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MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD IN THE WORKPLACE WHEN YOU WORK INVOLVES YOU WORKING WITH CHILDREN. CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE AND THIS WEBSITE SHOWS HOW AS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS THE VOICE IS NEEDED IN THE WORKPLACE TO MAKE DECISIONS. THEY WANT ANYONE WHO IS WORKING WITH CHILDREN TO BE ABLE TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS THAT WOULD BE BEST FOR THE CHILDREN AND PARENTS WHO ARE INVOLVED. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TRAINING MODELS YOU CAN TAKE ON THIS WEBSITE THAT CAN LEAD TO LEADERSHIP SKILLS. THE INTENDED AUDIENCE OF THIS WEBSITE IS INDIVIDUALS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN. THIS COULD INCLUDE TEACHERS, ASSISTANT TEACHERS, DIRECTORS, STATE OR LOCAL ADVOCATES, FACULTY MEMBER AT A COLLEGE, A TRAINER OR ADULT EDUCATOR, AND A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT. THIS WEBSITE IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS WEBSITE WORKS WELL WITH WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING IN CLASS. IT HELPS YOU WITH YOUR WORK WITH YOUR CHILDREN BY HELPING YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY SKILLS. THEY WANT TO HELP MAKE BETTER JOBS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS. THIS REMINDS ME OF THE READING ASSIGNMENTS THAT INVOLVED PARENTS INVOLVEMENT IN CHILD CARE. LACK OF CHILDCARE CAN BE A HUGE PROBLEM FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE FOR THE CHILD AND THE COMMUNITY. I DEFINITELY FEEL THIS WEBSITE IS VERY CREDIBLE. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT CONTACT NUMBERS TO GET MORE INFORMATION. ALSO IT READS THAT THE WEBSITE IS A PROJECT OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION. THIS ASSOCIATION IS EASILY FOUND ELSEWHERE BESIDES THE WEBSITE I AM REVIEWING.

I read that as if you were yelling at me the whole time. Perhaps try and check caps lock next time Teri. You can also edit your posts and fix that by the way. Does sound like a useful website though, good review!

I really enjoyed this website because they have their mission statement on their home page to show everyone what this page is all about. I also like how they address that children are the future and without them, there will not be a future. They stress that now more than ever voices are needed at the workforce for decisions on planning and funding. This website has good credibility and was easy to navigate through. Great job!

The Center for the Child Care Workforce focused their attention on a few categories in tabs on their page. These topics included; a home tab, about us, research and resources, take action, public policy, and news to use. The first thing one would notice on this website is their mission, "to improve the quality of early care and education for all children by promoting policy, research and organizing that ensure the early care and education workforce is well-educated, receives better compensation and a voice in their workplace." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). The point is to help others acknowledge that children need proper care, and how child care providers can do this effectively. The intended audience would be grown adults, specifically adults whom are involved in young children lives. The Center for the Child Care Workforce discusses how this group, "literally hold the future in [their] hands." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). What they are trying to say, is that it is the older generation, which needs to teach and provide education for the young generation, so they are knowledgeable. This website is good about providing all the information needed to understand their point and how they are trying to fulfill it. I believe that this site is credible. They provide many sources of where their focus came from. The Center for the Child Care Workforce, mentioned the Worthy Wage Campaign, stated as, "a grassroots effort led by child care teachers, family child care providers, school age teaching staff, Head Start teachers and others who work directly with children to mobilize to improve the compensation and work environments for the early care and education workforce." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). Many others points included, facts about "high-quality early childhood education programs results [and what] high-quality early childhood programs include." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). There are pdf files of

Maternal Employment and Nonmaternal Care During the Early Years 1. URL: org http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_124/ Economic Policy Institute - www.epi.org---- Working mothers in a double bind: Working moms, minorities have the most rigid schedules, and are paid less for the sacrifice By Elaine McCrate | May 1, 2002 By Elaine McCrate | May 1, 2002 2. Intended Audience: Low, working and middle class income workers, graduate and post-graduate students and working women of all ethnic classes. 3. Website overview: The economic policy institute is a think tank as it's name suggests and it conducts research and engages in the following areas: non-profit, non-partisan issues. It was officially established in 1986 and it's intent was to propose solutions that will defend and ameliorate the minimal pay and harsh working condition of the low and middle class worker. The EPI serves as the voice of the working class people. The sole purpose of Economic Policy institute is to bring forth awareness concerning economic policies and how these economic policies are benefiting the needs of low, working and middle-income workers. One of EPI beliefs is that every working person, regardless of wage status deserves equality in terms of fair pay and working conditions. Their method of impregnating the public perception with accurate and timely knowledge according to the EPI website is by "producing a plethora of research papers and policy analyses; sponsors conferences and seminars; briefs policy makers at all levels of government; provides technical support to national, state, and local constituency and advocacy organizations; testifies before national, state, and local legislatures; and provides information and background to the media." According to the website, the EPI values are: EPI Values * Helping Working People Economic policy should focus on improving conditions for working people. * Truth and Accuracy Matter EPI research should be honest and rigorous. *

The website provides studies and research publications about the changing workforce, family and community, focusing on three major areas: the workplace, youth and early childhood. The site is geared and aimed toward American employers, working parents, and community members. Most of the publications relate to the workplace and family, thus the website clearly lends itself to the parent workforce. The material is definitely accessible and readable for the public, with most of the content available for download via the website. The information provided is verifiably credible. Much of their research is used and supported by the US government. They also have some of the largest and most comprehensive studies about the US workforce and its impact on US families, how employers are responding to the changing workforce, workplace flexibility, and multiple other major projects. In addition, FWI is contently quoted and appears in the news everyday in the top media markets in the country. Some of the media agencies, include, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Washing Post, Bloomberg, as well the top US blog sites such as Motherlode, The Daily Beast, Care2, and many others. Overall it does not appear as there is a hidden agenda or motive for their reports, rather their work is aimed at shaping the work-life movement by raising the awareness about work-life issues with policymakers to support agents of change in business, early childhood and youth development, education and community engagement. What I took away from researching FWI website, is how active they are and how many their reports are either viewed or downloaded. On average their reports are downloaded 123 times per day, which is very impressive.

