Family Literacy Program

The Family Literacy Program provides a variety of literacy development activities for parents and their children. The three main components of this program are adult education, early childhood education and Parent and Child Together Time.

Family Literacy activities provide valuable learning experiences for children learning in shelter.

The uniqueness of this program is that it is offered in a shelter setting where the families are transient. The program is designed so that parents can engage at any point and not feel that they have “missed” something.

The goal is to help parents see themselves as their child’s first teachers, help children catch up with their peers academically, and for all family members to have the opportunity to improve their literacy skills.  The program also acts as a liaison to other education and employment programs.

Crossroads Rhode Island’s Family Literacy and Employment Services Program has been developed on the foundation of Family Literacy which is defined as an "...approach [that] offers whole families educational opportunities so that every member is able to improve literacy and life skills. It is based upon the simple, but powerful premise that parents and children learn best when learning together. The benefits span generations: both parents and their children build essential skills to learn and compete in today’s economy… Time and again, family literacy proves to break down other barriers to success, such as poverty, unemployment, poor health and inadequate housing. When parents struggle with literacy and basic life skills, their children have fewer chances for success. Family literacy reverses this destructive cycle by giving families the tools they need to thrive today, and most importantly, by helping them educate generations of tomorrow…" (source: The National Center for Family Literacy)