oregon youth program quality assessment · • research-based rubrics—the youth pqa contains...

Oregon Youth Program Quality Assessment

Form B – Organizational Items

Updated in January 2016

The Oregon Youth PQA is published by

David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality

A division of the Forum for Youth Investment

301 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 200

Ypsilanti, MI, 48197

734.961.6900

www.cypq.org

Copyright © 2014 the Forum for Youth Investment. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this

book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any

information storage-and-retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

The Oregon Youth Program Quality Assessment tools were developed with funding by The Oregon Community Foundation and The Ford

Family Foundation and with the valuable input of key Oregon out-of-school time and youth development stakeholders.

http://www.cypq.org/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION i

SCORING FORM B ii

YOUTH CENTERED POLICES AND PRACTICES

Staff Qualifications 1

Youth Interests 4

Youth Influence Setting Activities 8

Youth Influence Policies 10

HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUTH AND STAFF

Staff Development 12

Supportive Social Norms 16

High Expectations for Youth 18

Continuous Improvement 20

ACCESS

Consistent Staff Presence 22

Barriers Addressed 25

Families, Schools, Communities 27

Cultural Competence and Responsiveness 32

Oregon Youth PQA Form B • Page i © 2015 David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a division of the Forum for Youth Investment • All rights reserved

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE

The Youth Program Quality Assessment (PQA) is a validated instrument

designed to evaluate the quality of youth programs and identify staff training

needs. It consists of a set of score-able standards for best practices in

afterschool programs, community organizations, schools, summer programs, and

other places where youth have fun, work, and learn with adults.

The Youth PQA is designed to empower people and organizations by helping

them to envision optimal quality youth programming, by providing a shared

language for practice and decision making, and by producing scores that can be

used for comparison and assessment of progress over time. The Youth PQA

measures the quality of youth experiences and promotes the creation of

environments that tap the most important resource available to any youth serving

organization—a young person’s motivation to attend and engage.

THIS EDITION The Oregon Youth Program Quality Assessment tools were developed with

funding by The Oregon Community Foundation and The Ford Family Foundation

and with the valuable input of key Oregon out-of-school time and youth

development stakeholders. This is a working document, and we welcome input

and feedback on its content and use. A few items from the original Form B have

been intentionally deleted, as the latest research indicates they should be

updated or they are redundant with other items. Lines for those items are left

blank intentionally in order to keep the original item numbering for data entry

purposes.

BENEFITS The Youth PQA offers several important attributes:

• Experience–tested approach—The standards for best practices that make up the Youth PQA are grounded in extensive experience working with young people. Together, the items in the instrument represent a youth development approach that works.

• Research-based rubrics—The Youth PQA contains proven measurement rubrics that allow observers to differentiate programs in important and meaningful ways.

• Opportunities to observe practice—Staff using the Youth PQA must spend time watching what happens in their program.

• Flexibility—The Youth PQA was designed to meet a range of accountability and improvement needs, from self-assessment to research and evaluation.

DEFINITIONS • Organization refers to the agency that operates youth services. An

organization may be a community-based nonprofit agency, a church or temple, a private center, a neighborhood association, or a school.

• Program offerings refer to the range of scheduled services available to youth at an organization, such as classes, workshops, meetings, special events, homework help, or discussion groups.

• Session is one scheduled period of a program offering. For example, a session might be when the photography club meets from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

• Staff refers to the person or persons facilitating a session. Staff may include paid workers, volunteers, or peer leaders.

• Activities are the planned interactions led by staff during a session. For example, the activities that occur during a college preparation club might include conducting mock interviews, journaling, or exploring college Web sites.

• Program space refers to the physical environment youth and staff use during a session.

• Program schedule is a complete listing of all program offerings and their corresponding meeting times.

• Program cycle refers to the duration of the group of sessions that comprise a particular program offering. If this time period is difficult to identify, then consider one program cycle to be four months.

• Form refers to the entire group of scales used for assessment. For example: Form A – Program Offerings and Form B – Organization Practices & Policies.

