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<ol>
<li> To characterize demographics,food handling experience, knowledge of safe food handling, training needs of in-home caregivers </li>
<li> To assess food handling conditions in in-home care environments </li>
<li> To develop Fight BAC!-based video segments in English and Spanish </li>
<li> To develop a series of large print and low literacy fact sheets and caregiver-guided activities for children in English and Spanish.</li>
<li> To develop a lesson guide for agents/instructors who use the materials in more formal community-based training.</li>
<li> To develop self-study, correspondence type materials based on Fight BAC!TM that could be used by registered family child care providers, parents, and others. </li>
<li> To train Extension Agents and EFNEP/FNP program assistants to implement education programs using these materials. </li>
<li> To evaluate the effectiveness of the materials in changing knowledge and food handling behavior among the targeted audiences. </li> </ol>
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Interviews will be conducted with family child care providers to gather demographic information about the intended audiences, to gather information about common food handling practices in child care and to determine training needs in the food safety area among providers and the parents they serve.</p>
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Focus group interviews also will be conducted with child care licensing/family services personnel in order to gather additional information about family child care and to determine needs based on the expertise and observations of these experts. </p>
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Approximately 10-15 adults will participate in each session. Results will be used to guide development of the materials and the implementation and impact evaluation protocols. </p>
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Fact sheets and activities will be designed for general awareness and will be appropriate for a variety of audiences including informal caregivers and parents. A self-study package will be developed so that registered family child care providers can receive formal credit. </p>
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Materials will be developed in both English and Spanish and in multiple formats, including simple video segments; low literacy and large print fact sheets; workbooks that support the self-study certification option; directions for caregiver-guided, developmentally appropriate safe food handling activities for children; and activity sheets for children.</p>
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Evaluation tools will be developed for assessing the outcome and impacts of the educational intervention with the target audience as well as the usefulness and convenience of the training materials.</P>
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Pilot programs will be implemented in both Georgia and Mississippi by County Extension agents and/or EFNEP/FNP program assistants who are already working with parents and home-based caregivers. These instructors will be trained to implement and evaluate this effort to ensure a high degree of uniformity across pilot sites. Agents/program assistants will pilot the training with family child care providers and informal caregivers. </p>
<P>
The self-study course and the materials for informal caregivers will include evaluation components in the form of knowledge pre- and post-tests. Pre- and post-evaluation will include observations of food handler behaviors and safe food handling violations and conditions as determined by visits to the homes prior to and following the implementation of the educational intervention. </p>
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Pilot participants will receive a materials kit that includes thermometers, cutting boards, etc. and evaluation tools will assess the usage of these items. Control providers who are exposed only to the knowledge pre- and post-tests and the pre- and post observations will be included to determine effectiveness of the educational materials. </p>
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Participants who complete the training will receive a certificate. For registered family child care home providers, a score of 80% on the self-study post-test must be attained to receive formal credit. </p>
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Data will be analyzed using SAS and/or SPSS.</P>