FLIPANY’s Earn-A-Bike 2016 Program Review & Evaluation

Tiffany A. Albury, B.A, EMTMaster of Public Health Candidate 2016

Nova Southeastern University

Florida Introduces Physical Activity & Nutrition to Youth (FLIPANY)

Preceptor: Tina Hudson, MPH, CHES, CCHW(Interim Reviewer: Chelsea Wilkes, Volunteer & Community Outreach Manager)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………... 3

INTRODUCTION……………………………………..…………………………………………….. .3

PROGRAM BENEFITS………………………………….………………………………………….. 6

METHODS…………………………………………………..……………………….……………….. 7

RESULTS……………………………………………………....………………………………….….. 7

DISCUSSION………………………………………………..……………………………………….. 8

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

WEBSITES ACCESSED…………………………………………………………………………….. 9

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE APPENDICES ARE ATTACHED AS SEPARATE DOCUMENTS.

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ABSTRACT

Background. Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth, also known as FLIPANY, is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization that has been serving the South Florida area for over 10 years. With its innovative programming and initiatives FLIPANY serves both youth and families, including seniors. It collaborates with multiple community centers, parks, and other social services agencies. The program that was reviewed for this project was Earn-A-Bike (EAB). Earn-A-Bike is currently improving the lives of children in the Broward County area with hopes to expand its program to both the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach area. Methods. Working with FLIPANY and its program as a satellite, it was best practice to utilize the information that could be readily accessed on the Internet. The many websites and documents researched helped with the task of locating and reviewing similar bike programs, biking organizations and other afterschool programs in Florida and nationwide funding grants that could assist the program. Results. Proper edits and changes of policies and protocol manuals were updated for the EAB program. Letters were written as potential drafts for submission to generate funding opportunities to further support the program in the future. An action logic plan was mapped out stating what goals and outcomes should be completed within the next two years. Conclusion. Consistent revision and edit of Earn-A-Bike will encourage proper management of the program in order to fund and sustain the initiative as a part of the FLIPANY organization. It is important that team meetings about the programs that are current in FLIPANY are fulfilling their goals. These reviews would provide constructive criticism, create new ideas, and facilitate program changes as necessary.

INTRODUCTION

Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth, also known as FLIPANY, is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization that has been serving the South Florida area for over 10 years. Their mission is to empower youth and their families through physical activity and nutrition education programs while raising awareness and creating policies for a healthier community. With its innovative programming and initiatives FLIPANY serves both the youth and their families. It collaborates heavily with multiple community centers, parks, and other social services agencies in the Broward county area. FLIPANY continues to fight childhood obesity and hunger by focusing on healthy food preparation, food security, physical education and work-site wellness. Not only are they focused on physical activity, but also on the overall development of their participants.

The program that was reviewed for this project was Earn-A-Bike (EAB). Earn A Bike is a hands-on learning program for youth ages 10-17. Over the course of 8 sessions, participants learn the basics of bike repair and maintenance and safe riding practices that should be observed. Upon completion of the appropriate number of sessions, participants have the opportunity to not only refurbish a used bike but also keep the bike they’ve repaired, in addition to receiving a new helmet and bike lock. However, EAB is not only about earning a bike. It is also about giving the participants a fun and different way to develop their social, emotional, and overall life skills starting from a young age. The program objectives for EAB are as follows: (1) Youth will gain hands-on experience working with a bike mechanic to rebuild a bike. (2) Increase students’ knowledge of bike safety and basic laws of riding. (3) Youth will participate in team building and leadership activities related to a bike. (4) Youth will build a bike and maintain the bike for transportation to school, work or for exercise. With each session, participants are taught developmental concepts of leadership, teamwork and empathy as well as learning more about their bike. An overview of the topics discussed in each session is seen below in Figure 1.

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FLIPANY, along with other out-of-school or afterschool programs, provide many children in the South Florida area an opportunity to learn and develop in a safe environment. Many children can no longer play outdoors in part due to the danger and in part because the historic ‘web of sociability’ has disappeared in many neighborhoods with adults less willing or able to serve a collective parenting function around children’s public activity (Halpern, 2002). Parents are preoccupied with family survival or their own unmet needs and as a result leave their children’s daily lives and well being unmonitored unable to provide much needed support (Halpern, 2002). In Florida there are currently 541,481 (19%) school-age children from K-12 who are alone and unsupervised during the afterschool hours (Afterschool Alliance, 2016).

Figure 2. The Afterschool Alliance’s ‘Fight Crime: Invest in Kids’ (2003) infogram reinforcing the message of the dangers of unsupervised afterschool hours and how many children are left alone from 3 to 6 P.M.

Figure 1. FLIPANY’s Earn-A-Bike 8-week session program matrix. This figure was retrieved June 20th, 2016 from the FLIPANY website located at www.flipany.org.

