Author: Brenda Cockerham
Planning Unit: Johnson County CES
Major Program: Small Steps to Health & Wealth
Plan of Work: Acquiring basic Life skills in Family and Consumer Sciences
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Johnson County Family and Consumer Sciences worked with Family Resource Centers throughout the county to train parents and caregivers about budgeting and financial management. Small Steps to Health and Wealth curriculum was used with the focus of understanding locus of control, assessing your expenditures and incomes by tracking your behavior and then forming a plan or a budget. 80 parents and caregivers in three sessions participated, and 37 individuals were formally evaluated. Of the 37 evaluated, 92% plan to track their spending behavior for one month after the program. Eighty seven percent plan to develop a budget or plan of action; There was a 92 % increase in understanding what locus of control is and the role it plays in our financial decisions. Ninety percent plan to track their current behavior to begin taking steps to control their own financial destiny. During the National FCS meeting, the FCS agent learned about a book call "Those Shoes" by Maribeth Boelts.. This book was read to each group, sensitizing listeners to the issues a child faces when they don't have ample resources and how to best cope with those feelings. Thirty eight percent showed an interest in securing the book for themselves. Seventy eight percent the group made a commitment to work with the children and grandchildren to learn more about money matters and explore feelings about financial issues as well.
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