Introduction:
This critique reviewed Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington (2015). Kin as Teachers: An early childhood education and support intervention for kinship families which evaluated the outcomes for the Kin As Teachers (KAT) program. The program provides early childhood services to grandparents and other relatives who are caregivers of children from birth to kindergarten (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015). The study was based on quantitative data and case studies of 83 grandparents and other relatives that cared for 188 children (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015).
The review of literature describes the dominant population of caregivers which were African American, disable, and low-income households
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The KAT model is measured by four types of interventions: home visits, developmental screening, case management, and support group meetings (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015). For the fourth intervention, the authors did not provide information on the time frame of the support group meetings or how many meeting that would take place.
Dependent variables for the study were the improvement of caregiver’s knowledge of early childhood development and the improvement of home and family environment (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015). The Kin Knowledge Questionnaire (KIN) measure a parent’s knowledge of child development while the Home Inventory Intervention (HOME) is focused on families’ improve learning environment (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015).
The researchers did not state a control variable for the KAT study however without a control group there is no way to prove the effectiveness of the treatment. Therefore, the researchers should have included a control variable for future research.
Sample:
The sample of the study were 83 caregivers caring for 188 children to test “if the KAT program improves kinship caregiver’s knowledge of child development and age-appropriate family environment” (Littlewood, Strozier, and Whittington, 2015). A limitation for the study sample were the participants in the KAT program. The sample does not represent the true
Kinship care is the full-time care and nurturing of a child by a relative or someone who has a significant emotional relationship with the child. If children must be separate from their parents, either voluntarily or by court order, kinship care should be the first placement option explored by the child welfare agency. The Federal Government endorsed this practice most recently in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Placing children in Kinship care helps States’ compliance with Federal requirements to provide children with safety, stability, and permanency. It also meets provisions of the Fostering Connection Act that requires agencies to notify relatives when
With child placement becoming more difficult everyday, the practice of kin placement has increased significantly within the past two decades. Kinship care is the placement of a maltreated or otherwise vulnerable youth in the care and protection of a known relative or adult with a recognized kin bond (Ryan, Hong, Herz,, & Hernandez, 2010.) Today approximately 26% of children in foster care are in kinship care placement (Cheng, 2010.)
In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.
The Final Project will illustrate how family-centered programs, theories, and concepts support the early childhood classroom and the child’s family. The family-centered approach asserts that family involvement is important for a young child’s cognitive and social development. The Final Project, which will be presented via PowerPoint, will address the following scenario:
School lunches across the US are about to offer healthier choices to the students. After a successful test run Greek yogurt maker Chobani has announced that they were chosen to be a permanent choice on the lunch menu.
Culturally is it unusual that Lanesha’s grandmother is her primary caregiver? I would like to say no to this question, but the facts behind this issue don’t support it. Within the African American community, approximately 12% of African American children nationally are cared for by their grandparents, compared to approximately 7% of Hispanic children and 4% of non-Hispanic White children (NCBI, 2010). Lanesha and her grandmother are part of a larger issue that is reflected in today’s society. Several reasons can exist for this paradigm, anything from the parents needing complete education, the grandparents supplementing expensive daycare costs, or simply because the parents are not involved in the child’s life.
In today's society, early childhood education programs have become an almost expected first step in every child's life. Studies have shown that when children attend they children who attend a preschool program are exposed to numbers, letter, and shapes on a daily basis. They also begin to learn many life skills, like how to socialize, share and separate from their parents. These first steps of learning are so important that now forty states in the U.S. now offer state funded pre-k programs (Kanter, 2016). With some many different preschools and early childhood programs, how do parents know if the programs are being held to a certain standard? The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is one comprehensive assessment tool available. Using this tool while quietly observing a preschool classroom, will help to define areas of strength as well as areas needing to be strengthened. The scale has thirty five different areas that are divided into six subscales, that will be observed. Each question is yes or no answer to a specific question and example.
In order to apply theories and models of child development to support children’s development we must get to know each individual child by building a good relationship with the children through play, communication and answering to their personal needs. Observation and assessment is also key so that we know what each child is capable of and what they are working towards/could be encouraged towards. Good communication with parents is also beneficial as it helps the carer to see what the child is doing at home and to identify if there are things they do or don’t do at nursery that is different from home. It also helps to work out ways of encouraging development at home and at nursery.
According to the data from the NSCAW II wave 3 tables, children in out-of-home care were predominately cared for by relatives not receiving compensation from the child welfare system, followed by foster caregivers, and lastly by formal kin care, or relatives who receive compensation from the child welfare system (Dolan, Casanueva, Smith, and Ringeisen, 2012). Foster caregivers most likely to be between the ages of 30-49 years, slightly more likely to be black than white, have more than a high school diploma, work full-time or choose not to work, and be married. Formal kin caregivers were most likely to be between the ages of 50-59 years of age, be white, have a high school diploma, choose not to work, and also be married (Casanueva et al.,
The Assessment, Evaluation and Programming System (AEPS) was taken from the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), which is a birth-to-three Data Recording Form and legally binding contract. AEPS includes the assessment of children’s developmental in the areas: fine motor; gross motor, adaptive, cognitive,
This paper will discuss various forms of caregivers, parenting styles, and early childhood education. Topics covered are:
In the book Early Childhood Education Today 11th Edition, we read that “Family-centered practice is one of the cornerstone features of early childhood special education. This follows the fundamental notion that children’s development is influenced by their environment: their family, teachers, school, town, media, governmental systems, and so on.” (MORRISON, 2009) The first thing we as teachers must do is acknowledge that the children’s families are the first and most important teachers of their children and recognize the long-term effect families have on the attitudes and accomplishments of their children . For the edification of today’s youth there are potential positive responses to be obtained through working with a child’s parents as
Caregivers play a primary role in how a child may develop. The daily interaction between the caregiver and child continually changes the pathway in which the child may take. How the child is raised and the parenting style used is a significant influence on that development by affecting the relationship between parent and child. This supports the Attachment theory in which emphasizes relationship between the child and caregiver as a key factor in development.
The household is a single-family household consisting of the mother a five-year-old sibling. The mother reported because she had to work all the time different family members and friends helped to care for the child throughout the infancy. The mother reported that the child responded well to different people. The mother reported that being a single mother was stressful.
In today’s world, families are dynamic and interdependent systems. The developmental processes of the children in the family are deeply affected by how the family system operates. However, a family’s structure does not determine whether it is a healthy family system or not. Today, families consist of single parents, stepparents, divorced parents, remarried parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They are all able to contribute to a healthy functioning family system by meeting each family member’s needs and encouraging positive communication (Jamiolkowski, 2008). Unhealthy family systems have negative and possibly