Fathers, other parenting resources
Inputs: FCS Agents, community organizations, social workers, family court
Date: On-going