• Domain refers to the group of scales falling under one of the sections I–VII. For example, in Form A – Program Offerings, a domain is “I. Safe Environment,” which contains scales that pertain to that domain. Domain score is the average of scale scores for each domain I–VII. For example, the domain “I. Safe Environment” contains five scale scores to be averaged for a domain score.

• Scale score refers to the average of the scores (one per item) that make up a scale. For example, the Healthy Environment scale has four items that can be scored as 1, 3 or 5 and then averaged for a scale score.

• Item or item row refers to a single row on the Youth PQA for which there are descriptors for scores 1, 3 and 5. Level 5 is best practice.

Oregon Youth PQA Form B • Page ii © 2015 David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a division of the Forum for Youth Investment • All rights reserved

SCORING FORM B

Form B focuses on program quality at the organizational level and assesses the

quality of organizational supports for the youth program offerings like those

assessed using Form A. For raters using the external assessment method,

evidence is gathered through a survey and guided interview with a person

responsible for administering the youth program. For raters using the program

self assessment method, the evidence is assembled and reviewed by an in-

house team of administrators and staff. A review of documents may be

necessary for either method. For more information on the external assessment

and program self assessment methods, see the Youth PQA Handbook.

STEP 1 Pre-interview. Begin the assessment by making contact with the relevant

program administrator(s). In your conversation, establish the purpose for using

the Youth PQA, the materials needed, and a time for the organizational interview

to take place.

STEP 2 Conduct the organizational interview. The organizational interview can be

conducted in person or by telephone. The questions that guide the organizational

interview are listed in Form B just in front of the scoring rubrics. The interview

questions correspond to the indicators within an item. Ask the questions and

record the answers in the space provided.

The interview questions are designed to elicit information that will allow the rater

to fit evidence to the appropriate items and score each one. The interview

questions are formulated in relatively neutral language to avoid leading the

interviewee toward expected responses. The indicators provide examples of the

type of information the interview questions are designed to elicit.

STEP 3 Score the items. After recording answers to the interview questions, read the

corresponding indicators in each row. Based on the evidence you have recorded,

score the item. Write the number (1, 3, or 5) of the descriptor that best matches

your notes in the box to the right of the item.

When using the program self assessment method, a staff team (including the

administrator) can simply use Form B and the interview questions to gather

evidence and score the items. Scores for each item should be selected through a

discussion of the evidence and a consensus decision by the review team.

TRY TO SCORE EVERY ITEM IN EVERY SCALE.

STEP 4 Enter scores. The Youth PQA produces scores at the item, scale, and domain

level. All scores beyond the item level are created using mathematical means, or

averages. Scales are the averages of items, and domains are the averages of

scales.

After scoring the items in Form B of the Youth PQA, you can enter the scores

into the online Scores Reporter. You can access the online Scores Reporter

through the Weikart Center website at www.cypq.org. The staff at the Weikart

Center is available to offer technical assistance as needed.

Domain Scale Description

> Youth Centered Policies and Practices High Expectations for Youth and Staff Access

> Staff Qualifications Youth Interests Youth Influence Setting Activities Youth Influence Policies

Staff qualifications support a positive youth development focus

Supporting Documents: Organization chart of list that shows administrative structure, program divisions, and staff positions; Resume of job description for youth program director and administrator (whoever supervises the director); Resume of job description for direct staff

Oregon Youth PQA Form B • Page 1 © 2015 David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a division of the Forum for Youth Investment • All rights reserved

1a. What experience does the administrator who supervises your youth program director have?

1b. What coursework or training does the administrator who supervises your youth program director have?

2. How many years of relevant experience does the youth program director have?

3a. How many staff work directly with youth (not including the program director)?

3b. Of those, how many have youth development education or training?





Supporting Documents: Organization chart of list that shows administrative structure, program divisions, and staff positions; Resume of job description for youth program director and administrator (whoever supervises the director); Resume of job description for direct staff


4a. How many staff work directly with youth (not including the program director)?

4b. Of those, how many have 2 or more years of previous experience with working with youth?






Item 1 3 5 Response Supporting evidence/anecdotes

1 [SQ.1]

Administrator(s) who supervise the youth program director have no experience, coursework, or training relevant to youth development.

Administrator(s) who supervise the youth program director have one of the following: experience, coursework, or training relevant to youth development.

