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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Indian River County-Children of Prisoners-CSAC of Indian River County C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, I — 6, not to exceed two pages. Box will expand as you type) 1. List Priority Needs area addressed. Focus III-Childcare Access and Focus I-Mental Wellness Issues F describe program activities including location of services. (Taxonomy - 10+.) COP is a community-based one-to-one mentoring program that builds d encourages academic achievement, emotional/social growth, school attendance beliefs for children whose family members are incarcerated in state or federal prison. clude: recruitment; background screening; orientation, in-depth social history and on volunteers (in office or mentor' s home); interview and evaluation of the parent/child (home); case plan development; training (including a sexual abuse prevention workshop for all parties); matching (in-home); weekly 1 -to- I mentoring; weekly monitoring; on going support; school consultation; evaluation; case closure; referral; and follow-up. The case plan and goals are used as a measure to judge the progress of the match ensuring that the needs of the COP children are being met. Volunteers will spend at least an hour per week out in the community with their Little Brother or Little Sister. They will do simple things they both enjoy. It might be a trip to the beach, the library, fishing, swimming, bowling, a movie, homework, career exploration or baking a cake. But it will also include goal setting, problem solving and career exploration activities. BBBS will work with the schools to keep checking on grades, attendance and discipline . Fcfi�entreferral fly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe rogram follows a recognized "best practice" (see definition on page 12 of the s) and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with lation. While the relationship that lies at the heart of our service is a simple endous care goes into the recruitment, screening, matching, and supervision. Once rral has been received, an orientation is scheduled in the office to review available services and complete paperwork. The parent (or primary caregiver) interview follows the orientation at the EBBS office to assist in determining eligibility. The Little Brother or Little Sister is also interviewed in the home to learn more about the home environment; observe parent-child interaction; and conduct an assessment of the child's level of development, personality, and interests. A Release of Information Form is obtained to gain information from the child's school. tach volunteer also receives an orientation and a thorough background screening including local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, fingerprinting, three reference checks, a driving history from DMV, a comprehensive interview completed in the office, a home assessment, and training. Once assessment of the child and volunteer are completed, a pre-match discussion is held with the volunteer and the parent in the office. The Case Manager matches a child with a volunteer based upon preferences, personalities, strengths, needs and geographic location. During the match meeting (completed at the child' s home), the volunteer, parent, and child all formalize their commitment by signing a Match Agreement. Goals are established by the Case Manager, volunteer, parent and client. The Case Manager completes an appropriate case plan for the child and is responsible for on-going weekly supervision of the match. Contact regularly focuses on goals, development of the relationship and reinforcement of ground rules. Volunteers and their "Littles" select community-based activities they enjoy such as a walk on the beach, a trip to the park, a movie, bowling, swimming or a trip to the library. Match meetings occur on a weekly basis. Group activities, including 5