|
ABE Planning Group October
29, 2003 |
Present:
Sandy Bastone, Greenfield Even Start, Michael Bardsley, Amherst Regional High
School At-Risk Guidance and Town of
Northampton Councilperson, Martina Dooley-Carvalho, for Sarah Neelon, FCAC
Youth Programs, Joe Panzica, The Literacy Project, Jim Ayres, The Center for
New Americans, Laura Battle, The International Language Institute, The YWCA for
Mary McCrae, Roy Rosenblatt, Amherst Child and Youth services, Michael
Bosworth, The Brickhouse, Montague
|
DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION AND COORDINATION OF SERVICES |
[
Create more effective
systems to disseminate information about the regional ABE system
[
Continue to build
relationships to facilitate information and referrals between ABE programs,
support services and further education
[
Propose and implement ways
to improve coordination of services.
|
Barriers |
Resources |
|
The funding of direct
services |
Successful case
management models |
|
Lack of opportunities
for direct services staff to share information
(forums-emails-list-serv-meetings) |
Amherst Family Literacy
Collaboration Grant |
|
Rules around sharing of
information |
SPIFFY sub-committee on
youth |
|
Baton program challenges |
The Greenbook Collaborative
- model for case coordination - information sharing about domestic violence |
|
¨
Use existing
collaborations to create a list-serv to all appropriate providers (to share without
having to attend meetings) - Connect this with SABES ¨
Create a case/management
model to provide effective service coordination for ABE clients with multiple
needs ¨
Document success -
"here is the model - here are unmet needs, . . . Is this something we can get funding for?" |
|
TRANSITION SUPPORT AND TARGETED OUTREACH |
[
Work collaboratively to
develop formal and informal targeted outreach approaches to under-served youth
and adult ex-offenders
[
Plan programming to facilitate
successful transitions:
·
from ABE to work
·
from ABE to college
·
from individuals leaving
corrections systems
[
Identify funding sources to
create new transition support programs
|
¨
Pilot
youth case-management system
¨
Define
within the framework of transition what is success -as two years in college
or one year of steady employment, for example.
¨
Identify
funding sources for youth case management demonstration project - document
embryonic efforts with statistics and stories that correspond with ongoing
efforts. "These were the
services, this was the outcome." |
|
ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY SERVE "OUT-OF-SCHOOL" YOUTH |
[
Develop planned and formal
guidelines for collaboration with other agencies that serve youth
[
Out reach and services to:
·
Out-of-school youth
·
especially pregnant and
parenting teens
|
Collaboration ¨
Make sure that relevant
organizations (YWCA, FCAC Youth, Schools) have up-dated information about ABE
services (upon decision to leave school - part of "withdrawal
packet" (local agency flyers/pamphlets)- sign a release? As part of an exit interview -Teen
parents (Even Start) -1st
generation youth ¨ Two way referral or release system of academic info (IEP-Individualized
Education Plan, MCAS results, Assessments,etc.) between schools, CBOs and
ABE/ESOL providers ¨ Making sure that there is a regular meeting that happens with all of
the "players" to provided updated material about providers -give heads up about
potential upcoming drop outs
¨ Work at sustaining existing program including Even Start by seeing
barriers to attendance imposed by regulations, issues around funding matches.
Case management and coordination of staff is cost effective if interacting
with other case managers Outreach ¨
Clear support from DOE on
accommodations/flexibility especially as it relates to attendance and
participation (sick parent, sick child, crisis) ¨
Assessment of needs of
youth Why did they
drop out -mental
health issues -MCAS
frustrations -need to
work -mainstream
learning does not work ¨
Support for case
management with youth ¨
Expert guidance for ABE
programs on difference between adult education and youth education ¨
Coordination among
court-involved providers -DYS -Probation -Restorative
Justice -Juvenile
Court -DSS ¨
Flexible service delivery
due to schedules (evening classes, weekend workshops, morning classes) |