Administrators who supervise the youth program director have experience and either coursework or training relevant to youth development.

2 [SQ.3]

The youth program director has less than one year of relevant job experience

The youth program director has 2-4 years of relevant job experience.

The youth program director has 5 or more years of relevant job experience.

3 [SQ.4]

Less than one fourth of the staff (not including the youth program director) has relevant education or training.

From one fourth to three fourths of the staff (not including the youth program director) has relevant education or training.

More than three fourths of the staff (not including the youth program director) has relevant education or training.

4 [SQ.5]

Less than one fourth of the staff (not including the youth program director) has 2 or more years if experience.

From one fourth to three fourths of the staff (not including the youth program director) has 2 or more years of experience.

More than three fourths of the staff (not including the youth program director) has 2 or more years of experience.



Staff Qualifications

> Youth Interests Youth Influence Setting Activities Youth Influence Policies

Program offerings tap youth interests and build multiple skills


1a. How do you determine the format and content of your program offerings?

1b. Are youth consulted?

2. Consider the following program areas and how you focus on them.

(Check one box per item.)

No Focus Minor Focus Major Focus

Art

Music

Sports

Dance

Poetry

Cooking

Reading

Theatre

Leadership

Math

Life skills

Sewing

Physical Fitness

Science

Building/Shop

Community

Service

Creative Writing

Tech/Computers







3. Consider how your program addresses the following

development domains. (Check one box per item.)

No

Focus

Minor

Focus

Major

Focus

Cognitive Development

Physical Development

Social Development

Emotional Development

Spiritual Development

Civic Development

Vocational Development

4. How does the program support and promote elements to support and promote academic behaviors, perseverance, motivation, learning strategies and social skills?








1 [YI.1]

Young people have no opportunities to influence the format or content of program offerings or staff dismisses input from youth who initiate it.

Young people have informal opportunities to influence the format or content of program offerings based on their interests, preferences and/or satisfaction.

Young people have structured opportunities to influence the format or content of program offerings based on their interests, preferences and/or satisfaction.

2 [YI.2]

Program offerings do not focus on skill building but rather on entertainment or custodial care.

Program offerings, on average, have a major and specific programmatic focus (as opposed to a minor or incidental focus) on skill building in 1 or 2 of the program areas listed on the next page.

Program offerings, on average have a major and specific programmatic focus (as opposed to a minor or incidental focus) on skill building in 3 or more of the program areas listed on the next page.

Note: Score only for programs with youth 6th grade and younger. If the majority of young people are in 7th grade or above, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.

3 [YI.3]

Across all program offerings, the organization has a major and specific programmatic focus (as opposed to a minor or incidental focus) on at least 2 of the developmental domains listed on the next page.

Across all program offerings, the organization has a major and specific programmatic focus (as opposed to a minor or incidental focus) on 3–5 of the developmental domains listed on the next page.

Across all program offerings, the organization has a major and specific programmatic focus (as opposed to a minor or incidental focus) on 6–7 of the developmental domains listed on the next page.

Note: Score only for programs with youth 6th grade and younger. If the majority of young people are in 7th grade or above, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.







4 [SO.S47.4]

The program does not incorporate elements to support and promote academic behaviors, perseverance, motivation, learning strategies and social skills.

The program incorporates elements to support and promote academic behaviors, perseverance, motivation, learning strategies, and social skills, but the emphasis is minimal.

The program incorporates multiple elements to support and promote academic behaviors, perseverance, motivation, learning strategies and social skills.



Staff Qualifications Youth Interests

> Youth Influence Setting Activities Youth Influence Policies

Youth have an influence on the setting and activities in the organization


1. Who determines the setup for the physical environment?

No youth involved

Youth consulted

Youth and adults share

2. Who determines the schedule and program offerings?

No youth involved

Youth consulted


3. Who leads the program offerings for peers or younger youth?

No youth involved

Youth consulted




Staff Qualifications Youth Interests

> Youth Influence Setting Activities Youth Influence Policies

Youth have an influence on structure and policy of the organization



1 [YIS.1]

No youth are involved in decision making about the design and use of the physical environment.

