Group items tagged

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

Care.com is an excellent resource that I personally have used for years and have referred many people to. Basically, care.com is a website which helps families find and hire caretakers of all kinds: nannies, babysitters, last minute back-up childcare, elderly care, pet sitters, special needs care, housekeeping, and even "care gigs" which might include help with errands like grocery shopping or other random help. Of course, this means job opportunities for those being hired as well. Users report that the candidates found through the website are generally higher-quality candidates than those found through agencies because there is a wider base. Anyone can join care.com for free! Families and caregivers can create profiles and post jobs. Background checks can be purchased through the website either by caregivers or by families who are interested in hiring a caregiver who has not purchased a background check. Caregivers can upgrade their profiles for $20 a month which enables them to actually contact families about jobs based on their profiles before the families even post a job, and the caregivers can then also post about their desired job and even be featured as a "featured area caregiver" in search results. There are also articles about hiring a caregiver/finding a care job, and hotlines to call for advice. Also, there is a branch of care.com called "workplace solutions" for companies which hire care.com to help them meet their employees care needs by offering custom-designed websites, seminars, and other help to easily connect caregivers with employees of that company. Care.com reports that "as a result of using the care.com employee benefit" there are shown to be advantages such as: "92% of employees can focus better at work with their family's care needs met", "More than 91% feel more positively regarding their employer", and "More than 60% have been able to improve their focus and work more hours". A few of the companies listed as us

I forgot to mention that you can find a tutor through care.com, or of course seek a tutoring job.

What an excellent resource for parents! I am not a parent, but the majority of my friends are. Finding quality childcare proves to be quite a challenge, and there is still concern. WIth the website offering back ground checks and referrals you would really get a sense of security that your child is in a safe place.

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 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.

The website I chose to review for this paper is http://www.familysupportamerica.org/. I really have no clue as to who created this site or who is involved in contributing to the website. The "About Us" page simply states, "Here at Family Support America, we are dedicated to providing the information, support, and connections that families need to survive. Whether you have questions about child abuse, alcoholism, disciplining children, divorce, or other topics related to families, we can help. And if we cannot help, we will direct you to someone who can." They give absolutely no clue as to who they are at Family Support America. Are they a group of parents, business owners, teachers, or what? Also, the contact page gives the following contact information, "Email admin@familysupportamerica.org Mail 307 W 200 S Suite 2004 Salt Lake City, 84101" This also gives the viewer absolutely no clue as to the identity of the webmaster. I can only assume that they intended audience is parents, but even that isn't real clear. I guess the topics of childcare, child abuse and education are what led me to this conclusion. The homepage does little to excite me. The second paragraph talks about feeding your children only additive-free foods and avoid high-fructose corn syrup and products with MSG. They also suggest you avoid giving your kids juice. Already, I hate the site for feeling the need to counsel me on what to feed my children. I'm not against healthy foods, but I believe that all additives are not bad and as long as I feed these to my children in moderation, they'll be ok. At the bottom of the homepage are links to other websites. These sites are not labeled as supporters of this site, but the absurd collection and lack of relativity make me believe they must be sponsors, otherwise, what does dancewear, micro-bead pillows and scrubs have to do with F

And, here's the rest.... what does dancewear, micro-bead pillows and scrubs have to do with Family Support America? The links down the left page of the home page do provide some valuable information. They also link to some credible websites that offer more information than this parent site. Also, though, at the bottom of each page there is another ad for some product or business that is irrelevant in my opinion. The "Links and Resources" page does not have any working links. Also, the "FAQ" page is blank. The copyright date at the bottom of each page is 2011 so it's quite possible that the site is still under construction. The site has a consistent layout, but that's about the only thing positive I have to say about it. I don't think this website is a very good example of one that focuses on balancing work and home issues. Its main focus seems to be on preventing stress and child abuse at home. These are credible issues, but I don't think this site offers much useful information than the basics. I would not recommend this website to any one.

Erika - I had a very similar experience with my site, http://www.weareoneillinois.org/ They gave little information as to who actually started the site or who maintains it, other than the fact that mine listed a group of entities that support the movement now. Also, to digress quickly, it looks like we are all posting in different ways somehow. The site seems to distinguish between 'bookmark' and 'topic'. When I click 'topic' (under 'Filter' towards the top of the screen) it shows only my two posts, suggesting that everyone else made a 'bookmark', whatever that actually means. Anyway I thought you gave a good review to what sounds like a pretty bad website. If a website administrator is not finished with any part of a site, he/she should have the decency to post a 'coming soon' or something similar. I am somewhat curious because of how poor you made it sound as to who is running it and if they have any idea what they're doing frankly.

1. URL: http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Hoffman/Hoffman.html 2. Website Name: The Effects of the Mother's Employment on the Family and the Child Lois Wladis Hoffman, PhD Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 3. Intended Audience: Graduated and Post-grad students, sociologist and economist, single-fathers, single-mothers, divorced fathers and mother, and gay people. 4. Website overview: The University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System publishes Parenthood. Parenthood in America offers a wide range of topics that focus on the development of children; issues pertaining to work and family; the impact that society has on both children and parents; supporting family and neighborhoods and community resources for families. Overall, this website covers the same topics that were co covered in class this semester. The authors offer an array of wisdom concerning the issues that was covered in class and gives advice on and a logical insight for those in search of knowledge in regards to family and work issues. 5. Article review: The focus of the following article is on the maternal employment and its effects on families and children. Most of the studies concerning maternal employment effects on families and children have its foundation dating back to the 1950's. The statistics was tabulated over a 5-decade period and what it reveals is that a major social change in the United States has occurred in regards to maternal employment over this time span. These statistics is becoming obsolete due to the fact that previous studies conducted in the past are not found in more recent research because of changes in family patterns or in the larger society. Lois Hoffman writes that these changes did not occur in a socioeconomic vacuum; rather maternal employment rates have been accompanied by many other social changes that interact with it. The impetus that has caused this phenomenon is the fluxional nature of family l