A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Chapter 1

Principal Components of the Even Start Approach

Under the 1994 reauthorization law, Congress requires all Even Start projects to implement ten key elements in their service delivery approach:

• Identifying and recruiting families most in need of Even Start services in the community. Indicators of need include low family income; parents' low level of literacy or lack of proficiency in English; and other need-related indicators such as homelessness, single-parent household, and family members with learning or developmental disabilities.

• Serving families most in need of Even Start services.

• Screening and preparing parents (including teen parents and their children) to participate fully in Even Start services and activities. Services include testing, referrals for necessary counseling, other developmental and support services, and related services.

• Designing services to accommodate participants' work schedules and other responsibilities. Those services include providing support services (when those services are not available from other sources) such as: scheduling and locating services to allow joint participation by parents and children; ensuring availability of child care for the period that parents are involved in the Even Start program; and ensuring availability of transportation to allow parents and children to participate in Even Start activities.

• Offering high-quality, intensive instructional programs to promote adult literacy and to empower parents to support the educational growth of their children; developmentally appropriate early childhood educational services; and preparation of children for success in school.

• Providing and monitoring integrated instructional services to parents and children through home-based programs.

• Providing services on a year-round basis including the provision of some program services, instructional or enrichment, during the summer months.

• Providing special staff training, including child care staff, to develop the skills necessary to work with parents and young children in the full range of Even Start instructional services.

• Coordinating with other programs including other Title I and Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs and relevant programs under the Adult Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Job Training Partnership Act, the Head Start program, volunteer literacy programs, and other relevant programs.

• Providing for an independent evaluation of the program.

The underlying premise of Even Start is that combining adult literacy or adult basic education, parenting education, and early childhood education into a unified family literacy program offers promise for helping to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy in the nation. The Even Start program has three interrelated goals:

• To help parents improve their literacy or basic educational skills;

• To help parents become full partners in the education of their children; and

• To assist children in reaching their full potential as learners.

Exhibit 1.3 presents a conceptual model that describes the types of activities conducted by Even Start projects; input factors that are believed to influence the design and delivery of services; and the intended outcomes for participating parents and children. Even Start services provided to children and their parents can be grouped into two areas: (1) core educational services and (2) support services. The core services have three components, as specified in the reauthorization legislation:

• Adult education and adult literacy: high-quality instructional programs¹⁴ for adults to promote adult literacy [including adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), English as a second language (ESL), and preparation for the General Education Development (GED) certificate or a high school diploma];

• Parenting education: high-quality instructional programs to empower parents to support the educational growth of their children; and

• Early childhood education: developmentally appropriate educational services for children designed to prepare them for success in regular school programs.

In addition to core services, Even Start projects typically provide a range of support services, when necessary, to enable families to participate in the Even Start program. Examples of support services are transportation, child care, health care, meals, nutrition assistance, mental health referrals, referrals for employment, advocacy assistance with governmental agencies, counseling, child protective services, referrals for screening or treatment for chemical dependency, referrals for services for battered women, special care for a disabled family member, and translators. The Even Start legislation requires that support services, like the core services, be obtained from existing providers whenever possible.

Even Start is intended to benefit families in several domains. While not every Even Start project will try to affect all of the outcomes listed in Exhibit 1.3, potential program outcomes for parents include positive changes in literacy behaviors (e.g., shared literacy events with children and increased reading and writing activities in the home); parenting behavior and skills (e.g., positive parent-child relationships and positive expectations for child); and educational and employment skills (e.g., improved reading and English language ability and higher educational attainment). Goals for Even Start parents also may include growth in personal skills and community involvement. The potential positive impact of Even Start on children includes improved language and cognitive development, emergent literacy, school readiness, and achievement. Once children enter school, outcomes might include satisfactory school performance, improved school attendance, and a lower incidence of special education and retention in grade.

While setting forth major elements required for all Even Start projects, the Even Start legislation allows grantees great flexibility in designing services to meet local needs. The model reflects the differentiation among local projects across many dimensions. These include:

• The characteristics of target children and adults;

• The collaboration strategy to coordinate service delivery with other agencies;

• The extent to which services for families are integrated (e.g., activities in parenting education reinforcing learning in adult education);

• The educational model and materials used for delivering adult basic and literacy education, parenting, and early childhood education services;

• Strategies for recruiting and retaining program participants;

• The role that parents play in the project; and

• Staff development activities.

Exhibit 1.3: Even Start Conceptual Model

¹⁴  In April 1996, the Even Start statute was amended to require high-quality, intensive instructional programs. This requirement became effective for projects in program year 1996-97.

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[Part 3: Program Growth: First Eight Years]

[Part 5: Variations Upon the Basic Model]