In 1995, researchers Betty Hart, Ph.D. and Todd Risley, Ph.D. uncovered a startling correlation between family income, household auditory environments and success in school and beyond. For a child’s vocabulary to develop on an appropriate trajectory, children need to hear at least 21,000 words per day. But children in the lowest income bracket miss that benchmark by more than 5,000 words every day. Low-income children hear 73% fewer words than children in high-income households and 54% fewer words than children in middle-income families This has proven to have a negative impact on long-term educational attainment, health outcomes, economic prospects and future family stability.

Providence Talks combines a new technology capable of measuring language environments with a comprehensive coaching curriculum for parents. This model supports parents in improving the language environments of their children, at the time when brain development science indicates that language development is most critical and with a goal of ultimately preparing them for academic success in kindergarten and beyond.

The Providence Talks model is using innovative technology -  small, wearable recording devices, or “word pedometers,” record up to sixteen hours of what a child hears in the course of a day. Software automatically analyzes the recording and counts the number of words, interactions (called conversational turns), and media exposure. The recording, which is never listened to, is then securely deleted. A feedback report on the day is generated based on the data from the analysis, which enables families to measure their progress over time. This technology was developed by the Colorado-based LENA Research Foundation. 

The Providence Talks curriculum trains families on how to improve their homes’ language environments by increasing both the number and quality of adult words and the level of interaction between children and their caregivers. It is aligned to Rhode Island’s Early Learning and Development Standards and focuses on integrating skill development within the context of a families’ existing daily routines. By tailoring coaching and delivery of the curriculum to the individual needs and perspectives of each family, Providence Talks can help to ensure the success of all participants. Each session of the Providence Talks curriculum is composed of several elements to ensure quality and effective delivery of education to the parent/caregiver regarding literacy and language promotion strategies.

The Providence Talks pilot launched with the first coaching session in November 2013. It leveraged existing home visitation relationships that three local nonprofits (Children’s Friend, Family Service of Rhode Island, and Meeting Street) had with families. The pilot was designed to test the service delivery model for Providence Talks with a small number of agencies and participants, and to learn from that experience and perfect the model before rolling out citywide. The home visiting model used in the pilot delivered the curriculum through 13 in-home coaching sessions. Sessions were held bi-weekly for the first five months of the program and then moved to a monthly schedule for the following three months. Two follow-up visits were completed three and six months after completion of the program to assess and support retention of the skills gained throughout the program.

The completed pilot of the coaching model reached 170 families. The project team made changes to the model based on findings from the pilot, including feedback from end-users, home visits, and the Brown University evaluation team.

The program is rapidly expanding and will reach 2,500 children by 2017. The project team is continuing to refine the program model to reach more children and achieve cost efficiency at scale. This includes piloting a group model and a professional caregiver model. 

Providence Talks is positioned to lead the way in work that will be crucial for policymakers and partners across the country as they grapple with these issues.

The lead agency for the Providence Talks program is the City of Providence who also provides significant funding for the program.

In 2013 Providence Talks won the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge prize of US$5million dollars.  

Partnerships have been formed with non-profit organizations:

• Children’s Friend  
• Family Service of Rhode Island 
• Meeting Street

Brown University is providing analysis and evaluation of the program outcomes.

Providence Talks has completed a pilot phase, serving 170 families by leveraging existing home visiting programs of their partner nonprofit organizations. Preliminary pilot results demonstrate gains in key metrics predictive of a child’s academic success. All families completing at least 30% of the program improved their average daily adult word counts, with the most significant gains occurring for those with the lowest starting counts. 

• Providence Talks families are improving the language development environments in their homes. Those who start out at the lowest levels are making the most significant progress, increasing words spoken in the home by 50%.
• Ongoing coaching helps Providence Talks families maintain their word count gains and make behavioural changes throughout the program. 
• Providence Talks’ families are making improvements in the amount of direct engagement between caregivers and children.
• Overall, families report that being part of Providence Talks is a positive experience where they are learning new skills.

The City of Providence is partnering with Brown University to design and implement a rigorous, third-party evaluation of both short - and long-term impacts of Providence Talks.

The project team came to appreciate the value of prototyping and piloting as opposed to lengthy and arduous planning. At the start, progress was slow because the team didn’t want to do anything without it being 100 percent right. A leadership change at Providence City Council brought a new philosophy: test, learn, adapt. The leadership shifted the culture to one that sees failure as the best way to learn how to tackle the next challenge. This meant the team was able to explore new ideas quickly and effectively. For example, in developing new service delivery models for community groups and day care centers, the team piloted the use of a single provider. This allowed a variety of ideas and approaches to be tested before making final decisions about how the new program model would be rolled out across the network. 

A number of key findings have implications for the development of this model in order to reach significant scale in the City of Providence and position Providence Talks for potential replication in other municipalities.

Providence Talks will continue to share materials that other cities can use to develop local programs. These efforts will increase as the program reaches greater scale and there is more evidence of impact.  

Bloomberg Philanthropies - Mayors Challenge - http://mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org/ideas/providence-talks/ 

Mayors Challenge 2013 Grand Prize Winner: Providence, Rode Island - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXTUNpwXCoE&feature=youtu.be