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Welcome!

Presenters

Patrice Cromwell

Director, Strategic

Initiatives

The Annie E. Casey

Foundation

John McConnell

Director, eNDMS

Technical Assistance

Jobs for America’s

Graduates

Lili Allen

Associate Vice

President, Reconnection

Strategies and Designs

Jobs for the Future

John Martinez

Director of Program

Development

MDRC

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1. Welcome and Introductions

2. About the Annie E. Casey Foundation

3. LEAP Initiative Overview

4. Approach

5. Evaluation

6. Application Process and Selection Criteria

7. Timeline

8. Frequently Asked Questions

9. Q&A

Agenda

OVERVIEW

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

FAMILY OPPORTUNITY COMMUNITY

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The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private philanthropy that

creates a brighter future for the nation’s children by developing

solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic

opportunity and transform struggling communities into

safer and healthier places to live, work and grow.

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• Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) is made by possible through a grant from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF).

• The Social Innovation Fund is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

• Learn more: nationalservice.gov/innovation.

Social Innovation Fund

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• Our goal: to significantly increase the number of youth in

transition who reconnect with educational and employment

opportunities, advance toward postsecondary credentials

and secure work experience and employment.

Target outcomes:

• 3,000-5,000 youth ages 14-25 who:

– graduate from high school;

– enter postsecondary education or training;

– successfully complete their first year of postsecondary

education; and

– get a job or work experience.

Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential

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Our strategy:

• Award grants for 3–5 years to

nonprofits with proven experience

providing educational or employment

services to youth transitioning from

public systems.

• Build evidence for scaling two

promising models focused on youth

education and employment.

• Measure impact with a two-step

evaluation, high-quality data collection

and performance management goals.

• Provide coaching and technical

assistance.

Overview: Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential

OUR APPROACH

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Our Approach: Two Evidence-Based Models

• The Foundation will select up to 12 high-performing

nonprofits to implement one, two or both evidence-based

models:

– Jobs for America’s Graduates aims to improve

opportunities for full-time employment among graduates

going directly into the workforce and/or continuing with

postsecondary education.

– Jobs for the Future’s Back on Track model provides a

range of postsecondary bridging and support services

during the first year of postsecondary education.

• Support services must be trauma-informed and address the

particular challenges and strengths of young people

involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice system.

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• Developed by JFF by partnering with innovators in the

field working to improve postsecondary outcomes for

disconnected (opportunity) youth.

• Allows for local adaptation based on:

– local context;

– population served; and

– program assets and priorities.

• Core elements are critical, but there are different

approaches to operationalizing them.

Jobs for the Future’s Back on Track Model

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• Full model has three phases: Enriched Preparation, Postsecondary/Career

Bridging, First-Year Supports.

• LEAP focus: implementing Postsecondary/Career Bridging and First Year

Supports for system-involved youth with (or close to) a high school credential.

• Preliminary evidence shows improved postsecondary attainment rates for

disconnected/opportunity youth.

Jobs for the Future’s Back on Track Model

Enriched Preparation

Integrate high-quality college and career-ready instruction with strong academic and social support

Postsecondary/Career Bridging

Build college/career-ready skills and provide informed transition counseling

First-Year Supports

Offer appropriate support services in the first year to ensure postsecondary persistence and success

LEAP

FOCUS

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• Intentional outreach to and recruitment of system-involved

youth with a high school credential

• Preparation for postsecondary credit-bearing

coursework/training

• Supported first experience in postsecondary education

and/or training

• College/career success activities that build skills such

as navigating postsecondary environments, managing

time, developing a growth mindset and self-agency

• Career guidance focused on connecting to postsecondary

education and training that pays off in the labor market

Back on Track Model

Postsecondary/Career Bridging

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• Academic and social support services for youth to

earn first-year postsecondary credits or first training

certificate

• Just-in-time assistance to ensure persistence, such as

emergency funds and counseling or case

management

• Strategies to build student attachment to

postsecondary education/training: development of

independence and self-agency, use of technological

tools, coaching support, peer mentoring and small

cohort learning and leadership communities

Back on Track Model

First-Year Supports

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Delivery of Back on Track Model: Examples

A community-based

organization conducts

outreach to system-

involved youth for a

summer bridge program

that builds their skills for

college; the CBO and a

community college

collaborate to support

youth in their first year of

postsecondary

coursework.

A CBO partners with a

Sheriff’s Office High School

to offer adjudicated youth

academic/social supports to

prepare for occupational

training once they attain a

high school credential, then

supports youth as they

transition into

postsecondary training

programs that lead to in-

demand careers.

An intermediary organization

with strong ties to community

colleges secures commitments

to enroll system-involved youth

in postsecondary bridging

programs and partners with

one or more CBOs to provide

academic/social support to

ensure successful completion

of the bridge and enrollment in

college. CBOs continue to

provide supports through first

year of college.