Youth are consulted about the design and use of the physical environment.

Youth and adults share the responsibility for decisions about the design and use of the physical environment (e.g., they make plans for furniture arrangement, determine design additions and displays relevant to youth activities).

2 [YIS.2]

Youth are not asked for input when determining program schedules.

Youth are asked for input about potential program offerings, but they have no other involvement in determining program schedules.

Youth and adults share the responsibility in determining program schedules and program offerings.

Note: Score only for programs with youth 7th grade and older. If the majority of young people are in sixth grade or below, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.

3 [YIS.3]

There are few or no youth involved in facilitating or leading sessions or activities for peers or younger youth.

Youth assist adults in facilitating or leading sessions or activities for peers or younger youth.

Youth take charge of (with appropriate support from adults) and facilitate or lead (not just assist) sessions or activities for peers or younger youth.

Note: Score only for programs with youth 7th grade and older. If the majority of young people are in sixth grade or below, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.



Staff Qualifications Youth Interests Youth Influence Setting Activities

> Youth Influence Policies



1. Who reviews program quality and plans for improvement?

No youth involved

Youth consulted


2. Who hires, trains and evaluates staff?

No youth involved

Youth consulted


3. Who recruits other young people to join the organization?

No youth involved

Youth consulted


4. Who participates in program governance?

No youth involved

Youth consulted




Staff Qualifications Youth Interests Youth Influence Setting Activities

> Youth Influence Policies




1 [YIP.1]

There is little or no youth input considered in program quality review and plans for improvement.

Youth input is considered, but youth do not participate in program quality review and plans for improvement.

Youth participate in program quality review and plans for improvement.

2 [Or.YIP.2]

There is little or no youth input considered in staffing decisions or interview processes.

Youth are consulted about staffing decisions or potential staff members but are not further involved in the interview or decision process.

Staff involves youth in processes for hiring, training, and evaluating staff (e.g., they help set qualifications, are present for interviews, and are involved in making decisions about candidates for staff positions).

3 [Or.YIP.3]

Input from participants is rarely or never considered in planning youth recruitment.

Input from participants is considered in planning youth recruitment, but participants are not involved in actual recruitment.

Youth and staff share responsibilities for planning recruitment and actually recruiting other youth to join the organization or program offerings.

4 [Or.YIP.5]

Youth have no role in program governing bodies.

Staff on program governing bodies seek youth input, or youth have a token presence on the committee or other body.

Youth and staff share responsibilities on program governing bodies (e.g., boards, advisory panels, standing committees, task forces).


Youth Centered Policies and Practices

> High Expectations for Youth and Staff Access

> Staff Development Supportive Social Norms High Expectations for Youth Continuous Improvement

Organization promotes staff development

Note: See definition for program cycle on page i. Supporting Documents: Training policies, schedule(s) or agenda(s), staff meeting schedule, agenda(s) or minutes(s), list of on-site and offsite professional development activities staff attended


1. What sort of orientation do you provide or require for new employees?

2a. Beyond new employee orientation, do you offer in-house professional development opportunities for staff? Y N

2b. If so, what are some recent examples and what percentage of staff attended each?

3a. Beyond new employee orientation, do you offer off-site professional development opportunities for staff? Y N

3b. If so, what are some recent examples and what percentage of staff attended each?

4. What sort of group-planning process does staff take part in before or at the start of a program cycle?






Note: See definition for program cycle on page i. Supporting Documents: Training policies, schedule(s) or agenda(s), staff meeting schedule, agenda(s) or minutes(s), list of on-site and offsite professional development activities staff attended


5. How often do staff members from different program offerings meet as a group during the program cycle?






Note: See definition for program cycle on page i.



1 [SD.1]

New staff does not participate in pre-service orientation activities.

New staff participates in less than 8 hours of pre-service orientation activities, or pre-service orientation activities do not include elements of youth development.

New staff participates in 8 or more hours of pre-service orientation activities, and pre-service orientation activities include elements of youth development.

2 [SD.2]

None of the staff participates in relevant professional development activities within the organization.

Some, but less than half of, staff participates in at least one relevant professional development activity per year within the organization.