The name of the website I reviewed is Momsrising.org, and the URL is http://www.momsrising.org/. This is a non-profit organization 501(c)(4), which means contributions are not tax deductible. I was unable to pinpoint authorship to one person. The 'about us' section simply states that this is a group of people (mostly mothers) who have come together to address issues related to motherhood and family. Specifically, the group examines issues such as maternity and paternity leave, open flexible work, toxics, health care, early care and education, fair wages and paid sick time. The organization's ideas stem from a book titled, The Motherhood Manifesto, authored by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. It just so happens that Rowe-Finkbeiner is also the Executive Director of Momsrising.org. Most of the articles and other stories on their site do not give credit to any author. The only exception would be the Blog page, but even then, it is sometimes just a first name. This organization seems to me to be basically like a PAC, working to change public policies in order to make the workplace more family friendly. The targeted audience would be working mothers and fathers, but it seems there are many more women involved than men. The website addresses many issues that are important regarding work, family, and community. Many workers struggle with finding affordable childcare and this site has a page directly related to promoting early education and childcare for all. They also promote family-friendly policies such as flex-time, job sharing, and telecommuting. I think this website provides some useful information, but I also believe that most of it is biased and subjective. For example, one of the issues they address is healthcare for all. Included is a link to a question and answer session with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. She touts that the

And, here's the rest.... She touts that the new health care reform is designed to put you (us) in charge of our own health, giving us more options, etc. However, no one really knows what is going to happen when this takes effect. There are countless other arguments that support the ideas that people will have less access to care, important medical decisions will be made by some 'board', and the number of qualified doctors will quickly decline. Of course, Momsrising.org only presents the side of the story they want you to believe with regards to the health care reform law. Overall, I would consider the website credible because this group does exist. News articles from around the country support their existence. I noticed they had a "Donate" button that takes you to a page where you can make a monetary donation; however, they don't give a 'breakdown' of where this money goes. For example, what percentage goes to overhead, etc? The site appears to be fairly current, as it should be since it is addressing issues that are being faced today. The copyright date only gives the year 2011, but the "In The News" page contains several links to recent press releases. The site is well designed and consistent in layout. I was unable to find a 'help' screen or a site map.

Website Overview: Flex+Strategy Group's website is extremely basic and clean, showing employers that they don't want to waste their time or dazzle them with showiness. The website is easy to find one's way around and is laid out in more of a site map fashion than anything else and it has very few embedded photos. This appearance says, "we don't need smoke and mirrors, we get you results." They present their mission statement, in a dissected way on one page, that quickly describes benefits which specifically cater to the employer as opposed to the employee, which I find very smart. They include links to a few actual business plans they created and implemented for their clientele, which includes huge corporations that everyone's heard of such as Quaker/Tropicana and the U.S Navy. Who wouldn't want to participate in a plan that such successful companies have implemented? To the left as you click through the website are non-invasive testimonials super imposed over the words "transform, inspire, move." There are tabs along the top to help you drill down, more specifically, to other areas or, depending on who you are, portals that apply to just you. Intended Audience: The intended audience is obviously employers who may be curious about flexing their staff but most likely have a somewhat closed-minded approach because the website is very much trying to sell whoever is looking at it on the idea and the fact that they need a consulting service to accomplish the task. Relationship to work, family, community class: A large portion of our class was spent discussing the points at which families and work intersect and how they are usually an inverse property to one another and how more time spent at one detracts from the other in a negative way. We've read about how our society is affected when employers are not understanding about people needing to be home for their children at certain times and in certain instances and also to care for

This was a great website Becky! The Credit Union that I work for recently acquired a Credit Union in California that offered a great deal of flexibility in the workplace. They offered babies in the workplace, flexible schedules, and people to work out of their homes to save them an hour commute. The employees really appreciated that their employer put their needs first.

This is an OUTSTANDING website and I am so glad you shared this with us. I really particularly liked the "tips" for individuals. It is so true when they say small changes in your "fit" can make a difference and that you often don't want to work less, but differently. Even small changes can make a big difference. I'm reminded of the "Amerco" employees we read about who, even with flexible workplace options, still ended up working long hours. Even tweaking things a bit can make a big difference. I remember when I once had to start work at 7:15 a.m. My daughter was experiencing a lot of challenges and, due to me having to get to work so early, she often had to make it to school on her own. Because of this, she was late to class many times due to falling back asleep after I woke her up. When I dropped her off at school, she would have to wait outside (in the freezing cold during winter) for over half an hour before someone could let her inside the building. My work start time really caused me a lot of anxiety regarding my daughter... either worrying that she was alone in the cold or sleeping in bed when she should have been on her way to school. I asked my boss if I could change my start time to 7:30 and stay 15 minutes later. She agreed and things worked out to where I was able to drop my daughter off at the bus stop where many of her classmates also waited for the bus. That greatly eased my stress level and anxiety over my daughter's safety. Just something as simple as starting work 15 minutes later worked wonders.