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• Each site will be assigned a JFF coach with expertise

in building pathways to postsecondary credentials for

system-involved youth.

• Coach will conduct four customized TA site visits per

year and monthly calls with individual sites; each

coaching visiting will be designed in collaboration with

the site/program leads to meet their needs.

• Sites will have access to other coaches with specific

expertise as necessary.

• Sessions at cross-site convenings will focus on

learning from each other about approaches to

implementing the model.

Technical Assistance to Back on Track Subrecipients

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Examples of topics to be addressed by

coaches:

• Instructional coaching for staff on

delivery of student-centered curriculum

to prepare youth for postsecondary

coursework and in first college courses

• Partnership development between

CBOs, community colleges, and public

systems

• Trauma-informed approaches to

postsecondary supports

Technical Assistance to Back on Track Subrecipients

(cont.)

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Examples, cont.:

• Developing/implementing curriculum for college

success courses that help prepare youth to navigate

the college

• Using labor market data to inform the development of

occupational coursework

• Developing/implementing employment-readiness

programming

• Developing scale and sustainability plans that

leverage federal, state and institutional funding

streams

Technical Assistance to Back on Track Subrecipients

(cont.)

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• State-based national nonprofit organization

• Dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who are most at risk

• In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results — helping over 1 million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities.

Jobs for America’s Graduates

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Jobs for America’s Graduates

JAG is committed to...

• helping resolve our country's dropout and transition problems by expanding

state organizations and local programs that help young people greatest at

risk overcome barriers to graduation from high school and become college

and career ready;

• equipping JAG specialists with proven

programs and unique services for middle

school, high school and out-of-school

youth to stay in school through

graduation from high school, pursue a

collegiate education and/or enter and

advance in their chosen career field; and

• developing future leaders for families,

employers, communities, states and the

nation.

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Program Components

• Classroom, small group or individual training on JAG competency

curriculum

• Adult mentoring

• Leadership development

• Guidance and counseling

• Job and postsecondary education placement services

• Linkages to school and community-based services

• Community service

• Academic remediation

• 12-month follow-up services

• Accountability system

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• School-to-Career Transition/

Dropout Prevention:

– Grades 9–12

– Middle school

• Alternative education (grades

9–12)

• Dropout Recovery: out-of-

school youth

• College Success: first-year

community college students

JAG Comprehensive Model Applications

LEAP FOCUS

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Alternative Education Application*

• Goal: To provide a comprehensive set of services to youth in need

of additional support to graduate and enter the workforce or enroll

in postsecondary training.

• Target population: Students most at risk of not graduating due to

academic or other social or environmental barriers, including youth

in low-income families; in foster care; involved with the juvenile

justice system; and who are homeless.

• Participant load and selection: 25-35 participants who are less likely

to succeed in a traditional high school environment.

• Curriculum: Specialists will use the 87 competency-based modules

as well as individualized instructional tools to achieve the core

competencies and as many additional competencies as needed

and time permits.

*Can be implemented in a comprehensive high school setting.

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Out-of-School Application

• Goal: To recover dropouts and to provide an array of counseling,

employability and technical skill development, job development and

job placement services that will result in either a quality job leading

to a career after graduation and/or enrollment in a postsecondary

education and training program.

• Target population: Youth ages 16–24 who have dropped out of

school and seeking a diploma, GED and/or occupational skill

certificate. Same environmental and social barriers as Alternative

Education.

• Participant load and selection: 35–45 participants.

• Curriculum: JAG specialists will use the 20 competency-based

modules as well as individualized instructional tools to achieve the

core competencies.

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College Success Program Application

• Goal: To help students stay on track with their chosen field of study

to successfully complete their first semester of college and to

ensure graduation with a degree, certificate, diploma or transfer to

another college.

• Target population: First-year community college students including

youth in low-income families; in foster care; involved with the

juvenile justice system; and who have been homeless.

• Participant load and selection: 35–45 participants, which may

include participants from the JAG in-school program and from

families who have not had anyone attend college before.

• Curriculum: A mix of career planning with opportunities such as

career fairs, college-transfer fairs, internships, on-the-job training

and apprenticeships.

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Implementation

• JAG is administered at the state and local level through nonprofits or government entities and provides training/technical support for model implementation at the local level.

• Currently operating in 32 states; see affiliated states at www.jag.org.

• Contact JAG state program in your state.

• If there is no program in your state, contact Janelle Duray from the JAG national office at janelle.duray@jag.org.

EVALUATION

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• Goals:

– Continuous improvement: ensure participants are

receiving strongest services possible.

– Build evidence: show that interventions are making

a difference.

• Approach:

– Track progress toward achieving program

outcomes (performance measures).

– Collect, track and share data to support a national

evaluation (impact measures).