More than half of staff participates in at least one relevant professional development activity (e.g., child/youth development, behavior management, CPR, abuse and neglect prevention) per year within the organization.

3 [SD.3]

None of the staff participates in relevant professional development activities outside of the organization.

Some, but less than half of, staff participates in at least one relevant professional development activity per year outside of the organization.

More than half of staff participates in at least one relevant professional development activity per year outside of the organization.






Note: See definition for program cycle on page i.



4 [SD.4]

Staff from different program offerings does not meet as a group to plan or coordinate prior to the start of a program cycle.

Some, but not all, staff from different program offerings meets as a group to plan or coordinate prior to the start of a program cycle.

All staff from different program offerings meets as a group to plan or coordinate prior to the start of a program cycle.

5 [SD.5]

Staff from different program offerings do not meet during the program cycle.

Staff from different program offerings meet, but not regularly, during the program cycle.

Staff from different program offerings meet regularly during the program cycle.




Staff Development

> Supportive Social Norms High Expectations for Youth Continuous Improvement

Organization promotes supportive social norms


1a. How do young people identify with your program?

1b. How do you support staff achieving this?

1c. How do you distinguish yourself as a group or organization? For example, what team-building activities, shared traditions, or annual events do you do? How do you

welcome new group members?

2. Are there any sort of written behavioral or social expectations such as a “code of conduct”?

3a. How do you tell staff to handle situations when youth share their personal concerns such as problems at school or home?

3b. Do you tell staff to keep away from those concerns or do you have someone on staff that can help others to address issues as needed?




Staff Development

> Supportive Social Norms High Expectations for Youth Continuous Improvement

Organization promotes supportive social norms



1 [SSN.1]

Young people do not identify with the organization (e.g., many youth complain about or express dislike of program or components).

Young people weakly identify with the organization, indicating at least that they “like the activities”.

Young people strongly identify with the organization (e.g., they wear program-related caps or T-shirts, hold one another to established guidelines, use ownership language such as “our place,” engage in shared traditions such as shared songs, group photos, rallies).

2 [SSN.2]

Expectations for personal behavior and social interaction are not clearly identified.

Expectations for personal behavior and social interaction are not documented or are documented but not acknowledged by some youth.

Expectations for personal behavior and social interaction are documented (e.g., there are posted ground rules or membership guidelines), and all youth acknowledge them.

3 [SSN.3]

Organization does not support staff in encouraging youth to share personal concerns or in effectively addressing those concerns.

Organization may support staff in encouraging youth to share personal concerns but does not support staff in effectively addressing those concerns.

Organization supports staff in encouraging youth to share personal concerns and in effectively addressing those concerns (e.g., “safe zone” posters are displayed; staff is trained to address youth concerns; staff devote time to youth with concerns; counselors or referral lists are available).




Staff Development Supportive Social Norms

> High Expectations for Youth Continuous Improvement

Organization promotes high expectations for young people.

Note: High expectations ask youth to excel or perform at a high level in reference to a rubric or a comparison (e.g., a citywide, statewide or nationwide) group.


1a. Do you expect your youth to excel in their age group as compared to a larger (e.g., citywide, statewide or nationwide) peer group? Y N If so, how?

1b. How do you support young people in taking steps to meet these high expectations?

2. How do you recognize the achievements of youth in program offerings?




Staff Development Supportive Social Norms

> High Expectations for Youth Continuous Improvement

Organization promotes high expectations for young people.

Note: High expectations ask youth to excel or perform at a high level in reference to a rubric or a comparison (e.g., a citywide, statewide or nationwide) group.



1 [HX.1]

Organization does not articulate high expectations for young people.

Organization articulates high expectations for young people but has not identified steps toward meeting them.

Organization articulates high expectations for young people, and steps for meeting those expectations have been identified in all program offerings.

2 [HX.2]

Organization does not provide opportunities to acknowledge the achievements, contributions and responsibilities of young people.

Organization provides informal opportunities to acknowledge the achievements, contributions and responsibilities of young people (e.g., impromptu sharing, recognition, displays of work).

Organization provides structured opportunities to acknowledge the achievements, contributions and responsibilities of young people (e.g., group presentations, reflections, exhibitions, performances, celebrations).




