Community & Resource Development Project

1. Community & Resource Development Project Presentation of Highlights: Youth Ready for Life Survey & Youth and Parent Focus Groups Presented to the NASC & Evaluation Team 1-18-08 By Teresa D. Shattuck, PhD -Shattuck & Associates, Inc.

2. Focus Groups • Target Groups • Youth – Middle School (grades 6-8) • Youth – High School (grades 9 & 10) • Parents of youth in grades 6-10 • Low income • Youth-parent pairs were common (same family)

3. Focus Groups Locations • Interfaith Coalition in Hancock, MD • Girls, Inc. in Hagerstown, MD • Parkside Community Center in Hagerstown, MD • Boonsboro, MD (on 1/29/08)

4. Focus Groups • Format • Welcome • Dinner: Pizza, fruit salad, drinks • 1 facilitator/1 note taker per group • Administer Survey • Conduct focus groups • Interactive “Great Programs” planning session with mix of youth and parents • Brief sharing of “Great Programs” • Wrap Up - Thank You and Incentives ($25/youth; $50/adults; $150/host site)

5. Interfaith Coalition • Hancock, MD • November 26th, 2007 • 1 group each: MS Youth (n=7), HS Youth (n=8), and Parents (n=11) • 7 interactive groups for “Great Programs” planning session

6. Interfaith Coalition - Key Findings • Youth place greater emphasis on education then parents • Youth had more optimism about their educational futures than did the parents • When asked what activities they would like to participate in, a third of youth expressed interest in “helping others without getting paid” • When asked what they wanted in the “Great Programs” session, 7 groups working independently selected a recreation center/community center

7. Girls, Inc. • Hagerstown, MD • November 29th, 2007 • 5 groups: MS Youth (2 groups; n=12), HS Youth (1 group; n=6), and Parents (2 groups; n=18) • 9 interactive groups for “Great Programs” planning session

8. Girls, Inc. - Key Findings • Youth placed greater importance and were more optimistic about successfully completing higher education than parents • When asked what activities they would like to participate in, youth expressed interest in “helping others without getting paid” • In 9 “Great Programs” groups, there was strong interest in a youth center / community center; participants suggested staffing the center with volunteers or community members

9. Parkside Community Center • Hagerstown, MD • January 9, 2009 • 3 groups: MS Youth (n=9), HS Youth (n=7), and Parents (n=12) • 7 interactive groups for “Great Programs” planning session

10. Parkside - Key Findings • Parents place greater importance on higher education than youth • Youth were more optimistic about successfully completing higher education then parents • When asked what activities they would like to participate in, youth expressed the most interest in “being involved in school clubs” followed by “helping others without getting paid” • When asked what they wanted in the “Great Programs” session, 5 of 7 groups emphasized community based activities with a Positive Youth Development focus

11. Focus Groups • Common Themes Across Sites • When asked how they spend their time, youth at all sites listed ‘helping out at home’ and ‘hanging out with friends’ (without an adult around) most often • When parents were asked how youth spent their time, parents at all sites listed ‘having quality time with family’ most often

12. Ready for Life Youth Survey • Developed by WCCP • Designed to assess youth perceptions of relationships with adults, school, work, health and future • Administered primarily in two high schools in Hagerstown in Spring 2007 • North HS (N=687) • South HS (N=501)

13. Ready for Life Survey • Demographics • Average age 15.8 years • Even split of males and females • 43% had moved at least once in the past 2 yrs • Race: 62% white, 16% African American, 6% Hispanic, 3 Asian/Pacific Islander • 85% of kids live with their biological or step parents (~75% for minority youth)

14. Ready for Life Survey • Relationships • ‘Close friends’ (mean=2.5) and ‘mother/stepmother’ (2.4) were rated as the most HELPFUL people to talk to about a personal problem (Scale: not at all, somewhat, very) • ‘Lack of trust,’ ‘anger,’ ‘too busy,’ and ‘making judgments’ were the things checked most often (range 49-56%) when kids were asked what makes relationships with adults difficult • ‘Be open-minded’ was the top selection for making relationships between youth and adults easier (67%)

15. Ready for Life Survey • School • Parent/family support ranked #1 when kids were asked what’s most HELPFUL to them staying in school (2.5) • Boring classes were the #1 barrier to staying in school (59%) • Boys were more likely than girls to report that high school was the highest level of education they expected to complete (17% v 12%) • Girls were far more likely than boys to expect to get a graduate degree (52% v 37%)

16. Ready for Life Survey • Work • 62% of kids report having worked at some point • When asked why they work, respondents indicated to ‘buy things’ (66%), ‘buy a car’ (58%), ‘pay for college’ (47%); 24% said to ‘help their family’ • No transportation was selected as the biggest barrier to getting a job (71%)

17. Ready for Life Survey • Health • 44% are sexually active • 53% of those that are sexually active do NOT use birth control • About 25% of kids reported ‘ever’ smoking cigarettes or using marijuana • ‘Handling stress’ was reported as the predominate health issue facing youth (67%) • Kids report getting their health information primarily from parents (68%)

18. Ready for Life Survey • Future • 72% of kids reported that they plan to go to college • ‘Money for college’ (76%) and ‘access to well-paying jobs’ (60%) were selected most often as the services/programs that would help them to achieve their goals • ‘Money management’ (68%) was selected most often as the skill that would help them achieve their goals

19. Youth Survey: Sub-Group Analyses • In order to understand differences among groups, the data was sliced and diced in 4 ways: • Gender – to compare male vs female • Race – black, white, other • Mobility - # of times moved in past 2 years (0-1 time vs 2 or more times) • School – North HS vs South HS • Your challenge today will be to explore those differences

20. Summary • This presentation skims the surface of the focus group and youth survey data • Your task in the remainder of this meeting is to take a ‘data dive’ and mine the data for more crucial pieces of information • We’ll accomplish this as a team working in small data groups

21. Data Groups • We’ll have 8 Data Groups • 3 Focus Groups • Interfaith Coalition • Girls, Inc. • Parkside • 5 Youth Survey Groups • Overall frequencies • Gender • Race • Mobility • School

22. Data Dive Instructions • Step 1: Form groups of 3-5 • Collect up your materials – papers, etc. • Find folks you don’t know very well or don’t normally work with • Comprise your group with individuals from different disciplines (You should all have different colored dots!) • Now find a place for your group to sit together

23. Data Dive Instructions • Step 2: • Your group will be given a data assignment • Your job is to figure out what data is most important and actionable • Help us weed out info that isn’t useful and surface the info that is (Practical vs. Statistical Significance) • Step 3: Assign Roles for Group Members • Group Scribe – 1 person • Time Keeper – 1 person • Task Master – 1 person • Scouts/Data Hunters – 1-2 people

24. Data Dive Instructions • Step 4: Sort Through Your Data – (5 min) • Figure out what you have to review • Divide it up if needed • Step 5: Individually Review the Data (10 min) • Complete the Key Findings Worksheet – “Individual Reactions to Data” • Zero in on what’s most IMPORTANT • Use your wisdom and experience to make judgments

25. Data Dive Instructions • Step 6: Talk About What You Found –(25 min) • As a group decide what the key findings are, discuss why they are key, what can be done about them and who needs to be involved • Scribe fill in the “Group Reaction to Data” Handout • Step 7: Prioritize What’s MOST Important (5 min) • As a group, decide which finding is most important • Write that finding on newsprint along with why it’s important, what can be done about it and who needs to be involved • Report out to the large group

26. Groups • Health - Yellow • Education - Green • Law Enforcement – (Police, DJS, Courts) - Blue • Non-profit/CBO – Pink • Business - White • Other - Purple