Moving from Compliance to Quality

1. Moving from Compliance to Quality Diana BowmanBeth Garriss Hardy, PhDJan Moore National Center for Homeless Education Building a Strong Foundation for Your McKinney-Vento Program

2. Big Picture Thinking Programmatic approach A limited set of goals is derived from needs; long-term planning Activities not related to goals are eliminated – prioritization – better use of time and resources Success is measured by whether the goal is reached and need is addressed List of activities • Every activity is just as important as any other – difficult to distinguish level of importance • Short-term focus • Success is measured by whether the activity is completed, not whether this is the best activity

3. Why a programmatic approach? • Clear links between needs, goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and resources • Helps prioritize your work and make the work manageable • Enables you to plan & be strategic over time • Provides a rationale and logic for describing your work to others (such as those who can provide resources) • Enables you to define and show progress

4. Fundamentals of Program Thinking • Using data • Conducting a needs assessment • Creating collaboratives • Setting goals • Prioritizing activities • Measuring progress

5. Utilizing Data • Overview of 2008-2009 CSPR • How the data can help • Free and reduced lunch • Homeless • Urban Institute stats • Tracking the barriers • Record issues as they arise • Determine how to address

6. Table Discussion • What do the numbers in your district tell you? • Are your numbers changing? • Are you seeing trends? • What barriers do you still face? • What resources are available? • How are you using the data?

7. What Overbrook discovered… The local homeless liaison in the Overbrook School District noticed that the district data showed that: • Many more homeless children were identified in elementary schools than high schools • Homeless high school youth performed far below other students and dropped out at a higher rate • Attendance among homeless high school-aged youth was much more sporadic thanthat of non-homeless students

8. Conducting a Needs Assessment – Why? • Ensures that decisions are based on data • Creates a cross-program view of the needs of homeless children and youth • Helps identify gaps between needs and services • Reinforces collective responsibility • Creates a foundation for collaboration • Provides a basis for the Title IA homelessset aside amount

9. Getting Started • Create a needs assessment committee • Establish meeting schedule • Make the case with program administrators for the importance of data-based decision making

10. A Sample Tool • NCHE’s Needs Assessment Worksheet – LEA • Guiding Questions: • Awareness • Policies/Procedures • Identification/Enrollment/Access • Student Success • Collaboration • Internal • External • Resources/Capacity

11. Make it yours Sample Needs Assessment Worksheet • Choose the questions most suitable for your situation • Adopt or adapt according to your needs • Adjust level of specificity of questions – depth might vary according to current status of program • Be strategic. Collect all the databut only the data you need

12. Needs Assessment Summary Score sheet to accompany worksheets • Current status? • Biggest challenges? • What’s missing? • What’s next?

13. Overbrook’s needs assessment identified homeless unaccompanied youth as one area of significant need What They Learned: • School staff and teachers were not aware of homeless youth or how to identify them • Schools were reluctant to enroll homeless unaccompanied youth • Few housing options for homeless youth – most couch surfed and some went to a youth shelter in the next district; many who were attending school “disappeared”

14. More on what Overbrook learned from the needs assessment … • Many homeless unaccompanied youth struggled to meet basic needs; many were arrested for illegal activities, such as stealing • Title I services were focused only on elementary schools • A civic organization operated a small mentoring program for youth in the community

15. Choosing a focus Overbrook decided for the next year to focus on the needs of unaccompanied youth as a critical need. Is this a wise decision?

16. Richmond (VA) School District’s Approach • Most Significant Finding in the Needs Assessment • 35% of documented homeless children & youth were between the ages of 0–5 years. • Goal • All preschool homeless children enroll in and attend preschool programs. • Desired Outcome • Increase in # of homeless preschool children receiving early intervention.

17. Program Activities • Development of district policy for homeless children • School/shelter/community in-service & staff development (Head Start, principals, DSS, etc.) • Data collection – Comprehensive intake forms • Transportation – Bus tickets (GRTC grant) and inter-district transportation collaboration • Infant/toddler program • Collaboration with Head Start/Early Head Start • Tutoring program in all shelters • Parenting program

18. Outcomes impacted several areas … • Increase in # of parents/guardians and unaccompanied youth who are informed of their rights and educational opportunities. • Increase in # of parents and unaccompanied youth who will make the best interest decisions regarding school enrollment and educational stability. • Increase in # of collaborative efforts with federal programs, LEA staff, and community based service providers to assist in the identification, documentation, and provision of services for homeless children and youth and their families.

19. Outcomes (cont.) • Increase in # of homeless students demonstrating academic progress and taking state assessments. • Increase in # of homeless students experiencing stability in school and having regular attendance. • Increase in # of homeless preschool children identified as homeless by LEA and community based agencies enrolled and attending a SEA, LEA public preschool, private daycare, and have access to developmental assessments. • One focused activity can have multiple impacts.

20. What’s Next? Generate an Action Plan • Bring people to the table • Establish goals with measurable objectives • Prioritize the work • Determine who will carry out the plan • Clarify roles and responsibilities • Decide how you will measure success

21. Who should be involved in planning for the Overbrook program? • School - social workers, teachers, principals, enrollment staff • School district – Title I coordinator, truancy officers, transportation director • Community – service providers, DSS, law enforcement • Others?

22. 5 Critical Questions for Collaborative Planning • Where are we now? • Where do we want to go? • How will we get there? • How will we know we are there? • How can we keep it going? Edie L. Holcomb, Asking the Right Questions:Tools for Collaboration and School Change

23. Develop Goals • Should derive from needs assessment • Should be limited in number • Should have measurable objectives • Should be ambitious but realistic Standards and Indicators for Quality McKinney-Vento Programs would be a useful tool. What goals would you recommend for Overbrook?

24. Goals Overbrook Selected • All homeless students, including homeless unaccompanied youth, are identified and enrolled in school. • All homeless students, including homeless unaccompanied youth, will experience stability in school. • All homeless unaccompanied youth will have their basic needs met through community collaborations.

25. Measurable Objectives • Number of homeless youth identified and enrolled in school will increase by 25 % • The attendance rate for homeless youth will improve by 25 % • All identified homeless youth will receive services for basic needs – food, clothing, housing

26. How to Prioritize the Work • What are the most critical areas that need to be addressed? • Which activities will have the greatest impact? • What activities can I do that will provide a foundation for impact? • Which activities need to be done now and which should come later?

27. What activities would enable the objectives to be accomplished to meet the goals? • Should be concrete • Should be doable • Should relate directly to the goals (those that do not should be put on the back burner) What activities would you recommend for each goal?

28. But, I am only one person! Making the work manageable

29. Manage your Time Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Effective People Where should you spend your time?

30. Benefits of Working in Q2 • Expand capacity • Partnerships and collaborations • Build the infrastructure • Increase awareness • Develop policies and procedures • Pre-empt crises • Anticipate problems

31. What can you do to create a more programmatic approach to serving homeless children and youth? • What can you build on? • What barriers do you face? • How can these barriers be addressed?

32. Get to Know NCHE… • NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education’s homeless education technical assistance and information center • NCHE has • A comprehensive website: www.serve.org/nche • A toll-free helpline: Call 800-308-2145 or e-mail homeless@serve.org • A listserv: e-mail tlewis@serve.org to join • Free resources (including The Local Liaison Toolkit) Visit www.serve.org/nche/products.php • NCHE is housed with NCHEP at the SERVE Center at UNCG

33. Contact Information National Center for Homeless Education Toll-free Helpline 800-308-2145 Diana Bowman 336-315-7453 dbowman@serve.org