Washington, DC—The Department of Human Services (DHS), and the District of Columbia Public Library have partnered to ensure that young children participate in reading activities in homes that provide child care services through Reach Out and Read (ROAR). ROAR is an interactive program that engages children in reading and comprehension skills.

“Reading sparks the imagination of children and challenges them to ask questions. The Department of Human Services and our partner the DC Public Library are committed to eradicating illiteracy in the District and giving our children an opportunity to succeed,” said DHS Interim Director Brian Wilbon.   

Trained literacy specialists from the DC Public Library visit family child care homes throughout the city, coach licensed child care providers, and read aloud to children up to age five for 30 minutes each month. After literacy specialists complete the stories, children participate in a hands-on activity that furthers the reading experience.

“We know that children who enter school with poor language and poor pre-reading skills have a difficult time catching up,” said Barbara Ferguson Kamara, head of the DHS Early Care and Education Administration (ECEA). ECEA administers ROAR in partnership with the public library.

“When librarians read to children during in-home visits to family day care providers, they are encouraging a love of reading that will enhance school readiness,” Kamara said.

Kamara said that a recent survey conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 67 percent of fourth graders in the District scored below basic reading levels in 2005. The national rate of those who scored below basic reading levels is 38 percent.

In FY 2006, ROAR served more than 2,000 children with the program’s highest concentration of ongoing visits occurring in wards 6, 7, and 8. Additionally, literacy specialists have visited 103 family child care homes in the District and provided caregivers with reading material they would otherwise be unable to access. Since ROAR’s inception in 1992, 10,000 children have benefited from the program’s services. 

ROAR encourages providers, parents and children to obtain library cards at their nearest public library. The program also provides transportation for one annual trip to the nearest regional library for participating providers and children to introduce them first-hand to their local library’s location and services. ROAR hopes to expand the in-home reading program for children into every neighborhood and ward of the District.