Programs and Services
Plan Summary The Programs and Services Plan for the Centre for Family
Literacy Project is a compilation of information gathered
from the following sources: 1. Needs Assessment Results for the Creation of a
Centre for Family Literacy in Alberta (September
1998). 2. Strategic Plan for Funding of Family Literacy
Programs in Alberta (developed through 5 Alberta
Literacy Practitioner meetings. December 1998). 3. Programs and Services Planning Committee
(December 1998 to May 1999). 4. Centre for Family Literacy Executive Committee
(August 1998 to June 1999). 5. Focus group participants - literacy
organisations and agencies, early childhood personnel,
school principals and other staff members, Aboriginal,
immigrant and refugee organisations, healthcare providers,
community development professionals, and family literacy
program participants. (January to June 1999). The Plan is a result of extensive consultation at both
the local and provincial levels. It is considered to be a
work in progress that is open to further input, adaptation,
and revision as the plans for the centre continue to evolve.
This summary outlines the goals and objectives identified by
the committees, focus groups, and sources listed previously.
To a large extent, however, the activities of the Centre
will be determined by available funding and the suggested
goals and objectives are therefore intended to provide
guidelines rather than a rigid structure for future
activities for the Centre for Family Literacy. It is also
recognised that meeting these suggested goals and objectives
will be a result of key partnerships and collaborations both
locally and provincially. A. Training 1. Train family literacy program providers within the
city and across the province, making referrals to other
organisations and sources for training and information as
appropriate. House training packages in the Centre's
resource library. Provide certification for training in
specific programs. 2. Work with Alberta Association of Adult Literacy,
Literacy Co-ordinators of Alberta, Alberta Learning, and
post-secondary institutions to develop certification for
practitioners training in family literacy. 3. Work with the Alberta Government and other agencies
and organisations to develop accreditation for parents in
family literacy programs. 4. Through literacy awareness workshops, provide
inservicing and training to a variety of other professionals
and agencies. 5. Train daycare workers and other child care providers,
locally and provincially, to use programs such as Rhymes
that Bind and B.O.O.K.S. (Books Offer Our Kids Success). 6. Provide workshops on evaluation during provincial
literacy conferences. 7. Facilitate and co-ordinate a mentoring process for
family literacy practitioners. B. Practice 1. Continue to offer literacy programs in the Edmonton
areas such as One-to-One Tutoring, B.O.O.K.S., Books for
Babies, Rhymes that Bind, LAPS, journal writing workshops,
and literacy awareness workshops. Make boxed sets of all
programs available in the Centre's resource library. 2. Continue to offer affiliated programs such as
P.R.O.T.E.C.T.S. (Police Reading Out-loud To Educate
Children Through Books), In-School Mentoring, Reading
volunteers in health clinics, Diagnosis and Remediation of
Reading and Writing Difficulties (In-school University
course). Make program information available in the Centre's
resource library. 3. Develop and offer intensive family literacy program
based on the BSA Family Literacy Demonstration Programmes in
the U. K. House program information in the Centre's resource
library. 4. Develop and offer "Story Sacks" program (U.K.
program). House program information in the Centre's resource
library. 5. Work collaboratively with schools, both locally and
provincially, to - help adult family members support and assist with their
children's homework and home literacy experiences. - help adult family members understand their children's
literacy acquisition, including reading and writing
difficulties, the importance of oral language activities,
and learning English as a new language. - assist adult family members in their communication with
school personnel, including families who do not share the
same language as school personnel. - offer adult/child literacy programs for school-age
children. - support after-school programs that incorporate literacy
into other activities (e.g., sport, crafts, games,
etc.). 6. Support public libraries in their efforts to help
families cope with literacy in technology and library access
(e.g., waiving library fines for children). 7. In collaboration with immigrant and refugee
organisations, support and assist in providing literacy
programs in adults'/children's first language. 8. Work collaboratively with other agencies to make
literacy a stronger component of collective kitchens. 9. Develop and deliver family literacy programs that
involve numeracy. Package the information and house in the
Centre's resource library. C. Resources and
Information 1. Compile and maintain a directory of all family
literacy programs and services offered locally and
provincially. House as part of the Centre's resource library
and make it available on the Web page. 2. Collect, compile, and maintain a list of children's
literature resources, including aboriginal books and books
in languages other than English. House as part of the
Centre's resource library. (The books will be available for
use as part of programs or at the Centre but will not be
available for individual sign-out privileges.) 3. Develop brochures about children's literacy
acquisition with suggested activities for different age
groups. Make the brochures available in the Centre's
resource library, on the Web page, and publicly distribute
them (e.g., as inserts in Telus phone bills). 4. Provide referrals to family literacy resource people,
consultants, and trainers on a local and provincial level.
