EDUCATION STABILITY MATTERS OREGON

2 PRESENTED BY: Catherine Stelzer, MSW Oregon Team: A.J. Goins (Project Manager), Julie York, Sarah Walker, Annie Woo, Cherisse Loop, & Catherine Stelzer

EDUCATION STABILITY MATTERS - OREGON Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Program (DHS) & Oregon Department of Education (ODE) in partnership with the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD). Oregon is a state administered child welfare system, regionally divided into 16 districts. Department of Education includes 19 Educational Service Districts which encompass 196 school districts. Oregon Judicial Department is a unified state court system which includes 27 Judicial Districts, most of which are divided by county. 3

PROJECT DESCRIPTION - GOALS INCREASE * Collaboration * Educational Stability * Accurate & Timely Data Transfer * Permanency Outcomes * Youth Exiting Foster Care with High School Diploma * Youth using Tuition Waivers 4

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – TARGET POPULATION 5 Statewide MOU between DHS & ODE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – TARGET POPULATION CONTINUED… Collaborative Multi-Disciplinary Educational Teams: Children in Foster Care ages 12 – 20 years old 4 Counties (Multnomah, Marion, Lane, & Washington) These counties comprise 57% of target population and have the largest population in Oregon Each county will select (1) High School and any feeder Middle Schools to that High School 6

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – KEY PARTNERS Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Oregon Department of Education Oregon Judicial Department Local, community directed / school district collaboration teams which may also include: School Nurses; Juvenile Justice; DV Advocates; Training Partners; Foster Parents; CASA; Child Attorneys; Youth; Parents; Homeless Liaisons; Mental health/ School Counselors 7

PROJECT DESCRIPTION - PROPOSED SERVICES/ ACTIVITIES/ PROCESSES/ OUTPUTS Work Currently In Progress: (2) Education Coordinators Hired AAG has begun work reviewing MOU’s Grant Steering Committee has been identified and conducted first meeting Assessment is occurring of Multnomah County Program Baseline Data Collection is completed High School recruitment process developed 8

PROJECT DESCRIPTION - PROPOSED SERVICES/ ACTIVITIES/ PROCESSES/ OUTPUTS Work To Be Done Recruit and Select High School and feeder Middle Schools in the four counties Develop & Train Staff on Multi-Disciplinary Team Protocols Formalize Protocols in customizable packets for Remaining Counties Assist Multi-Disciplinary Teams in partner identification, education, and invitation Finalize statewide MOU Ongoing Data Collection 9

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – EXPECTED OUTCOMES Short Term Statewide MOU for Information Sharing Between DHS Child Welfare & Dept. of Ed Customizable for local entities (DHS and School Districts) Infrastructure for collaborative, multi-disciplinary educational teams that coordinate foster children’s educational services and supports. Identify and Convene Multi-Disciplinary Steering Committee 10

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – EXPECTED OUTCOMES Medium/Long Term Goals DHS, ODE, local school districts, and OJD in the four target counties will have infrastructure needed to have robust and timely data exchange system. Collection and monitoring of education stability data and outcomes. Local school districts will have timely data that identifies students in foster care and specific information necessary for tracking education outcomes. Long range planning for possible Information System to Information System automated data exchange. 11

EVALUATION APPROACH Qualitative Methods: Record Review Meeting minutes Structured interview techniques and/or focus groups with stakeholders Quantitative Methods: Department of Human Services, Oregon Judicial Department, and Oregon Department of Education databases 12

EVALUATION QUESTIONS PROCESS EVALUATION What are the lessons learned from Multnomah County Each Day Counts program? How have the collaborating partnerships been established in the four counties in which the largest numbers of the Target Population reside (Multnomah, Marion, Lane, and Washington Counties)? What are the factors that promote the development of the collaborative partnership and influence the achievement of these collaborating partnerships? What are the barriers that limit the development of the collaborative partnership and influence the achievement of these collaborating partnerships? What are the next steps in promoting Child Welfare and Education System to increase educational stability? 13

EVALUATION QUESTIONS OUTCOME EVALUATION Organizational/Systemic Implementation Outcomes To what extent do the data-sharing agreements allow for both the local-level data exchange and a systemic level data exchange? To what extent does each data-sharing agreement put in place go towards supporting an automated data exchange among Department of Human Services (DHS), Oregon Justice Department (OJD), and Oregon Department of Education (ODE)? 14

EVALUATION QUESTIONS OUTCOME EVALUATION Staff Level Outcomes To what extent do the data sharing processes increase the use of data from new database systems by staff in improving their services? 15

EVALUATION QUESTIONS CHILD LEVEL OUTCOMES How has the project increased the number of foster children remaining in the same school? How has the project increased the number of foster children remaining in same placement? How has the project increased the number of foster youth attaining permanency? How has the project increased graduation rates for foster youth? How has the project Increased the number of promotions to next grade for foster youth? How has the project increased number of foster youth applying for post-secondary education? 16

EXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES Current Political Will - Governor’s priority is Education with a goal of 100% of Oregonians receiving HS Diplomas by Increased collaboration and Data Sharing between Child Welfare, Schools, and Juvenile Courts. Develop a statewide MOU for Data Sharing. Both Agencies are refining/improving Information Systems. Multnomah County has built a similar program in Elementary Schools, so there is a working model. 17

EXPECTED CHALLENGES Transformation currently occurring in both state agencies. High Workload for Caseworkers and School Employees. Oregon’s Child Welfare Information System currently lacks and/or has inaccurate education data. Lack of Birth Parent and Foster Parent Involvement. Cross-Training CW and School personnel in Trauma Informed Care Practices. 18

DISSEMINATION PLAN DHS, ODE, OJD Outcome Data Steering Committee Quarterly Reports Agency Specific Dissemination 19

SUSTAINABILITY PLAN Expand Statewide MOU Data SharingEmbed Practices in Policy/Procedure Continue Implementation Using Collaborative Relationships 20

QUESTIONS FOR FELLOW CWED GRANTEES? Do any grantees have experience with statewide MOU’s and multiple organizational structures? Do any grantees have a seamless Information System to Information System data exchange? Did the data agreements make an impact in previous cohorts? Which states have court involvement and how was that achieved? Who were your key partners for successful implementation? 21