Danielle Linowes

EDT 474B
Ecology Project
Section 1- Washington, DC Census Information

Section 2- Services in Washington, DC

1. Early Stages
Walker Jones Education Campus Location- 1125 New Jersey Avenue NW
Minnesota Avenue Location- 4058 Minnesota Avenue NE
Phone: 202-698-8037
Fax: 202-535-1112
Service: Early Stages will identify and evaluate children between the
ages of 2 years 8 months and 5 years 10 months and recommend
appropriate services for those with special needs.
2. Families Forward
442 C Street NE Suite B, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202 639-9760
Fax: 202-639-9763
Service: The mission of Families Forward, Inc. is to provide homeless
and low-income families in the Washington area with quality housing,
individualized support, and marketable training so that they can obtain
the skills and motivation necessary to achieve self-sufficiency.
3. Child and Family Services Agency- Grandparent Program
200 I Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202-442-6100
Fax: 202-727-6505
Service: The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is a cabinet-level
agency within the District of Columbia government, dedicating itself to
the safety, permanence, and well-being of children and families
residing in the District. The Grandparent Program provides monthly
financial assistance to help you care for the child related to and living
with you.
4. Department of Human Services- Family Violence Prevention

64 New York Avenue, NE, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20002

Phone: 202-299-2155
Fax: 202-671-4326
Service: The Family Violence Prevention and Services Program is an
initiative that supports the establishment, maintenance and expansion
of programs and projects to prevent incidents of family violence. It also
provides immediate shelter and related assistance for victims of family
violence and their dependents that meet the needs of all victims,
including those in underserved communities.
5. Department of Human Services- SNAP
64 New York Avenue, NE, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-671-4200
Fax: 202-671-4325
Service: The Districts SNAP program helps low-income residents and
families buy the food they need for good health.
6. Department on Disability Services
1125 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-730-1700
Fax: 202-730-1843
Service: The Department on Disability Services (DDS) is composed of
two Administrations that oversee and coordinate services for residents
with disabilities through a network of private and non-profit providers:
Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) and Rehabilitation
Services Administration (RSA).
7. Washington English Center
2200 California St., NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: 202-387-2222
Service: Since 1993, Washington English Center, (formerly Language,
Education, and Technology Center Language ETC), a communitybased program, has offered English and literacy training to low-income
adult immigrants in the greater Washington area using volunteer
teachers and tutors.
8. Destiny-Pride Inc.
1834 Bay Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202- 547-0202
Service: Destiny-Pride, a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation,
was formed with the goal of facilitating and providing collaborative
support, resources and services through a variety of educational and
social programs, to promote the social welfare of children, youth
(including those with social-emotional barriers to learning) and the
families from which they come. Emotional barriers may include mental
health concerns, behavioral issues, family/environmental stressors, and
exposure to violence and/or trauma.

9. Childrens National Health System

111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20010
Phone: 202-476-5000
Service: As the nations childrens hospital, Childrens National Health
System aims to excel in clinical care, advocacy, research, and
education. We provide a quality healthcare experience for our patients
and their families. We also improve health outcomes for children and
lead in the creation of innovative solutions to pediatric health
challenges.
10.
Comprehensive Community Health and Psychological Services
1250 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-543-5830
Fax: 202-543-5832
Service: The mission of Comprehensive Community Health &
Psychological Services, LLC is to remove the stigma associated with
receiving behavioral health treatment while providing quality mental
health services to underserved populations.
Section 3- Action Plan Ideas and Project Reflection
1. Characteristic/Need: In Section 1, I found that 10.8% of individuals
living in Washington, D.C. have a disability.
Community Resource: There are multiple community resources for
children and adults living with a disability. The first is Early Stages,
which assesses and provides services for children with disabilities
between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. The Department on Disability
Services provides services for individuals with disabilities such as
employment training, independent living services, and services for
youth transitioning out of school into the real world.
Action Plan Proposal: In order to make parents aware of these
resources, I would include the websites and information about the
agencies on my classroom website. I would also tell parents about
these agencies based on the needs that they appear to have or the
presence of a disability in the family.
2. Characteristic/Need: In Section 1, I found that poverty and
unemployment is a prominent issues. There is a 10.4% unemployment
rate among individuals who are in the civilian labor force. In addition,
15.7% of families live below the poverty line.
Community Resource: There are many community resources for people
who live in poverty and/or are unemployed. Families Forward provides
housing and job training for people who are experiencing
homelessness and are of low-income. In addition, the Department of