Staff Development Supportive Social Norms High Expectations for Youth

> Continuous Improvement

Organization is committed to ongoing program improvement.

Supporting Documents: Schedule, Annual report, Strategic plan; Sample evaluation forms; Recent evaluation report


1. This item has been intentionally omitted.

2a. How do you evaluate staff performance?

2b. What role do staff evaluations play in determining staff development?

3a. What kinds of things do you do to look at program practices and quality (i.e., how youth interact with one another, how staff interact with one another and youth and

how the program space is used)?

3b. How do you determine whether program quality is going the way you’d like or if changes are needed?

4a. How do you work to improve your program? Is what you do based on youth outcomes, measurements or processes?

4b. What have you done recently to improve your program (e.g., expanded program offering areas, changed program schedule bases on youth input, scheduled training

for staff?)




Staff Development Supportive Social Norms High Expectations for Youth

> Continuous Improvement

Organization is committed to ongoing program improvement.

Supporting Documents: Schedule, Annual report, Strategic plan; Sample evaluation forms; Recent evaluation report



1 [CI.2]

No staff evaluations are performed.

Staff evaluations are irregular and/or unrelated to decisions about staff development or program improvement.

Staff evaluations are regularly conducted with staff and used to guide staff development and program improvement decisions.

2 [CI.3]

Organization does not assess program quality.

Organization has assessed program quality, but has no formal plan for regular assessment.

Organization regularly assesses program quality.

3 [CI.4]

Organization does not employ strategies for program improvement.

Organization employs strategies for program improvement, but they are not based on regular assessment of staff performance or program quality.

Organization employs strategies for program improvement that are based on regular assessment of staff performance, and/or program quality.


Youth Centered Policies and Practices High Expectations for Youth and Staff

> Access

> Consistent Staff Presence Barriers Addressed Families, Schools, Communities Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Staff availability and longevity with the organization support youth – staff relationships.

Note: (a) See definition for staff and program cycle at the beginning of this form. (b) The phrase “staff is present,” allows for 10 minutes leeway at the beginning of the session and does not include times when youth arrive early or remain in the program space after the end of the scheduled program offering. Supporting Documents: Written Policy regarding staff to youth ratio; Examples of youth attendance or sign-in sheets; Youth recruitment materials (e.g., fliers, brochures, etc.)


1a. What age range does your program serve?

1b. How many youth or children are in a typical program offering?

1c. How many staff members are typically present?

1d. How many youth attended the largest (recent) program offering?

1e. How many adults were present?

1f. Does your youth/staff ratio ever exceed the ratios above? Y N

1g. If so, what is the greatest ratio of youth/children to adults?

2a. Is there ever a time when young people are unsupervised? Y N

2b. What is the policy for times when staff members are not present?

3. How many of your current staff were with you in the last program cycle?

4a. How do you work to improve your program? Is what you do based on youth outcomes, measurements or processes?

4b. What have you done recently to improve your program (e.g., expanded program offering areas, changed program schedule bases on youth input, scheduled training

for staff?)



> Access



Note: (a) See definition for staff and program cycle at the beginning of this form. (b) The phrase “staff is present,” allows for 10 minutes leeway at the beginning of the session and does not include times when youth arrive early or remain in the program space after the end of the scheduled program offering.

Note: If grade range is not applicable, do not rate. Write an “X” in the box.)



1-K3 [CSP.1]

For grades K-3 Ratio of child to staff for a typical program offering is greater than 20 to 1.

For grades K-3 Ratio of child to staff for a typical program offering is between 10 to and 20 to 1.

For grades K-3 Ratio of child to staff for a typical program offering is less than 10 to 1.

Note: Score only for programs with youth in Kindergarten through third grade. If the majority of young people are in fourth grade or above, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.

1-4+ [CSP.2]

For grades 4 and up Ratio of youth to staff for a typical program offering is greater than 25 to 1.

For grades 4 and up Ratio of youth to staff for a typical program offering is between 15 to and 25 to 1.

For grades 4 and up Ratio of youth to staff for a typical program offering is less than 15 to 1.

