• FY2016 was the first year of operation for this program [vendor], which is a collaboration with the University of Maryland. It should also be noted that the contract wasn’t fully executed until March of 2016, which impacted reporting numbers and targets as enrollment did not begin until May.

Main activities include Intensive case management and educational advocacy/support; Through delivery of the Choice Model in an in-school environment, The Choice Program provides a community-based intervention program in response to chronic absenteeism. It also provides an alternative to sending caregivers to court as a result of their child’s truancy. The model supports the positive development of youth through activities during and after school that build youth competence in multiple areas (e.g., educational, vocational, recreational, social), develops youth confidence and links youth to people and institutions in their community.

High schools in target zip codes (20747; 20743; 20746; 20785; 20748); youth younger than HS will be received on a case by case basis

Planning, Partnership and Program Development Work

Planning and discussions for program implementation between the Prince George’s County Department of Family Services and The Choice Program at UMBC began in July of 2015. After a number of planning phone calls and meetings, a proposal was submitted by The Choice Program at UMBC in November, 2015. Contract negotiations on the grant agreement occurred beginning in November, 2015 through February, 2016 with a fully executed contract being completed and received in mid-March 2016. During this period, the program design was refined and fully articulated with an implementation plan. Recruitment efforts began in earnest, with positions being advertised and staff attending recruitment fairs. On March 17, 2016, The Choice Program staff, along with the Department of Family Services, met with Ms. Jacqueline Naves, the Supervisor of Pupil Personnel for Prince George’s County Schools. At this meeting, the proposed program model and design was discussed. Ms. Naves subsequently sent The Choice Program instructions on becoming a formal partner with PG County Schools – which would be a requirement for accessing school and student data on attendance. The Choice Program submitted the partnership application for PG County Schools on March 24th. On May 6th, PG County Schools sent the Memorandum of Understanding for Choice Program review and comment in response to the partnership application. The Choice Program and the UMBC Legal Department reviewed and revised the MOU, sending back to PG County Schools. Despite efforts to follow up on the MOU on June 10th, July 7th, and August 4th, a response was not provided back until August 9th. The MOU is now in review back with The Choice Program and UMBC Legal pending signature and approval.

Due to the lag in response from PG County Schools, The Choice Program provided the youth referral form directly to the Department of Family Services in April, 2016. The Department of Family Services began referring youth in May, 2016, at which time Choice Program staff began outreach to families and conducting intakes immediately. The Choice Program hired a full time dedicated Service Coordinator to provide daily supervision and oversight to the project in May, 2016 and a Community Service Learning Fellow in June, 2016.

Based on initial conversations on what schools we would be partnering with, the Choice Truancy Reduction Team was physically located in The Choice Program office at 6495 New Hampshire Avenue in Hyattsville, MD.

Number of youth referrals

During FY16, a total of 10 youth referrals were received from the Department of Family Services or PG County CINS workers.

Number of outreach efforts

The Choice Program made one home visit and twenty-three phone calls in efforts to provide outreach to the referrals made by the Department of Family Services. A total of 45 home and community visits were conducted for active clients from the start of the program through June 30, 2016, resulting in 26 face-to-face contacts with family members and 42 face-to-face contacts with enrolled youth.

Number of students who enrolled

A total of five (5) students were enrolled in The Choice Program’s Truancy Reduction program in FY16. Enrollment began in May, 2016.

Highlights and Successes

The most notable highlights and successes that the Program experienced were around youth engagement and willingness to engage in positive, pro-social activities. Activities of note including tours of Howard University and Prince George’s County Community College, Six Flags, National’s baseball games, the CINS 1st Annual Young Men’s and Young Ladies’s Field Day with the Department of Family Services, the Choice Program sponsored basketball league, a female health workshop in conjunction with the Department of Family Services, and various outdoor recreational excursions. Choice staff have connected youth to local libraries and navigated getting library cards, and have also worked on summer break educational packets.

Choice staff have been diligently building relationships with youth’s families to engage them in service planning, goal setting, and support of youth’s academic efforts. Families have mostly been open and willing to engage with Choice staff and are opening up about barriers that they are facing in best supporting attendance or educational engagement. Choice staff have also accompanied families to Truancy Court appointments to provide support. Choice staff were unable formally participate in school-based meetings through the end of the fiscal year, but began to build relationships with school personnel at the end of the school year.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges that the program experienced during start-up was the length of time in establishing a fully-executed contract and having a signed grant agreement. This influenced program start-up and the number of youth who were able to become actively engaged in the program. Additionally, the MOU process with PG County Schools has been lengthy, and continues into FY17. This compelled the program to take an alternative approach to accepting referrals into the program. The resulting impact has been that youth were referred to the program from a wide geographic area within PG County and a larger than expected number of schools that the program staff would be engaging.

One youth was arrested during program participation. This arrest occurred in the community, and was not directly related to school attendance or behavior.

Trainings

The Choice Program contracted to receive training from the Syra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children, and the Courts through the University of Baltimore School of Law on effective truancy interventions, identifying root truancy causes, and effective engagement strategies with parents. Choice staff also participated in internal training opportunities that included documentation of service efforts, Service 101, Nonviolent Physical Crisis Intervention, Service Planning and Intake, Safety while performing field services, and Resiliency.

Number of home visits

Choice staff members made a total of 39 home visits, 6 community visits, and 7 school visits to youth actively engaged in The Choice Program from May to June, 2016.