Early Childhood Education Grants - Essay Example

Sept. 11 2009 Freeman Early Childhood Education Grants c/o United s Social Services 24000 Avila Road, 2nd Floor, Room 2300 Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 Re: Parenting Skills for Expecting Mothers Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing this letter in support of an exciting proposal to provide an essential social service to the local community. On this basis, I will provide you with details regarding my proposed business idea, operations and overall project plan. Children are little miracles and every single child is a precious gift from God. There are many women today who are expecting a child and are unsure of where to turn for advice. Even more women are ill equipped to deal with the many changes a newborn baby will bring into their lives. Parenting can be a challenging job for both mother and father and the skills associated with raising a newborn boy or girl are not innate and need to be taught. After undertaking a comprehensive analysis of available programs in the community, I have determined that there is a real shortage of social programs aimed at helping expecting mothers understand exactly what parenting entails and what types of skills they need to become the best parents they can be. Seeking to fill a void in the present social service sector available locally, I propose the creation of a unique set of programs aimed at providing the essential skills required for female parenthood. Society has been changing over the past sixty years and more and more women are having children out of wedlock. In fact, by 2003 53% of all babies born in America where born to single mothers (Snyder & McLaughlin 2004) Arguably, this represents the first time in American history when there have been more babies born out of wedlock relative to babies born to a married husband and wife. Single women who give to birth to, and raise, a child out of the confines of marriage face unique challenges in modern American society. Unemployment and poverty are unfortunately common characteristics of life for single mothers in America. Accordingly, "Unemployed single mothers-both in metro and non-metro areas-report a family income that is only 11 percent above the poverty line, on average" (Brown and Lichter 2004). According to recent reports from the Federal government, the official poverty line or poverty rate for a two person family in the United States is just $14,000 per year (Federal Register 2008). Women who have children one their own thus face incredible hurdles and financial pressures in America today and likely do not have the resources or available income to pay for parenting courses on their own (Lerman 1999). This problem needs to be addressed in the community and that is why I am proposing a series of free parenting courses aimed at the important demographic of single pregnant women in addition to courses aimed at married women who are expecting. With a desire to help give women the parenting skills necessary to become excellent mothers, this project will be driven by an ideology which stresses the importance of the child above all else. Considerations of pre-marital sex or whether having a child before marriage is proper will have no place at the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center. We propose a value and judgment free facility in which the betterment of both the mother and the child remains the top priority. This will be the underlying ideology of the Center. Both child and mother will gain from this organizational mentality and will benefit from a value-free perspective on parenthood. We are aiming to fill an important void in the services available in this respect and look forward to contributing immensely to the availability of proper parenting resources in our underserved region. From the perspective of overall program delivery, the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center will offer a wide array of courses designed for the expecting mother. Whether married or single, heterosexual or homosexual, a plethora of courses will be offered and tailored to the unique expectations for mothers in modern American society. Program delivery will focus on the life challenges facing new mothers, whether they work full or part-time or plan on staying home with their children. As stated above, the primary goal of the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center will be the betterment of mothers and this will be achieved by giving women the requisite skills they need to be the best mothers they can be. All women, regardless of age, marital status, sexuality, colour or creed will be welcomed to the Parenting Centre. The only eligibility is 1) they are a woman and 2) they are expecting a child or are the parent of a child under the age of 5 years old. As we are catering to both expecting mothers as well as mothers who have given birth, are aims are great and we hope to provide a heightened level of service to all women with young children in the community. Specific courses and programs will cater expecting mothers and will provide important insight into the birthing process as well as the demands of early parenthood. Courses will be offered for young and single mothers - an underserved group in need of all of the help that we can offer. Additionally programs and sessions will be created for parents and young children alike to benefit the development of strong, stable and safe households. Establishing the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center will initially be a costly endeavor and start-up costs are presently estimated at $80,000 USD in the first year. An excellent location on the 4th floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Centre is available and can be rented to house the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center for a nominal fee of $800 per month. Furthermore, in discussion with the Director of the Dr. King Community Center, utilities are estimated at $100 per month. Total annual housing costs are then estimated to be $10,800. I addition to myself, I plan on hiring two part-time instructors and utilize the growing expertise of eight Early Childhood Education (ECE) students to facilitate the delivery goals of this Center. These students will work towards the completion of their respective degrees and thus will not be paid for their employment. By utilizing ECE students we will significantly keep delivery costs down. These are ideal employees who will be beholden to the same rules and regulations as regular staff. Staffing the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center will be an important concern as we hope to acquire the best and brightest employees from the local region and beyond. Employees will require an ECE or equivalent background and are staff will remain the heart of the program. Initially a staff of two full-time and other casual staff members will be required and this will include a general office manager who will be responsible for the economic sustainability of the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center. Janitorial staff will be hired as needed through an outside source organization. The most important rule at the North Atlanta Parenting Center is respect and the acceptance of diversity. With respect to the two part-time staff, they will be paid a stipend of $20,000 USD for their work as program coordinators. Supplies will be purchased directly from the Dr. King Community Center or from their preferred suppliers at preferential rates. This project will come to fruition from grants in kind from organization such as Freeman Early Childhood Education, the United States Department of Social Services and the INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE. Fund accountability will be achieved through my dual role as Program Director and Chief Financial Officer. Quarterly as well as annual financial statements will be provided to all granting agencies annually, as well as upon request. Seeking to fill a void in the present social service sector available locally, success will be measured by the number of participants involved in the program as well as our ability to attract top-notch educators to the school. We will be tracking the level of referrals as well as the clients who return to the programs in the post-delivery period. By providing courses and instruction to mothers in the pre-birth as well as post-delivery periods, we will be able to maximize the effectiveness of our programs and of the skills being taught. We aim to be the source for all parenting infromation for parents yougn and old, gay or straight, married or single, in the community. Our hope is to truly make a difference in the lives of our stakeholders. On behalf of the nascent INSERT NAME OF YOUR CITY HERE Parenting Center, I would like to personally thank you for taking the time to review our proposal and I look forward to answering any questions or concerns you may have. I also look forward to implementing any recommendations you have to the existing framework and working further with Freeman Early Childhood Education Grants in bringing this exciting project to fruition. With warmest regards, INSERT YOUR NAME HERE REFERNCES Federal Register (2008). 73:15, 3971-3972. Lichter, D.T. and B.J. Brown (2004). Poverty, welfare, and the livelihood strategies of non-metropolitan single mothers. Rural Sociology. 69:2, 127-149. Lerman, R.I. 1999. ''Retreat or Reform' New U.S. Strategies for Dealing with Poverty.'' Social Policy Review, 11, 122-148. Snyder, A.R. and D.K. McLaughlin. 2004. Female-headed families and poverty in ruralAmerica. Rural Sociology. 69:1, 129-143. Read More