Take 5 for Tots is an intergenerational volunteer program that unifies seniors in the community, 55 and older, and the young, abused, neglected and at-risk children of Casa de Amparo.
Casa de Amparo provides safe shelter and a continuum of prevention and treatment services to abused, neglected and at-risk infants, children and teens, and their families in San Diego County. The organization aims to protect, nurture and guide children who are victims of abuse; provide children with supportive services beyond the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing; prevent abusive behavior toward children, and support, educate and redirect the energy of participating family members toward a positive and healthy home environment; equip children and parents with life skills and resources that enables them to become self-sufficient and cope successfully with the effects of abuse/neglect; and partner with other private/public agencies, for the benefit of children.
The first five years of a child's life are crucial in their development and can make the difference between a child ready for success and a child conditioned for failure. Children that have been abused or have grown up in severely neglectful/dysfunctional homes often experience developmental delays. If these delays are not timely addressed, they can have a detrimental impact on the life of a child.
The staff-to-child ratio at Casa de Amparo ranged from 1:8 to 1:3, depending on the site and the age group of the children. Developmental screenings were conducted via observational methods and on as needed basis. Teachers would observe developmental delays and refer children to external sources for further assessment. No formal target objectives with measurable outcomes were established for each child, in terms of social, cognitive and language development, and only limited educational materials and resources were available to parents, children and caregivers. Furthermore, limited staff made it difficult to work on the negative effects of abuse children display – both behavioral and developmentally – on a daily basis. Senior mentors help improve the staff-to-child ratio and allow the necessary one-on-one attention provided to children who are in desperate need thereof, since they never got that personalized attention from their parents or caregivers.
Take 5 for Tots is designed to enhance the current services offered by the Child Development Center (CDC) and the emergency, residential group home for infants and toddlers, Casita, by providing additional support in conducting standardized developmental assessments for the children, engaging in various activities with the children, and providing one-on-one attention that focuses on areas of need identified through such assessments. Senior mentors from the community volunteer their knowledge, time and experience to provide an increased focus on developmental needs, increase the number of positive relationships between children and adults, and provide one-on-one support to ensure these children are receiving the most that can be offer in those critical first years of life.
Using their lifetime experiences, along with patience and consistency, mentors are able to offer additional support to the children based on the trust and rapport they develop with them, as a direct result of their strong intergenerational relationships. The senior mentors come from diverse backgrounds and thus bring different experiences working with children. Some are retired social workers, others are teachers, and some are simply grandparents. Casa de Amparo knew the children would benefit extremely from the seniors' support, but so has the staff. While seniors spend that extra time with the children, pre-school and shelter staff can focus on other tasks, such as informing parents and caregivers of the child's progress or making special recommendations for the treatment these children receive at home. It also allows staff to focus on individual children with a higher level of need, or on other program aspects, which directly affect the quality and success of the programming.
Overall supervision has been increased, allowing a decrease in the staff-to-child ratio to a range of 1:2 to 1:5, depending on the site and age group of the children. Developmental screenings are now being conducted onsite, using a standardized tool measuring child development, which allows for objective baseline measures and progress reports. Likewise, formal target objectives have been established for each child based on data from the developmental assessments.
Most importantly, from playing developmental and fun games, to reading stories in funny voices and making comical faces, senior mentors show the children they are there for them, while providing them a fun, yet educational experience. In addition, this program impacts a child's potential to succeed in school. Seniors not only work with children at the individual level by reading books together, enhancing their vocabulary and stimulating their critical thinking, but they also coach parents and caregivers on effective reading strategies and appropriate reading stories according to their age and interests, hence providing children with a thorough foundation for future success in school.
Everything from recruitment to the screening process and training for the mentors is documented in the Take 5 for Tots procedures manual. Having the basic foundation and building on it from there is crucial for any program to be successful. The first step for an organization to start a similar program would be to identify their needs, their target population, the number of hours they want to serve their clients, and how many clients they want each mentor to serve in order to determine how many mentors they need to recruit and train. Once the needs are identified, recruitment can begin followed by orientation and training. The training module was developed in collaboration with a principal funder, the First 5 Commission of San Diego, and it can be applied to most organizations working with children, though each program would need to incorporate its own unique aspects. Once mentors are trained and ready to start working with the children, it is important to provide an introductory period for the mentors to get acquainted with the children, staff and company policies and procedures, as well as to conduct follow-up support as mentors spend more time with their assigned children to address any questions and concerns they may have. The idea is to maintain an open communication system between mentors, childcare staff, and program administrators to ensure that everyone is working well together.
- Alliances and partnerships: In any organization, it is important to stay focused on the cause. When there is a vision for a program, but few resources and time, it is important to remember that "you are not alone." It takes partnerships with staff, the community and other organizations to develop and run a program successfully. Thus, Casa de Amparo could not have implemented this program without the support and guidance of their collaborating partners. While funding support comes from the First 5 Commission of San Diego, recruiting and volunteer services are complimented by the Aging and Independence Services Agency from the County of San Diego and local churches in the community.
- 2004 Drucker Innovation Award Entry