Evaluation and Performance Measurement

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• Two-phase approach:

• MDRC will be the evaluation partner for Phase 1 (through September 2016).

• There will be a request for proposals for an independent evaluator for Phase 2.

• The goal of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is to build strong, research-based evidence that interventions are making a difference.

Evaluation: Overview

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• MDRC role:

– Identify evaluation-related technical assistance needs and provide TA.

– Assess early implementation and provide feedback for continuous improvement.

– Assess design options for Phase 2.

• Deliverable:

– MDRC will produce an implementation and evaluation design options report.

Evaluation: Phase 1

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• The Casey Foundation will choose a third-party evaluator for Phase 2 through a competitive selection process.

• CNCS requires that the research design be as rigorous as feasible:

– if possible, randomized controlled trial;

– if not, a strong quasi experimental design.

• Having a two-phase approach ensures that the evaluation design is feasible and that participating organizations implement the strongest programs possible.

Evaluation: Phase 2

APPLICATION PROCESS AND

SELECTION CRITERIA

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• Step 1: Letter of Intent

– Accepted on rolling basis until Oct. 5, 2015

– Response within 10 days of receipt

– Eligible organizations invited to complete the full online application

• Step 2: Application

– Deadline to submit: Nov. 6, 2015

• To submit letters of intent (online only): www.aecf.org/leap.

Application Process

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Selection Criteria

Selection Criteria Points

Programmatically strong, high-performing nonprofit/partners 15

Strong, specific, achievable plan for implementing interventions 30

Effective engagement with key partners and youth 15

Capacity to collect, manage and analyze data 15

Evaluation readiness 5

Capacity to provide matching funds 20

Total 100

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Criteria: High-Performing Nonprofit

• Experience working with youth transitioning from the child welfare or

juvenile justice system to employment or postsecondary education

• Experience with:

– public systems

– promoting authentic youth engagement

– working in low-income or rural communities

– trauma-informed services

• Ability to:

– provide supplemental services to participating youth

– launch new programs quickly, sustain them and effectively bring

them to scale

– effectively manage federal grants, complex funding streams,

contracts and federal requirements

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Criteria: Strong, Specific, Achievable Plan

Elements of a strong plan:

• Identification of which intervention(s) will be implemented,

including:

– demographic analysis of the priority youth;

– assessment of their educational and employment needs; and

– description of local employer demand for youth and young

adult employees.

• Description of the target geographic area for services

• Description of other existing services for youth transitioning from

systems and the gaps and challenges in serving their

employment or educational needs

• A detailed plan for the successful implementation and scaling up

of the intervention.

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Criteria: Effective Engagement

• Must have effective engagement with key partners and

youth, including:

– existing or new partnerships that include the key

organizations working with youth in the child welfare or

juvenile justice system; and

– the involvement of youth who have experienced foster

care or the juvenile justice system as leaders in the

organization, or a commitment to securing and

sustaining authentic youth input and decision making

throughout the LEAP initiative.

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Criteria: Collect, Analyze and Evaluate Data

Subrecipients must have the ability to collect, analyze and

evaluate data, including:

• accessing data to support effective project management

and decision making;

• regularly collecting and using data to report on participation,

program management and outcomes, as well as the

demographics of participants, including race and ethnicity;

• engaging in continuous improvement;

• participating in an evaluation process; and

• experience with collecting and using data, and applying

research, setting goals, tracking performance and using

data to analyze and improve initiatives.

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Criteria: Evaluation Readiness

Subrecipients will have evaluation readiness, including:

• experience working with evaluators in either exploratory or

impact studies; and

• experience implementing evidence-based and evidence-

informed programs.

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Criteria: Match

• Subrecipients will have a credible plan for securing, within a

year, at least a 1:1 committed match of unrestricted

nonfederal funds, as demonstrated by:

– initial funding targets and commitments for reaching the

first-year matching requirements;

– success raising matching funds for other initiatives;

– a clear understanding of the local/regional funder

landscape and any letters of commitment or interest

from funders; and

– strategies, goals and benchmarks for raising the

matching funds over the next three years.

TIMELINE

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Overview: Timeline

Selection Activity Deadline

Letters of intent due By 11:59 p.m. EDT, Oct. 5

Organizations notified of eligibility to apply Within 10 days of receipt of

letter of intent

Applications due By 11:59 p.m. EDT, Nov. 6

Visits and calls to finalists completed Dec. 23

Final selection and notification sent to

subrecipients

Jan. 19, 2016

Subrecipient grant awards executed Feb. 1, 2016

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Find additional information on the following:

• Eligibility criteria

• Program design and delivery

• Partnerships and collaboration

• Evidence and evaluation

• Subrecipient funding and funding restrictions

• Budget

• Match

• Support from national partners

Frequently Asked Questions

Q&A

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For additional information:

www.aecf.org/leap

leap@aecf.org

Questions