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Overview

The purpose of the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program (Even Start) is to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving educational opportunities for low-income families. For fiscal year 2007-08, 78 Even Start projects are operational in California.

Even Start was first authorized in 1989 as Part B of Chapter 1 of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Even Start legislation was amended in July 1991 when Congress passed the National Literacy Act (Public Law 102-73), lowering the age of children served from age one to birth and allowing community-based organizations to receive grants. The Literacy Involves Families Together Act of 2000 (LIFT) renamed Even Start to the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program. It was reauthorized as Title I, Part B, Subpart 3, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

For additional information, see the U.S. Department of Education web site, No Child Left Behind, Title I, Part B, Subpart 3 (Outside Source) and the April 2005 CDE Management Bulletin.

Purpose

Even Start funds local educational agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to plan and coordinate services to help parents gain the skills needed to become full partners in the education of their young children. Even Start integrates (1) early childhood education, (2) adult literacy or adult basic education, (3) parenting education and (4) parent-child interactive literacy activities into a unified, four-component family literacy program.

LEAs, CBOs, public agencies, institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit organizations collaborate on 78 Even Start projects in California. Projects are funded for four years, contingent on adequate annual progress based on performance indicators for adults and children. Projects are expected to increase self-sustainability with each year of implementation through collaborative, in-kind contributions that match allocated federal Even Start funding amounts.

A list of the seventy-eight 2007-08 California Even Start Grant Award recipients is online.

Evaluation

California Even Start projects are required to collect data on children and adults to document annual progress against identified state performance indicators and federal guidelines. Each project is required to submit an annual end-of-year evaluation report on the participation, service intensity and performance standards for adults and children in order to continue to be funded. Each report is read and scored according to objective criteria, and areas of weakness are addressed by plans and timelines of corrective action for program improvement.

The evaluation process also includes on-site state monitoring reviews and an annual self study, through which projects compare themselves to exemplary characteristics and success indicators.

The Even Start Program Reporting, Evaluation and Accountability Database (READ) interface for annual Evaluation Continuation reporting is online.

Even Start Funding

Even Start grants are awarded to states from the U.S. Department of Education. States, in turn, award grants to local educational agencies, in partnership with community-based and other non-profit organizations, based on a statewide competitive process.

Contact Information

Even Start Office

Child Development Division

Curriculum and Instruction Branch

California Department of Education

1430 N Street, Suite 3410

Sacramento, CA 95814

916-319-0848 / FAX 916-319-0135

Even Start Office Staff

Resources

Dates and Events

This provides information regarding key upcoming California Even Start dates and events.

Forms and Documents

Budget and Fiscal reporting forms are currently available for download.

Budget and Fiscal - The following forms have been updated for FY 2007-08, and are contained in one Microsoft Excel file (XLS; 112KB; 5pp.). Five individual worksheet tabs entitle each of the following forms:

• Budget Proposal Summary Cover
• Budget Detail/Narrative
• Quarterly Expenditure Report
• Budget Revision
• Final Expenditure Report

General questions or requests for forms and documents relative to the following areas can be directed to specific staff as noted below.

• Site Validation Review process - Frank Uribe, Consultant
• Self Study process - Luis Rios, Consultant
• Evaluation Continuation process - Christopher Cambern, Consultant

See Even Start Office Staff for contact information.

Online Resources

This provides a compilation of web based resources useful to Even Start programming.