Q&A
Council member inquires about Family Enrichment Center attendance and evaluation methods
0:23:15
ยท
98 sec
Councilmember Althea V. Stevens questions ACS officials about the attendance and evaluation of Family Enrichment Centers (FECs). Commissioner Jess Dannhauser and Deputy Commissioner Liz Wolkomir provide details on average monthly attendance and evaluation methods.
- Average attendance per FEC is about 390 individuals per month
- Evaluation focuses on amplifying protective factors for families
- Initial pilot evaluation showed strengths, leading to program expansion
Althea V. Stevens
0:23:15
What's the average attendance for the FECs?
Jess Dannhauser
0:23:20
A little over 200.
0:23:21
I'll let Liz Wolkemeier, who oversees our division in child and family well-being, speak a little bit about where we are in that process.
Liz Wolkomir
0:23:27
Sure.
0:23:28
So each month, the average per FEC is about 390 individuals that attend offerings, and the offerings are discrete programming, so activities, planned events, gatherings, cafes, workshops, peer support groups.
0:23:43
There are also walk ins
Althea V. Stevens
0:23:44
that So that's average per site or that's the total average altogether?
Liz Wolkomir
0:23:49
That's the average per site.
0:23:51
Okay.
0:23:51
But there are other also families that are walking in informally to have a cup of coffee, to have a conversation, to get support.
0:23:58
But on average, it's 390 individuals per site per month.
0:24:01
How are you evaluating the success of these programs?
0:24:04
So we are, well, one, that there was evaluation done after the pilot years when the first three sites were open that looked at whether or not they successfully met their intended goal, which was to amplify the protective factors of families, meaning social connection, parental resilience, access to concrete supports, knowledge of, parenting and child development skills.
0:24:30
And and that was based on participant perception and and the growth of those factors based on their continued engagement with FECs.
0:24:38
And we saw a lot of strengths around that, which was the basis for expanding this work.
0:24:43
Now that we have a larger continuum, we are building an infrastructure to continue to look at that and see if we are meeting, those benchmarks around that goal of amplifying protective factors.