Compile and keep current a list of resource people available
as part of the Centre's resource library. 5. Make current program models, new developments,
evaluation techniques, and research on family literacy
available to other practitioners and researchers on the
Centre's Web Page, and at literacy conferences and teachers'
conventions. 6. Support and encourage the inclusion of an evaluation
component into all family literacy projects at the local and
provincial levels. 7. Develop and make available in the Centre's resource
library a list of key department officials with an interest
in families and/or children. 8. Develop and implement a distribution system for family
literacy materials (in consultation with existing
providers). 9. Integrate the best practice philosophy on family
literacy into information packages that are sent out and
make the document available in the Centre's resource
library. 10. In collaboration with Alberta Association for Adult
Literacy, collect information about potential funding
sources and examples of funding proposals at all levels.
Provide this information to practitioners and make it
available in the Centre's resource library. 11. Collect and house information in the Centre's
resource library about how the provincial government
allocates and distributes funds to programs in support of
children and families. 12. Compile and make available a list of individuals who
would be able to speak on family literacy issues (include
academics, practitioners, politicians, etc.). House this
information in the Centre's resource library and make it
available on the Web page. 13. Work with health care providers to develop literacy
and language acquisition information for parents and other
caregivers. 14. Continue to work with community organisations to
develop child development kits for parents and caregivers
(literacy as it relates to parent/child interaction, fine
motor activities, and speech and language development). 15. Assist with organising book exchanges in public
health clinics. 16. Develop videos that model reading and writing
strategies for young children. D. Promotion and
Advocacy 1. Offer literacy awareness/advocacy workshops for
professionals. Develop a training package and make it
available to other agencies. 2. Promote and encourage collaboration with local and
provincial community agencies, community and public health
care, school boards, literacy organisations, and government
to promote literacy awareness/advocacy. 3. Involve police and other community members and
professionals in the programs and activities of the centre
(e.g., through programs and special events). 4. Place literacy program display boards and messages
written in plain language in areas where many members of the
community may have literacy difficulties. 5. Use a broad range of media to raise awareness about
family literacy. 6. Work with other agencies and organisations (literacy
and other) to achieve co-ordinated, effective promotion and
advocacy. 7. In collaboration with Literacy Co-ordinators of
Alberta and Alberta Association for Adult Literacy,
encourage every family literacy program in Alberta to invite
key department officials to participate in events. 8. In collaboration with Literacy Co-ordinators of
Alberta and Alberta Association for Adult Literacy, organise
an annual meeting with key ministers. 9. In collaboration with the Alberta Association for
Adult Literacy, develop promotional materials for a public
awareness campaign. 10. In collaboration with the Literacy Co-ordinators of
Alberta and Alberta Association for Adult Literacy,
establish a committee to organise a conference on family
literacy to be integrated into the launch of the Centre for
Family Literacy. 11. Prepare and present the family literacy perspective
at key conferences outside the field of literacy (e.g., the
Alberta Medical Association annual conference, Early
Childhood Education conferences). E. Research 1. Undertake short-term and longitudinal research in
family literacy. 2. Encourage practitioners to contact university
researchers regarding joint research projects. 3. Work with other agencies to pilot and evaluate family
literacy programs. 4. Develop and distribute ethical requirements for family
literacy researchers based on respect for the needs of the
families.
For more information about the Centre for Family Literacy Project, contact the project coordinator at the address below, or contact Prospects Literacy Association.
Centre for Family Literacy
Project
9913-108 Ave, EDMONTON, Alberta,
T5H
1A5 CANADA
Phone: 780-424-1660 Fax:
780-424-1676
cflp@aaal.ab.ca
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