Note: Score only for programs with youth in fourth grade or above. If the majority of young people are in third grade or below, do not rate. Mark an “X” in the box at the left.

2 [CSP.3]

At times, some staff responsible for youth is neither present nor close by (i.e., available in at least 5 minutes) during scheduled sessions.

All staff is at least close by (i.e., available within 5 minutes) during scheduled sessions when they are not actually present in the program space.

All staff is present in the program space at all scheduled times.



> Access



Note: (a) See definition for staff and program cycle at the beginning of this form. (b) The phrase “staff is present,” allows for 10 minutes leeway at the beginning of the session and does not include times when youth arrive early or remain in the program space after the end of the scheduled program offering.

Note: If grade range is not applicable, do not rate. Write an “X” in the box.)



3 [CSP.4]

No staff was with the program for the entire program cycle.

Less than one third of staff was with the program for the entire program cycle.

More than one third of staff was with the program for the entire program cycle.



> Access

Consistent Staff Presence

> Barriers Addressed Families, Schools, Communities Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Barriers to participation are addressed


1. How do you determine the program schedule in relation to youth availability?

2a. Are there any barriers (i.e., transportation, distance, neighborhood safety issues) to young people attending the program? Y N

2b. If so, how are you currently able to address them?

2c. How were these barriers determined?

2d. How often do you revisit these barriers and your ability to address them?

3a. Are there cost barriers to youth attending the program? Y N

3b. If so, how are you currently able to address them?

3c. How do you work to identify cost barriers?

4. How does your organization try to make the program accessible to all youth and their families?



> Access

Consistent Staff Presence

> Barriers Addressed Families, Schools, Communities Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Barriers to participation are addressed



1 [BA.1]

Organization does not regularly identify or address the availability of current youth participants.

Organization regularly identifies the availability of current youth participants and uses this information to plan program schedule(s) that maximize participation.

Organization regularly identifies the availability of all eligible youth—served and not served—and uses this information to plan program schedule(s) that maximize participation.

2 [BA.2]

Organization does not regularly identify or address potential distance, transportation and neighborhood safety barriers to youth participation.

Organization regularly identifies and addresses potential distance, transportation and neighborhood safety barriers but only for youth that have attended a program offering.

Organization regularly identifies and addresses potential distance, transportation and neighborhood safety barriers for all eligible youth—both served and not served.

3 [BA.3]

Organization does not regularly identify potential cost barriers to youth participation.

Organization regularly identifies and addresses potential cost barriers to youth but only for youth that have attended a program offering.

Organization regularly identifies and addresses potential cost barriers to youth—both served and not served

4 [WA.BA.4]

Organization policies do not include goals related to making the program accessible and welcoming to all youth and their families.

Organization policies include a goal or goals somewhat related to but not directly about making the program accessible and welcoming to all youth and their families.

Organization policies include a goal or goals directly related to making the program accessible and welcoming to all youth and their families.



> Access

Consistent Staff Presence Barriers Addressed

> Families, Schools, Communities Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Organization communicates with families, other organizations and schools.


1a. How do you communicate with families?

1b.How often?

2a. How do you communicate with other organizations involved with your youth or children?

2b. How often?

2c. What is the nature of your communication?

3a. How do you communicate with schools?

3b. How often?

3c. What is the nature of your communication?

4a. How do staff respond to family questions?

4b. What opportunities are present to solicit family questions?

5. Are families engaged in any of the following aspects of the program? How?

Planning

Implementation

Management

Evaluation

Improvement



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6. Are school personnel engaged in any of the following aspects of the program? How?

Planning

Implementation

Management

Evaluation

Improvement

7.How often and in what ways do program staff communicate with school day staff?

8a. How does the program align activities to in-school learning?

8b. Do you measure progress on academic outcomes?

9.a. How do you communicate with other organizations involved with youth or children? How often?

9b. What is the nature or purpose of your communication?



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1 [FSC.1]

No communication occurs with most families of youth participants.

Communication with families of youth participants is informal or irregular.

Organization has established mechanisms (e.g., newsletters, e-mail, conferences, group meetings, dinners, picnics) for regular communication with families of youth participants.

