www.forumfyi.org

Ready by 21 is a trademark of the Forum for Youth Investment, core operating division of Impact Strategies, Inc.

The SCPA uses the Forum for Youth Investment’s Ready by 21 ™ approach as the basis for its youth development framework and related

activities.

Ready by 21

GRUNDY COUNTY

Pilot Project Summary

Facilitators: Joan Leigh & Anita Young, Education Service Network

& Claudia Baird, Aunt Martha’s Youth Services Center

Technical Assistance: Felicia Roberson, Prevention First

Consultation: The Forum For Youth Investment

Rb21 Symposium, Chicago IL • June 28, 2007

The Changing Face of Grundy

County

Youth Ages 5-17 in Grundy County

'4 Agencies in Will, Gundy, and Kendall

Legend

Youth Population Ages 5 -17

By Census Block Group

01 - 273274 - 733734 - 12031204 - 22202221-4501

Parks

'4'4'4'4'4

'4'4'4

'4'4'4

'4'4

'4

'4'4'4

'4

'4

'4'4

'4'4'4

'4'4'4'4'4'4'4'4

'4

'4

'4'4'4

'4'4'4'4

'4

'4

'4

Kendall

Grundy

Will

4

Why conduct a landscape mapping survey for Grundy

County?

• Readiness• “Moving Train”• Goals

- Assist Healthy Community Steering Group with planned assessment

- Provide youth-specific data- Create a framework for

discussion and planning- Help the county understand

and address critical issues pertaining to youth

5

MethodologyMethodologyDevelopment

• Adapted from long form developed by the Forum for Youth Investment

• Decided to look at the the entire county, not just one community

• Survey tailored by ESN & Aunt Martha’s with input from Healthy Community Steering Group

• Survey was test run by Grundy County Rb21 pilot team

• Rb21 framework & survey promoted at local meetings

MethodologyMethodologyDissemination

• Survey was mailed during first week of April to list of 103 recipients identified as known or possible youth service providers. Deadline: April 25

• Survey was accompanied by letter from Healthy Community Steering Group

• After deadline, follow-up calls were made to solicit survey return

• Telephone and in-person support were given to respondents as needed

RespondentsRespondentsSurvey

ParticipationTo date, the Grundy County Rb21 survey team has received and inputted responses from 65 programs.

Government Agencies 7 programs

Business Operations 4 programs

Community/Civic 6 programs

Schools 15 programs

Education/Training 1 program

Faith Organizations 3 programs

Nonprofit Organizations18 programs

Workforce Providers 1 program

Other Organizations 10 programs

8

RespondentsRespondents

Many non-school respondents serve Grundy County from outside of Grundy County as part of a larger service area.

There is no higher education institution located in Grundy County.

Location of Non-School Youth Providers

17

33

Outside Grundy County

In Grundy County

RespondentsRespondents

• Most of the organizations represented in the Grundy County survey are small (29% had staffing of 0 to 5 people). Only 4% had more than 100 staff members.

• 50% of programs had staff consisting of 5 or fewer people.

Program Size (# of Employees)

50%

15%

28%

7% 0%

0-5

6-10

11-50

51-100

100+

10

The most-cited goal area reported by Grundy County programs was CONNECTING, followed closely by LEARNING.

Ready by 21 Goal Areas

What goal areas does the program primarily address?

23%

48%

72%

28%

69%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Learning

Working

Thriving

Connecting

Leading

Ready by 21

Percent

11

Services, Supports & Services, Supports & OpportunitiesOpportunities

224

140

7063

185

84

175

149

49 50

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mb

er

Rep

ort

ing

Connecting Contributing Learning Thriving Working

Ready by 21 Goal Areas

Services, Supports & Opportunities—PRIMARY or

Primary Secondary

12

How many youth are served by age?

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

0-5

6-10

11-14

15-18

19-21

22-25

Ag

e R

ang

es

Number of Youth

Numbers of Youth Served

What Time of Day Do Youth Receive Services?

When Are Services Provided in a Youth's DAY?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Before School

During School Day

Daytime for out of schoolyouth

After School

Evening

In a

Yo

uth

's D

ay

Percent

What Days of the Week Do Youth Receive Services?

When are Services Provided in a Youth's WEEK?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

M-F

Weekends

All Week

Percent

What Times of the Year Do Youth Receive Services?

When Are Services Provided in a Youth's YEAR?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

School Year

Holidays

Summer

All Year

For How Long Are the Youth Services Provided?

How Long Are Services Per Session?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Short (lessthan 1 hr)

Medium (1-5hrs)

Long Over (5hrs)

Ongoing

Len

gth

Percent

How Often Are Services Available?