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Research has shown that unsupervised hours have lead children to commit crimes or become victims of crimes, which in turn impacts their development into adulthood. Unsupervised afterschool hours have also been found to be the most common time for adolescent sexual intercourse, more likely to engage in substance abuse and be subjected to negative peer pressure (Durlak, 2007). Reviewing research data and results from the most recent Middle School Health Behavior Survey (MSHBS) and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) it is evident that the critical years of development coincide with what type of behaviors children engage in. For example, in Figure 3 from the YRBS, a survey administered to high school students in Florida, in 2013 approximately 323,100 students (44.3%) admitted that they had ever had sexual intercourse. In Figure 4 from the same survey, among the approximate 222,300 students who had sexual intercourse during the past three months, approximately 50,500 students (22.8%) drank alcohol or used drugs before having sexual intercourse. In the MSHBS, Figure 5 shows the percentage of students who have admitted to carrying a weapon, including a gun, knife and/or club. The complete summary of these reports can be found as reports on the Florida Department of Health website (The website is listed under references).

Figure 3. Results from the 2013 Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicating how many students who responded as to ever having sexual intercourse. Retrieved from: http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/survey-data/youth-risk-behavior-survey/index.html

Figure 4. Results from the 2013 Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicating how many students who responded as to having used alcohol or drugs before their last sexual intercourse. Retrieved from: http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/survey-data/youth-risk-behavior-survey/index.html

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There is mounting evidence that where and how youth spend their time outside of normal school hours has implications for their development (Durlak, 2007). Following home and school, afterschool programs are coming to be a third critical development setting, especially for low- and middle-income children (Halpern, 2002). Educators, policy makers, and funders increasingly argue that structured after-school activities can provide youth with valuable support for development (Kahne, et. al, 2001). However, the majority of research has focused solely on afterschool programs that rely on a child’s academic progress and how the program has assisted in the child’s achievements. Afterschool programs should be focused on both youth development as well as academic success. Protective factors such as forming caring and supportive relationships that provide motivation, high expectations, help with problems, and mentoring are all important for youth development (Kahne, et. al, 2001). Parents agree that children develop strong social skills, make better decisions, and are excited about learning (Afterschool Alliance, 2016, America After 3PM, http:// afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM).

PROGRAM BENEFITS

Earn-A-Bike is currently improving the lives of children in the Broward County area with hopes to expand its program to both the Miami-Dade and Palm Beach area. EAB has provided this program to over 300 middle and high school students over the past years and has successfully made an impact in their lives. Participants come to the program ready and engaged, of course mostly interested in receiving a free bike, yet leave the program feeling more confident than when they entered. EAB builds resilience, self-confidence and self-esteem all while teaching a very useful hands-on skill. As an effective afterschool program, EAB mirrors many of the benefits that the literature has discussed. A safe environment, improvements in feelings and attitudes, and the ability to effectively communicate have all been positive factors that have reinforced students’ success in the program. However, the challenges faced with EAB range from gaining participation, soliciting funds, and providing meaningful measurable outcomes. FLIPANY’s programs are primarily funded by grants and rely heavily on these funds to continue their EAB program.

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Based on FLIPANY’s mission to ‘empower youth’ and ‘create policies for a healthier community’ my purpose for this project was to evaluate and review the EAB curriculum to ensure that the activities and operations in place were effective towards the mission of the organization. With the presentation of meaningful evaluations and outcomes, policy-makers are encouraged to discuss the need for changes in the community. They are able to recognize the need for afterschool programming such as EAB in order to help the youth of the community develop to become well-abiding citizens. In the general outlook of the community, they are also able to assist in minimizing violence, gang activity and overall crime. Children will be able to ride their bikes safely to and from schools—granted that streets, sidewalks, and surrounding environments such as parks are safe to use. Safe access to these places will also foster physical activity when using their bikes, therefore helping to reduce the rates of childhood obesity. Currently, FLIPANY along with community partners such as TOUCH and the Broward Regional Health Planning Council have already implemented several nutrition programs to eliminate this statistic. Yet, programs such as EAB are lacking the funding required to assist even more in the community’s efforts.

METHODS

Before working with any of the materials of the program that was provided, a project work plan was developed to map out what tasks were going to be completed in order to assist in the efforts of Earn-A-Bike. Creation of the work plan was completed with the help of the online tool: Team Gantt, in order to help organize tasks and make set deadlines. The majority of my work and research to be conducted dealt with EAB’s policies and operations manual. I received access to these files via an online database called Box. Box is a website where files can be easily uploaded and changed if necessary and is used as a home base for all of the EAB program files. Using the past information from the program as well as looking at previous operation and facilitator manuals I compared what EAB already had in place and made the necessary corrections and/or changes.