Human Services has the SNAP program that provides food stamps to
low-income families and individuals. Destiny-Pride Inc. is a nonprofit
organization that connects families in need with the social services
that they qualify for.
Action Plan Proposal: I would make these resources available by
highlighting each one weekly in my parent newsletter. I will also
contact those agencies in order to make a personal connection and
invite them into an open house if necessary.
3. Characteristic/Need: While the census bureau does not highlight
statistics on mental health, it is an issue everywhere in the United
States.
Community Resource: The Comprehensive Community Health and
Psychological Services provides treatment for individuals with mental
health problems.
Action Plan Proposal: I will make this resource available through the
Parent Resource Library that will be in my classroom.
4. Characteristic/Need: In Section 1, I found that 6.7% of individuals in
D.C. do not have health insurance coverage. In addition, based on the
poverty rate, many individuals cannot afford health care services.
Community Resource: The Childrens National Health System is a
network of hospitals that serve children in the D.C. area. They are offer
payment plans for low-income families and work with many health care
plans. They also help people without insurance find the appropriate
insurance plan for them.
Action Plan Proposal: I will highlight this as one of the social services in
my weekly newsletter to parents.
5. Characteristic/Need: In Section 1, I found that 17.9% of the population
5 years and over speak a language other than English.
Community Resource: Washington English Center offers English classes
for low-income, non-English speakers.
Action Plan Proposal: When I meet with parents and families, I will
provide this resource to them based on need. If I find that many
families are non-English speakers, I will provide this resource in the
parent newsletter.
6. Characteristic/Need: While the census bureau did not have statistics on
domestic violence, according to the DC Coalition against Domestic
Violence, 32,794 domestic violence-related calls were made to the
police in 2013.
Community Resource: The Department of Human Services has a Family
Violence Prevention Program. It provides shelter and assistance to
victims of domestic violence, as well as counseling, group therapy, and
case management.

Action Plan Proposal: I will provide this resource in the parent library
and on my classroom website. I will also suggest this resource to
parents who reveal a domestic violence problem to me during a
meeting.

Question 1- Lessons Learned

While I have lived 30 minutes outside of D.C. my entire life, I did not
truly understand the population and their needs. By looking through the
census information, I discovered a lot about the type of individuals who live
in D.C. There is a lot of diversity within the city, but poverty is definitely an
issue. However, I found many services that address the varying aspects of
poverty. While researching, I wondered what qualifies a person to be in some
of these categories. For instance, I wonder what requirements a person must
meet to be under the disability status and poverty status categories. I was
surprised that a lot of the data was organized by family, and again I wonder
what the census bureau qualifies as a family. Overall, this project allowed me
to learn about the characteristics of the population that I will serve as a
future teacher.
Question 2- Influence
As an educator in D.C., I will be more aware of the needs of the
students that I will be teaching. I will look more closely into each of my
students backgrounds and will not assume anything about them just
because of the census information. However, examining the characteristics
of this population has prepared me more for what I could possibly encounter.
My approach to parental involvement has changed as a result of this
information. Not all parents can be fully and actively involved in their childs
education because of all of the other things they are dealing with, such as
unemployment, hunger, and homelessness. I believe that it is my job as a
teacher to serve my students and their families in every way that I can and
provide the resources to make them successful.