How often are services available?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Once

Occasionally

Consistently

Ongoing

Where Are Services Delivered?

27%

14%

13%

11%

2%

13%

38%

2%

5%

5%

2%

37%

22%

8%

8%

22%

0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Elementary School

Faith Org

Child Care Center

Private Facility

At a Mall

Workplace

Middle School

Park

Rec Center

Clinic/Health Care Facility

Street (outreach)

Business venue

High School

Library

Community Center

Client Home

Other: Define

Lo

cati

on

Percent

Service SettingService Setting

What settings are services provided in?

27%

67%

5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Individually

Group

Both

Setting

Percent

Most Grundy County programs offer services in both individual and group settings.

LanguagesLanguages

In what languages are services provided in?

English

Other: Define

SPANISH

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Language

Percent

Charges for ServiceCharges for Service

Are youth/families charged for services?

67%

6%

35%

13%

8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Ch

arg

es

Percent

Other: DefineSliding ScaleFeesMembershipNo Charge

Publicizing ServicesPublicizing Services

How are youth informed about services?

64%

62%

52%

51%

62%

33%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Met

ho

ds

of

Co

mm

un

icat

ing

Percent

Other: Define

Word of Mouth-ProvidersWord of Mouth- Youth

Public Advertising

Fliers

Info sessions

Increasing Positive Increasing Positive OutcomesOutcomes

ORGANIZATIONS THAT INCREASE POSITIVE OUTCOMES

2126

914

2420

2622

13

3025

11

29

14

28

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Hig

h A

cad

em

icM

oti

vati

on

s/A

sp

irati

on

s

Hig

her

Acad

em

icA

ch

ievem

en

t

GED

Com

ple

tion

Em

plo

yed

/Acti

vely

Seekin

g E

mp

loym

en

t

Posit

ive A

ttit

ud

es

tow

ard

s W

ork

Pu

rsu

ing

Care

er

Develo

pm

en

t

Ph

ysic

al S

afe

ty

En

gag

e in

Reg

ula

rExerc

ise/H

ealt

hy D

iet

Pra

cti

ce "

safe

r sex"

or

ab

sti

nen

ce

Team

work

Valu

ing

Div

ers

ity

Navig

ati

on

Skills

Su

pp

ort

ive

Rela

tion

sh

ips w

ith

Fam

ily/F

rien

ds

Civ

ically A

cti

ve

Con

trib

uti

ng

to

Com

mu

nit

y L

ife

Outcome

Num

ber

of

Resp

onse

s

LEARNING WORKING THRIVING CONNECTING

LEADING

Dotted line at 20.8 shows average number of organizations that report working to

increase positive outcomes.

Decreasing Negative Decreasing Negative OutcomesOutcomes

ORGANIZATIONS THAT REDUCE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES

22

18 19

9

25

9 10 11

18

10

25

8 8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Sch

oo

l Dro

pO

ut

Gra

de

Re

ten

tio

n

Po

or

Wo

rkH

ab

its

Po

or

Wo

rkH

isto

ry

Su

bst

an

ceA

bu

se

Ea

rly

Pre

gn

an

cy

ST

Ds

Su

icid

e

Vio

len

ce

Ga

ng

Pa

rtic

ipa

tio

n

An

tiso

cia

lB

eh

av

ior

Vo

ter

Ap

ath

y

Ha

te C

rim

es

Outcome

Num

ber

of

Resp

onse

s

LEARNING WORKING THRIVING CONNECTING

LEADING

Dotted line at 14.8 shows average number of organizations that report working to

reduce negative outcomes.

Measuring SuccessMeasuring Success

How do Grundy County programs show progress? The chart at right shows the ways these organizations measure their outcomes.

How Organizations Measure Outcomes

21

33

39

17

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Anecdotal

Surveys

Evaluation

Other

Meth

od

Number of Organizations

Measuring SuccessMeasuring Success

What kinds of data do Grundy County organizations collect? The chart at left shows what kind of information is recorded to measure progress.

What Kind of Data Is Collected?

40

33

18

25

3

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Count

Outcome

Program Outputs

Program Quality

Other

Data

Typ

e

Number of Organizations

Measuring SuccessMeasuring Success

Most programs record attendance or participation to track the number of youth engaged.

Keeping Count of Youth Engaged in Program

36

20

12

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

How manyyouth

Number ofreferrals

Other

Trackin

g M

eth

od

Number of Organizations

Measuring SuccessMeasuring Success

Grundy County programs look most at the number of times youth participate and/or the number of repeat visitors

How Much Are Youth Engaged?