Working with FLIPANY and its program as a satellite, it was best practice to utilize the information that could be readily accessed on the Internet. The many websites and documents researched helped with the task of locating and reviewing similar bike programs, biking organizations and other afterschool programs in Florida and nationwide funding grants that could assist the program. Methods of research in order to have proper background literature of peer-reviewed journals were completed via access to online journal databases such as EBSCOhost, JSTOR, and Google Scholar. Finally, utilizing online toolkits from the University of Kansas website, helped with writing the basis of an award-winning grant. Other online tools such as npguides.org and the grantdoctor.com provided many helpful tools to help build the grant as well. Data sets and research summaries were accessed from the Florida Department of Health website, the CDC website and other public afterschool websites including Youth.gov and the Afterschool Alliance.

RESULTS

The Earn-A-Bike operational manual and facilitator’s guide was reviewed to correct any grammatical errors, edit chart displays, and program policies that needed to be appropriately updated. The Program Coordinator and Health Education Specialist who was responsible specifically for the EAB program managed the approval of these changes. Community partnerships and online bike resources were compiled into a spreadsheet that could be easily accessed by the program to continually update in the future in order to seek out partnerships and funding opportunities. A general letter of inquiry that can be used as outreach for partnerships was also created as well as a basic outline of information that can be

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used for grant applications. Depending on the specifics of the grant that EAB will apply for, the outline can be used as a base for background literature and research. Several peer-reviewed journals used as a reference for the project were uploaded to the Box database that can be referred to and built upon if necessary. Lastly, an action logic plan was created to properly breakdown a suggested timeline for EAB’s future operations and plans. All of these forms can be found in the Appendix at the end of this manuscript.

CONCLUSION

Consistent revision and edit of Earn-A-Bike will encourage proper management of the program in order to fund and sustain the initiative as a part of the FLIPANY organization. It is important that team meetings about the programs that are current in FLIPANY are fulfilling their goals. These reviews would provide constructive criticism, create new ideas, and facilitate program changes as necessary.

The program’s public health competencies that were demonstrated as a part of the project were to identify and discuss strategies for collaboration and partnership among organizations focused on public health goals; describe and discuss the organization, financing, delivery, maintenance and administration of health service programs; evaluate a public health program or initiative, taking into account legal, economic, financing and effectiveness parameters; and to demonstrate understanding of the three core functions of public health (assessment, policy development, assurance).

The revision of these policies and procedures will ensure that the EAB program is ran at the best level. Ensuring that the information can be properly understood would foster future plans of longevity and expansion. With greater knowledge of the program, FLIPANY will be able to receive more funding, which will lead to more participants being enrolled and hopefully more of the youth on bikes being physically active in the Broward community. Minor steps of improvement will help EAB grow and develop into a program that could expand in all areas of South Florida.

As EAB develops, the aim would be to generate policy changes that benefit the children of the community. This means that neighborhoods are safe and properly identified with “biking” signage, roads are repaired for safe riding, bike paths are constructed to and from schools, and parks are kept clean and safe. Federal funding for afterschool programs are limited and the need far exceeds what is available. Currently, academic test scores, standardized grading systems, and set benchmarks are just a few of the categories that government policy makers focus on when trying to decide where the money should be put. Academic improvement afterschool programs are the main focus now, but social and developmental skill building should be as well. Students in high quality afterschool programs have better attendance; exhibit better behavior, grades and test scores compared to their non-participating peers (Afterschool Alliance, 2016).

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REFERENCES

Afterschool Supports Students' Success. Digital image. Afterschoolalliance.org. N.p., n.d. Web.

Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2007). The impact of after-school programs that promote personal and social skills. Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Halpern, Robert. "A Different Kind of Child Development Institution: The History of After-School Programs for Low-Income Children." Teachers College Record Teachers College Rec 104.2 (2002): 178-211. Web.

Kahne, J., J. Nagaoka, A. Brown, J. O'brien, T. Quinn, and K. Thiede. "Assessing After-School Programs as Contexts for Youth Development." Youth & Society 32.4 (2001): 421-46. Web.

Peth-Pierce, Robin. "A Good Beginning: Sending America's Children to School with the Social and Emotional Competence They Need To Succeed." N.p., 2000. Web. 20 June 2016.

Riggs, Nathaniel R., and Mark T. Greenberg. "After-School Youth Development Programs: A Developmental-Ecological Model of Current Research." Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 7.3 (2004): 177-90. Print.

WEBSITES ACCESSED

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/08/02/secrets-successful-afterschool-programs

http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/file/OSTissuebrief10_summary.pdf

http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/file/OSTissuebrief10_summary.pdf

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/evaluation/documents/EvaluationToolkitJun04.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/results.htm

http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/survey-data/youth-risk-behavior-survey/index.html

http://www.statewideafterschoolnetworks.net/

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/

http://florida.grantwatch.com/

http://fundsnetservices.com/

http://fundsnetservices.com/

http://youth.gov/

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