ES-Star

1. When should the update of a family's income and number of children occur? (January 2004)
   
   Updates or changes in a family's income and number of children should be made as the information changes. Since this is yearly data, the information should be current at the end of the year.
   




2. If two fully participating Even Start parents are divorced/separated and live in two households and share custody of a child, where do we put the child's associated data? Are they considered two different households with different family numbers? Or should they be considered as one household? (January 2004)
   
   They should be considered as one family. The residence of the adults does not change the family, but consideration should be given to whether both parents participate in all components of Even Start Family Literacy.
   




3. If one parent and the only child are not participating and not enrolled for a period of time and the other parent is still enrolled and participating in parent literacy and parent education, should the hours of participation for the parent still be counted? (January 2004)
   
   No. If the only child is not participating, then this family is not eligible to participate in Even Start Family Literacy. Section 1236 requires that both a parent and their child participate in Even Start Family Literacy to be eligible for services
   




4. Now that we are using the online version of ES-Star, should we continue to back up our data? (January 2004)
   
   Yes. Programs must periodically back-up data using the ES-Star back-up function to ensure that data is available if something happens to the hard drive or to the web server.
   
   

5. What is the process for a family to transfer from one Even Start Family Literacy program to another? (October 2005)
   
   There are three potential circumstances for families to transfer from one program to another:

   Scenario A: families transferring from one program to a new eligible entity

   Scenario B: families transferring from a closed program to an existing program

   Scenario C: families transferring from one existing program to another existing program

   For all of these scenarios, partnerships must establish eligibility for all families that will be enrolled in the program. Families must meet the State’s literacy and poverty guidelines, as well as the locally defined most-in-need criteria.

   Programs are encouraged to use the most recent Parent Education Profile (PEP) and Preschool Language (PLS-IV) scores as the pre-test. Subsequent assessments will be administered 12 months from the pre-test date. Consider, as an example, a program that assessed a parent with the PEP in December 2004. The new eligible entity enrolled the parent in September 2005 and used the December 2004 scores as a pre-test entry in ES-Star. The new eligible entity will administer the PEP in December 2005 and record the scores as a post-test in ES-Star.

   Programs may use current assessment scores as pre-tests. The TABE and Best Plus assessments are generally considered current if they were administered within six months and the learner has received regular instruction. Subsequent assessments will be conducted after 100 hours of instruction in the new program.

   Special note for scenarios in which families transfer from one program to a new eligible entity:

   Since the funding for new eligible entities begins September 1, instructional hours for the months of July and August may not be reported for the new eligible entity.

   Special notes for scenarios in which families transfer from a closed program to an existing program:

   The existing program should carefully consider how well the program model and most-in-need criteria fit the potential new family. Equally important is for potential families to consider their ability to commit to the requirements of the new program.

   Since the funding for the closed program ends August 31, the existing program may report instructional hours for the months of July and August in ES-Star.

   Special note for scenarios in which families transfer from one existing program to another existing program:

   The new program should carefully consider how well the program model and most-in-need criteria fit the potential new family. Equally important is for potential families to consider their ability to commit to the requirements of the new program.

   The new program may not report hours of instruction from the previous program.




6. When should a program record the exit date a family is no longer participating in Even Start? (January 2004)
   
   Programs should enter the exit date as the last date that the family participated in the program and received instruction. In some cases, the exit date may not be clear (e.g., family moves and does not tell the program staff; program staff believe they will locate the family and continue serving them, but never do locate them), so the program should identify the last known date of family participation. 

   The end of a program year (June 30) presents additional challenges for programs. Some families may not participate during the summer months, but are expected to return in September. Programs typically do not enter an exit date for these families over the summer. In September, the program determines that the family is no longer participating, and needs to go back to the last date of participation. Programs should not carry these families over from the preceding program year in ES-Star. For these families, an exit date prior to July 1 should be entered to avoid the inclusion of these families in the subsequent program year.

7. On ES-Star, programs are required to enter the type of position for each staff member. What is the difference between "providing academic instruction" and "supporting academic instruction"? (March 2005)
   
   Staff who "provide academic instruction" are those individuals who provide instruction in the four core Even Start Family Literacy components (early childhood education, parent literacy, parenting education, and interactive literacy). These instructors must have earned a degree and meet the applicable state certification requirements.
   
   Staff who "support academic instruction" are those individuals who reinforce and practice instructional activities with learners after instructors have taught the activity or lesson. In New York State, individuals who support academic instruction must meet the certification requirements for teacher assistants.
   
   Programs are required to have at least one certified instructor for parent literacy and early childhood education. 
   
   
8. My family educators provide integrated instruction in the home and address early childhood education, parent literacy, and parenting. How should I record their full time equivalent (FTE) and their multiple roles? (March 2005)
   
   On the staff screen in ES-Star, programs are asked to identify the type of position and the percent paid by Even Start or In-kind. For staff members who provide multiple roles, programs may enter up to three different roles. For each role, programs should enter the appropriate FTE devoted to the specific role. 
   
   For example, a family educator provides integrated instruction in the home and address early childhood education, parent literacy, and parenting. The program may enter the "Type of Position" as support for academic instruction children, support for academic instruction adult ed., and support for academic instruction parenting. For each role, the program would enter the corresponding FTE up to 100 percent. The table below depicts how the information would be displayed on ES-Star. 
   

   Percent Paid by
   Even Start	In-Kind	Type of Staff Position
   .33		support for academic instruction children
   .33		support for academic instruction adult ed
   .34		support for academic instruction parenting

    

9. What are examples of "other support staff"? (March 2005)
   
   For ES-Star, other support staff refers to non-instructional support staff such as clerical staff, data entry staff, bus drivers, and teacher aides. 
   
   
10. The family educators on our staff obtained their Teacher Assistant certification. The drop-down menu for "Type of Certification" does not include the teacher assistant title. Where should I record this? (March 2005)
    
    The "Type of Certification" drop-down menu includes instructional certification areas only. You may type in other certification titles not included on the list. The maximum number of characters for each title is 250. 
    
    
11. Should staff who are no longer working with Even Star Family Literacy be included in ES-Star? (March 2005)
    
    ES-Star contains information on all staff who worked or are working with Even Start Family Literacy for the current program year only. Information on staff who left prior to July 1st should be removed. Information on staff who leave between July 1st and June 30th must be retained. 
    
    
12. Should information on evaluators be included on the staff screen in ES-Star? (March 2005)
    
    No. Even Start Family Literacy statute requires all local programs to have an independent evaluation. As such, a local evaluator is a contractor not an employee of a local program.