28

8

15

12

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Number of timesparticipating

Number of timescollaborating

Number ofrepeat visitors

Other

Trackin

g M

eth

od

Number of Organizations

Populations TargetedPopulations Targeted

Certain programs are limited to special groups, including pregnant teens, youth from low-income families, developmentally disabled, youth with emotional/behavioral disorders, sexual assault victims, runaways, etc.

35% serve

specific groups

65%

serve all youth

Service Availability

Special Youth Populations in Grundy CountyGroup No. of Programs That ServeLimited English 1Spanish 0Other Language 0Gender-specific 1Male 0Female 0GLBQTT 0Low income 5Immigrant 0Migrant 0Homeless/transient 3In Foster Care 3Drop Out 1Involved with Justice 4Parents Incarcerated 1Physical/Learning Disabilities 4Teen Parents 4Other 15

Populations TargetedPopulations Targeted

Improvements NeededImprovements Needed

Nearly 3 out of 4 Grundy County Programs cite a need for funding and over 40% require more staff to expand and/or improve their programs.

What is needed to expand/improve the program?

17%

23%

3%

73%

13%

42%

22%

22%

10%

3%

25%

35%

7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Publicity

Collab.

Research/Eval

Funding

Training

Staff

Volunteers

Equip.

Meals/Snacks

Repair/Renov.

Transport.

Space

Other: Define

Imp

rove

men

ts/E

xpan

sio

n

Percent

Improvements NeededImprovements Needed

Over half of program respondents say they could serve 26 to 100 more youth as a result of needed improvements.

How many MORE youth could be served with those improvements/expansions?

10%

28%

28%

8%

10%

4%

8%

1-25 26-50

51-100 101-200

201-500 501-1000

1000+

Improvements NeededImprovements Needed

28% of respondents said they could serve 26-50 youth better with improvements to their program.

How many youth would be BETTER served with those improvements/expansions?

13%

28%

15%

15%

11%

8%

8%

1-25 26-50

51-100 101-200

201-500 501-1000

1000+

CollaborationCollaboration

Most Grundy County programs report partnering with other organizations.

Are there partners that work with this program?

66% YES

34%

CollaborationCollaboration

Most partnerships are focused on program development, program delivery, and/or the sharing of information.

What is the focus of the partnership?

23%

46%

23%

10%

23%

5%

38%

15%

18%

46%

3%

10%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Funding

Program Development

Publicity/Contacts

Economic/ Community Development

Staff/ Implementation

Research/Evaluation

Info Sharing

Training

Facilties/Operations Resources

Program Delivery

Coordinating Efforts

Other: Define

CollaborationCollaborationWhich groups does the program currently partner with?

43%

9%

26%

9%

38%

13%

28%

36%

11%

26%

11%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

NTTF Adolescent Interventions

Healthy Comm. Steering

GC Interagency Council

GC PADS

Morris Community Foundation

C & A LAN #49

13th Judicial Fam

GC Teen Conference

Hispanic Latino Coalition

NTTF Strategic Network

Other: Define

CollaborationCollaboration Which groups does the program hope to partner with?

25%

17%

17%

8%

17%

33%

8%

33%

17%

13%

8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

NTTF Adolescent Interventions

Healthy Comm. Steering

GC Interagency Council

GC PADS

Morris Commnunity Foundation

C & A LAN #49

13th Judicial Fam

GC Teen Conference

Hispanic Latino Coalition

NTTF Strategic Network

Other: Define

CollaborationCollaboration

Underage Drinking

Youth with Disabilities

Community Resources for Child Care Centers

Increasing Mental Health Services for Youth

Support for Foster & Adopted Children & Their Families

Need for More After-School Programs

Tobacco Prevention & Cessation for Youth

Gangs

Child Find for Special Education

Issues Identified for New Collaborations

• Very rapid growth and demographic changes are bringing challenges to providers• Many youth providers are serving Grundy County from outside the county and therefore are not as strongly connected as local providers• Long-time norm of low educational attainment in the county

Are Grundy County Programs

Positioned to Help Youth Be Ready by

21?

• A variety of programs are already serving Grundy County youth• Most of these programs are already involved in partnerships and/or desire to get involved• There is willingness to work together on projects•There is a strong sense that Grundy County needs to do more to prepare for the future

NEGATIVES POSITIVES

40

Where Do We Go From Here?

• Meet with key stakeholders from Healthy Community Steering Group (Kitchen Cabinet) to share data

• Adjust presentation based on Steering Group input

• Make presentation to entire Steering Group

• Challenge Steering Group to use Rb21 planning framework to build on what has been learned so far and help all Grundy County youth to be ready for college, work and life.