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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Indian River County, Jump into Reading, Children's Services Advisory Committee B. PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page) 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? Every child ' s future depends on his ability to read, write and build relationships . But too many children, in Indian River County, start Kindergarten, 1 " and 2nd grades at a disadvantage, hindered by a lack of readiness skills and poor socialization skills. b) Who has the need ? The target population includes 75 students enrolled in Kindergarten, l � or 2nd grades. The schools will be selected by the Superintendent and the Director of Elementary Curriculum based on the number of students on Free & Reduced lunch, the percentage of children performing at Levels 1 & 2 on FCAT, absenteeism rates and the number of discipline referrals. Clients are referred by their teachers based on need and a mentor' s ability to make a positive impact. Teachers refer children when they begin demonstrating reading problems, early academic failure, low motivation for education and risk factors such as poor self- esteem, lack of bonding, excessive absences and/or anti- social behavior. Despite their young age, children are already struggling socially and academically. Members of the target population are frequently eligible for free or reduced lunch. Eligibility guidelines are worded carefully to avoid duplication of services for clients who are already receiving assistance through Exceptional Education or Federal Programs . c) Where do they live? They live in neighborhoods characterized by economic and social deprivation such as areas in the 32948 and 32967 zip codes. d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. Local statistics show that 40% of Indian River County ' s elementary school children are considered "economically needy" as compared to the statewide average of 44 . 6%. However, rate of growth in the number of impoverished children in the county exceeds state and peer counties . Research reveals that students living in poverty are more likely to develop problems linked to school failure, health, delinquency and teen pregnancy (St. Lucie Hand-in Hand, 14). A high percentage of IRC adults (22%) have very limited literacy skills leaving their children with minimal exposure to books, words and the support they need, at home, to help them read effectively. (Florida Literacy Data & Statistics Reference) . Data elicited confirms concerns over academic achievement in 2003 -04 . Poverty, illiteracy and excessive absences have led to academic failure as confirmed by 34% of the 3rd graders who score at level 2 or below on the FCAT thus indicating limited success with challenging content in 2004 . Of particular concern is the apparent achievement gap evident in minority students where 60% of the African American students and 65% of the Hispanic students scored at levels 1 or 2 . 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population ; Other mentoring programs, available in Indian River County, include: Youth Guidance, RSVP, Community Church, Gifford Youth and Take Stock in Children. However, Youth Guidance does no school-based mentoring and the other programs target older children. Next year, Big Brothers Big Sisters will be starting an AmeriCorps Indian River Reads program in conjunction with this current proposal . We have also implemented a BISS "Jump into Reading" program, funded by Department of Education and BBBSA, during the 2003 -2004 school year at Thompson, Highlands and Fellsmere Elementary . " b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program. Indian River mentoring programs tend to target older elementary, middle and/or high school children. Despite the presence of 75 mentor relationships in the State funded Jump program and the 100 to be served by AmeriCorps next year, the school district has asked our agency to serve an additional 3 schools. This, along with the gap referenced in the Community Needs Assessment, indicates that we are currently underserving our target population. S