Changing Places: How Health Equity for Boys of Color Will Improve Communities

1. GRANTMAKERS IN HEALTH ANNUAL MEETING Baltimore, March 7-9, 2012 Changing Places: How Health Equity for Boys of Color Will Improve Communities Presenter: Junious Williams, CEO Urban Strategies Council Oakland, CA www.urbanstrategies.org www.infoalamedaCounty.org

2. OVERVIEW • About Urban Strategies Council • Components of BMoC Strategy • Data-Driven Approach • Local Structure and Convener Role • Local Players • Leadership Table Agreements • Launch Projects

3. Urban Strategies Council • Social Impact Organization • Research, Policy, Collaboration & Innovation

4. Three Campaign Components • Changing the Conversation— raise public awareness about issues, promote healthy and positive images, share information and resources, support knowledge creation and dissemination, and provide a forum for BMoC to speak for themselves. • Creating Local Impact—develop relationships between local collaborative efforts and place-based coalitions focused on BMoC; work in partnership with other philanthropic efforts; intentionally build leadership capacity of young men and boys. • Advancing Better Policies and Practices—craft and promote an actionable policy agenda that connects goals of local coalitions to state-level and national advocacy.

5. 4th COMPONENT • EFFECTIVE USE OF DATA TO SUPPORT DECISION MAKING AND EVALUATION • IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA, ESPECIALLY DISAGGREGATED BY RACE AND GENDER

6. ALAMEDA COUNTY POPULATION PROJECTIONS

7. HEALTH

8. HEALTH

9. HEALTH

10. INCOME

11. EDUCATION

12. EDUCATION

13. EDUCATION

14. EDUCATION-ON COURSE TO GRADUATION

15. EDUCATION-ON COURSE TO GRADUATION

16. EDUCATION-ON COURSE TO GRADUATION Figure 1: African American Males in Grades K-12, by Level of Well-Being: 2010-11 Figure 2: OUSD Students in Grades K-12, by Level of Well-Being: 2010-11

17. CRIMINAL JUSTICE

18. Boys and Men of Color Initiative Partners • Statewide Partners • PolicyLink • Warren Institute • Movement Strategy Center • Fenton Communications • The California Endowment Staff • Local Partners • Regional Convener-Urban Strategies Council • Community Anchors • Black Community Anchor-Youth Uprising and Ella Baker Center • Latino Community Anchor- Unity Council • Asian & Pacific Islander Community Anchor-TBD • Native Community Anchor-TBD

19. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Initiative Goals Goals: • Our overall goal is to improve the health, wellness and life outcomes for BMoC throughout their life course. • Our specific goals for Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color include significantly improving their: • Educational outcomes including academic performance, graduation and readiness for careers and/or post-secondary education; • Utilization of a fully-integrated “health home” that improves health outcomes. • Participation in the labor force in “high quality” jobs and careers; and

20. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color

21. Urban Strategies Council’s Role as Regional Convener • The Council’s work includes: • Building a local and regional Alliance of Networks, organizations and individuals committed to improving outcomes for BMoC through policy advocacy and system reform. • Providing data and capacity building support to the community anchors developing local BMoC networks for the African American, Latino, Asian Pacific Islander and Native communities. • Convening a Leadership Table to implement projects throughout the span of the BMoC Initiative. The first project will focus on supporting 100% graduation for all BMoC in Oakland and the 5th Grade to High School Success Project.

22. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color (BMoC) Leadership Table

23. Leadership Table Participants • County and City Agency Leaders • Director of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency • Chief Probation Officer of Alameda County Probation Department • Director of Alameda County Social Services Agency • Superintendent of Oakland Unified School District • Assistant City Administrator for City of Oakland • Chief of Oakland Police Department • The California Endowment Staff • East Oakland Building Healthy Communities Hub Manager • Regional Convener • Urban Strategies Council • Community Anchors • Black Community Anchor-Youth Uprising and Ella Baker Center • Latino Community Anchor- Unity Council • Asian & Pacific Islander Community Anchor-TBD • Native Community Anchor-TBD

24. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Initiative Agreements Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Project Objectives Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Project Methods

25. Leadership Table • The Leadership Table will institute several projects throughout the span of the BMoC initiative. • The Leadership Table has agreed to use full service community schools as vehicles for realizing BMoC goals • The Leadership Table has agreed to use a “Collective impact” approach to its projects • The first project will focus on supporting 100% graduation for all BMoC in Oakland. • Objectives: • 95+% attendance for all students • Meaningful internship or paid employment for all high school students • 100% access and appropriate use of health care and social services by OUSD students

26. OUSD GRADUATION RATES

27. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

28. 5th Grade Success Project • Project that has been approved by the Leadership Table for initiation of a proof of concept effort • The proposed program is designed to improve academic, behavioral and health outcomes of boys of color with an emphasis on intervening at 5th grade • Initial Phase will focus on a selected number of school sites with significant enrollment of BoC.