2 [FSC.2]

No communication occurs with other organizations involved with youth.

Communication with other organizations involved with youth is limited to coordination of transportation, schedules or other logistics.

Communication with other organizations involved with youth occurs to better coordinate supports and opportunities for youth.

3 [FSC.3]

No communication with schools occurs.

Communication with schools is limited to coordination of transportation, schedules or other logistics.

Communication with schools occurs to better coordinate supports and opportunities for youth.

4 [CF.FSC.4]

Staff is dismissive of family questions.

Staff respond to family questions in a respectful and timely manner (e.g., immediately if in person, within 24 hours if phone message or email).

Staff responds to family questions in a respectful and timely manner and creates formal opportunities to solicit family questions (e.g., family nights, orientations, kickoff, helpdesk, website, etc.).



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5 [SO.FSC.5]

The program does not engage families in any of the following: the planning, implementation, management, evaluation or improvement of the program.

The program engages families appropriately in at least one of the following: the planning, implementation, management, evaluation or improvement of the program.

The program engages families appropriately in at least two of the following: the planning, implementation, management, evaluation or improvement of the program.

6 [SO.FSC.6]

The program does not engage school personnel in planning, implementation, management, evaluation or improvement of the program.

The program appropriately engages school personnel in one of the following: planning, implementation, management, evaluation or improvement of the program.

The program appropriately engages school personnel in two or more of the following: planning, implementation, management, evaluation and improvement of the program.

7 [SO.FSC.7]

Staff does not participate in two-way communication between school day staff (e.g., principals, counselors and teachers).

Staff participates in two-way communication between school day staff (e.g., principals, counselors, and teachers) but in limited ways or infrequently.

Staff regularly participates in two-way communication between school day staff (e.g., principals, counselors and teachers) in a variety of ways.

8 [SO.FSC.8]

The program does not intentionally align programming with in-school learning.

The program intentionally aligns programming with in-school learning, but does not measure progress on academic outcomes.

The program intentionally aligns programming with in-school learning and measures progress on academic outcomes.



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9 [SO.FSC.9]

Program activities do not provide youth opportunities to develop academic skills.

Program activities provide opportunities to develop academic skills, but these skills are not aligned to the Common Core Standards.

Program activities provide intentional opportunities to develop academic skills aligned to the Common Core Standards.



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Consistent Staff Presence Barriers Addressed Families, Schools, Communities

> Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Staff works effectively across cultures


1. What are the organization’s policies that address cultural competency?

2. How is cultural competence developed among staff?

3. How does staff demonstrate cultural competence?

4. What does staff do to promote youths’ exploration of their culture?



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Consistent Staff Presence Barriers Addressed Families, Schools, Communities

> Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

Staff works effectively across cultures



1 [SO.CCR.1]

Organization policies do not address staff cultural competence (beyond legally-required anti-discrimination statements).

Organization policies address staff cultural competence but do not specify ways employees can build cultural competence.

Organization policies address cultural competence for staff and specify ways employees can build cultural competence (e.g., training).

2 [SO.CCR.2]

No professional development is offered to staff focused on cultural competence.

Some professional development is offered to staff around cultural competence, but it is spontaneous or sporadic.

Ongoing staff meetings and trainings are provided to staff focused on cultural competence, including funds for staff to attend outside trainings.

3 [SO.CCR.3]

Staff does not know or understand cultures of participating youth in their programs.

Staff knows and understands the cultures of participating youth, but is not responsive to the youths’ cultural needs, interests, feelings and abilities.

Staff knows and understands cultures of participating youth and is responsive to the youths’ cultural needs, interests, feelings and abilities.

4 [SO.CCR.4]

Staff does not provide youth with structured opportunities to speak and learn more about their family culture, ethnicity, and customs (e.g., culture fairs, presentations, celebrations, potlucks, etc.).

Staff provides some structured opportunities for youth to speak and learn more about their family culture, ethnicity or customs but most opportunities are impromptu, unstructured, or focus on the majority culture, ethnicity, or customs.

Staff provides multiple or extended structured opportunities for youth to speak about and learn more about their family culture through a variety of activities. (e.g., culture fairs, presentations, celebrations, etc.).

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