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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Indian River County-JUMP Into Reading-CSAC of Indian River County <br /> academic failure, lack of commitment to school, alienation, rebelliousness, early and persistent <br /> anti-social behavior and early initiation of problem behavior. Resiliency research — the study of <br /> youth who have "beaten the odds" — points to the presence of a caring adult as the pivotal reason <br /> why children who should have succumbed to deleterious life circumstances instead thrive as a <br /> result of mentoring (Public/Private Ventures, 1999) . Empirical reading research supports the use <br /> of Book Buddies, with volunteers, as significant improvement has been demonstrated with <br /> emergent and early readers (Morris, Shaw & Perney, 1990; Juel , 1991 & 1996 ; Invernizzi et al ., <br /> 1997; Wasik, 1997) . Studies indicate that the best results are achieved when students are <br /> identified early and enrolled in prevention programs in primary school before they have a chance <br /> to fail (Farrington, 1991 ; Grise, 2005 ). "Jump into Reading" places a strong emphasis on early <br /> prevention targeting Kindergarten through 2ndgraders. <br /> 4. List staffing needed for your program, including required experience and estimated <br /> hours per week in program for each staff member and/or volunteers (this section should <br /> conform with the information in the Position Listing on the Budget Narrative Worksheet). <br /> Staff includes an Executive Director (8 his), a Case Manager (40 his), a Volunteer Recruiter ( 15 <br /> hours), and a Program Manager (20 his). Case Managers must have a minimum of a Bachelor' s <br /> Degree in Social Work (BSW) or related field with experience in social work or education. A <br /> Master' s Degree is preferred for the Executive Director. The Volunteer Recruiter must have a <br /> minimum of an Associates Degree with experience in public relations, marketing and sales. <br /> Program Manager must have a minimum of a Bachelor' s Degree and 3 years of experience. <br /> 5. How will the target population be made aware of the program? The target population <br /> includes teachers, BGC staff, children, parents and volunteers . Teachers and site staff at Boys <br /> & Girls Club are given an orientation in the Spring of each year as they are a critical part of the <br /> referral process. Outreach to new teachers is done at the start of school in the Fall . Parents are <br /> informed about our program through a letter sent by the school or site. When necessary, there is <br /> follow-up by the teacher or a school social worker. Parents complete an application/release form <br /> and return it to the school. Contact is then initiated by the BBBS Case Manager. The children <br /> are interviewed on the school grounds or at BGC by BBBS staff. Pre-testing is done just prior to <br /> matching. Volunteers are recruited through corporations, city and county government, small <br /> business, clubs, civic organizations, state agencies, fund raisers, churches, condominium <br /> associations and retirement communities . Big Brothers Big Sisters also builds collaborative <br /> relationships with businesses and other non-profits such as RSVP to increase our visibility and <br /> help us better serve the target population. <br /> 6. How will the program be accessible to target population (i. e., location, transportation, <br /> hours of operation)? Our program is highly accessible to the target population. Services will be <br /> provided to Citrus, Sebastian, Treasure Coast Elementary and Boys & Girls Club in Sebastian <br /> through this funding source. Clients will be selected based on need relative to reading <br /> assessment results . Accessibility is not an issue as mentoring is offered during the school day on <br /> campus and after school at BGC where transportation is already being provided. In the schools, <br /> client referral and scheduling are at the teacher' s discretion. This valuable tutorial/mentoring <br /> service is provided at no cost to the school or parent. Ease of accessibility, case manager support <br /> and capable, trained volunteers keep the referrals coming and the parents satisfied with the <br /> service. <br /> 7 <br />