29. 5th Grade Success Project • The program includes four components of activity including: (1) Strengthening the school environment to better support BoC (2) Family and community support development to increase the capacities of families and community partners (3) Individualized intervention and support for BoC and their families who are experiencing severe levels of need and risk (4) Individualized Achievement and Wellness Assessment and Plan

30. Focus Population for 5th Grade Success Project • This project focuses on the cohort of boys entering 5th grade in 2012 because 5th grade is a particularly powerful time to intervene in a student’s life: • Almost all 5th graders go on to middle school • Even if a student is far below grade level, there is still time to accelerate his progress so that he enters 9th grade ready for high school success • Ensuring that all students are well supported during their transition to middle school and high school is an evidence-based strategy to increase high school graduation rates

31. 5th Grade Success Project Goals The goal of the proposed project is to ensure that Latino, African American, Native, Asian, and Pacific Islander Boys of Color (BoC) entering the 5th grade in 2012: • Have the necessary supports to successfully transition into middle school • Are prepared to be successful in and graduate from high school having completed the A-G requirements to make them eligible for admission into the UC and CSU systems • Are prepared for other post-secondary educational opportunities or entry into the workforce

32. Program Model IEP Cross-Agency Intervention Teams Cultural Competency Individualized Academic Achievement and Wellness Planning Strong School Environment Baseline assessment done Informed and revised Policy and Practice Early warning and responsive system Co-located and integrated social and health services Partnerships Mentoring Training Knowledge Community Support Quality & Culturally Competent Instruction Comprehensive school and after-school programming Family Support School Environment Strengthening Family & Community Development - Peer Mentoring - Adult Mentoring - Tutoring - After school programs - Interest/career exploration

33. Individualized Achievement and Wellness Plan Identify the evidence-based correlates for high school graduation and/or dropping out Develop an asset/risk inventory tool with variants for use by parents, community groups, school staff, other public agencies and Develop and individualized achievement and wellness planning tool with variants for use by multiple stakeholder groups Develop a community-wide information campaign on the correlates Develop infrastructure for connecting young men to the enrichment activities, programs and services they need to achieve their plans

34. Individualized Achievement and Wellness Plan Academic Progress Attendance Behavior at School (Suspension) Out-of-School Time (Summer, After School) School Engagement Mentoring Relationships with Adults Future Aspirations and Middle School Transition Health Basic Needs: Housing, Food, Transportation Safety/Trauma Exposure

35. FOR MORE INFORMATION http://www.urbanstrategies.org/bmoc/Aboutbmoc.php Juniousw@urbanstrategies.org

36. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Project Objectives Our objectives for achieving these overall and specific goals include: • Reducing involvement in the criminal justice system and exposure to violence; • Reducing involvement in the foster care system when possible and increasing the effectiveness of services and transitioning for those young people who are best served by participation in the foster care system; • Increasing quality effective services that address the effects of trauma/chronic adversity with an anchored focus on healing; • Building the capacities of families, especially fathers, to support the positive development and success of BMoC; • Improving the quality of built environments serving BMoC, especially schools; • Increasing the availability of and participation in engagement activities that promote positive leadership development and cultural competency; • Promoting and supporting youth advocacy and organizing; • Increasing community control through civic engagement and leadership development for BMoC; • Developing a positive sense of manhood among BMoC, which includes positively redefining masculinity and promoting respect for gay, bisexual and transgender BMoC; and • Developing inter-ethnic understanding, cross-cultural competency and unity as a foundation for establishing a common agenda that advances improved outcomes for all BMoC.

37. Oakland-Alameda County Boys and Men of Color Project Methods Our METHODS for accomplishing our goals and objectives include: • Advancing a policy and advocacy agenda that moves systems toward working together, encourages comprehensive and integrated approaches across systems, addresses system inequities and holds systems accountable for investment of public resources and improved outcomes (e.g., Interagency Children’s Policy Council, Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority); • Developing and supporting community development policies and practices which transform neighborhoods and create business, job and career opportunities for BMoC; • Directly investing in young people as agents of change by hiring young people for the services they can provide in improving conditions and outcomes in their communities such as peer counseling and cascading mentorship with older youth mentoring younger youth; • Recognizing the importance of engaging fathers, especially young fathers, and families in the positive development of boys of color and building their capacities to support their children;

38. METHODS (continued) Building the capacities of programs, organizations, and agencies most intimately involved with impacting the health and well-being of BMoC to serve them effectively, in a culturally and linguistically competent manner, and holding them accountable for doing so; Supporting youth, family and community organizing so that they become effective advocates for themselves and their communities, broaden their civic engagement and build power to participate with public systems in decision making about their lives and communities; Creating a locally- and regionally-based network of systems leaders, community-based organizations, faith and business leaders, and other stakeholders that will champion the issues of BMoC and move a change agenda; and Working with law enforcement and corrections to develop policies and practices that decrease crime and violence, and improve their relationships with and their responsiveness to BMoC.