Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D,Neglected or Delinquent Programs

Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs
Case Study Interview Protocol
State Education Agency (SEA) ND Coordinator

State:	Interviewer:
Interviewee(s):	Date/Time:
Interviewee(s’) Role(s): (select all that apply)

Introduction – Key points to convey to the respondent:

• We are conducting case studies of the ESSA Title I, Part D programs. We are also administering a survey to all State Part D coordinators and a sample of local educational agency (school district) and facility staff to collect data from a wider range of respondents.

• The study’s results will be discussed in a final report that will be available publicly. The main purpose of this study is to share your perspectives and experiences with policy-makers as they continue to refine policy and technical assistance on important issues related to Title I, Part D programs. This is not a compliance study; our purpose is solely to provide policymakers and the general public with insight regarding implementation practices of Title I, Part D programs so programs and student outcomes can continue to be improved.

• The purpose of this interview is to obtain information about your ESSA Title I, Part D, N or D program (hereafter “Part D”) regarding the implementation and progress of your State’s Part D program including how the program is implemented and how are the students’ needs met.

• Officials at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) know that your State is participating in this study and your State will be identified in our public reporting. In addition, staff from ED will see transcripts from our interview, but the transcripts we share will be reviewed and edited to ensure that no personally identifying information is included.

• We know that you are very busy, and we appreciate your time. We anticipate that this interview will take up to two hours.

• Your participation in this interview is voluntary. You may discontinue your participation in this interview at any time, and through the course of the interview, if we touch on topics that you believe to be sensitive for any reason, please bring that to our attention so we will not include these comments either in public reporting or in discussions with ED.

• Your privacy is important to us and we will protect the confidentiality of the information you provide, to the extent provided by law. The reports prepared for this study will summarize interviews across respondents and will not associate responses with a specific individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

• In order for us to have an accurate account of your responses, we would like to record this interview. The recording will then be transcribed and all personally identifying information will be removed from the transcript. Do we have your permission to record this conversation?

• Do you have any questions before we begin?

First we would like to get some background information.

A. Agency Characteristics

Title I, Part D funds are distributed and programs are supported in different ways across the United States. We would first like to get a sense of how support for these programs is structured in your state.

1. Please describe your role within the State Education Agency and within the Title I, Part D program. What are your responsibilities?

2. How long has your agency operated the Part D program?

Probe 

1. Has your or the agency’s role changed in that time? Please explain.

3. What agencies, departments, and/or facilities within the State are involved in the Part D program?

Probe 

1. Which students are served by the Title I, Part D program?

4. How does the State education agency work with each of the sub-grantees?

Probe 

1. What is the overall structure for supporting these programs in your state?

B. Shared Decision-Making & Collaborative Planning

1. Have you been involved in the planning for your State’s Part D program?

If yes  Please describe the planning for your agency’s Part D program, including who else was involved, any challenges, and outcomes.

Probe 

1. Were any new policies or procedures developed during the planning phase?

2. Could you describe any challenges encountered during the planning phase and what strategies were used to try to resolve them?

3. How is it structured?

4. How are decisions made?

5. How often does major planning take place?

2. What were the major program priorities during the past year or during the most recent planning phase?

Probe

1. How were the priorities identified (for example: federal initiatives, state priorities, local challenges, a recent needs assessment)?

2. How were the priorities addressed?

3. Please describe how and with which facilities/programs/agencies your agency collaborates to provide Part D programming to N or D students.

Probe 

1. Have you experienced any barriers to communication, collaboration, or coordination with other systems or agencies working with N or D students?

2. What strategies are used to try to resolve the challenges?

C. Education Assessments, Strategies, and Services

Next we will talk about the types of services and strategies that Title I, Part D funds support.

Screening and Risk Assessments

1. Please describe the process of how the children and youth come to the Part D program in your State.

Probe 

1. How are neglected or delinquent children and youth identified as needing the Part D program services?

2. Are any standardized assessments used in identifying educational risks or needs?

General Education Services and Structure

3. What types of services and programs are supported by your state agency? Please describe.

4. What kinds of technical assistance and monitoring services does this State Education Agency provide to sub-grantees? Please describe.

5. Does your State Education Agency have a role in the support of priority educational issues or problems (for Title I programs? Including Title I, Part D)? For example, does the state specifically support youth with any of the following issues: behavior management, special education, English language learners, social emotional learning, or career and technical education?

Probe 

1. Does the state provide training and technical support in any of those areas? Please describe.

Institution-wide Programming (IWP)

We would like to ask about institution-wide programming (IWP), which allows agencies to flexibly use Title I, part D and other Federal and State funds to serve all children in State juvenile correctional institutions or programs.

6. Does your State’s Title I, Part D programming include institution-wide Part D projects?

If No  go to item #6, then skip to next subsection (Transition Planning)

If Yes  go to item #7

7. Have you considered implementing IWPs?

If Yes  What potential benefits do you see with IWPs versus traditional Part D projects? Potential challenges or barriers to implementation?

If No  Please describe why not?

8. Could you describe the IWP(s) that have been implemented in your State?

Probe 

1. How is/are your State’s IWP(s) different from traditional Part D programs?

9. Is there anything that we have not yet discussed that you think would be important for us to know about your experience with planning, implementing, and/or operating IWPs?

Transition Planning

We would like to ask you some questions about the services and strategies that your N and D programs implement to support youths’ transitions as they enter custodial settings, and as they transition back into educational and community settings.

10. How does the State support transition planning at the local level? (Please describe.)

Probe 

1. Please describe the transition services or practices that your Part D programs implement to support youths’ academic/career/behavioral needs as they move into or out of custodial settings.

2. Are data collected specifically on: high-quality transition planning, youth and family involvement in planning, or identification or use of community-resources in plans? Please describe.

11. How does the State address challenges experienced at the local level regarding obtaining or sharing educational information or records as the youth enters or leaves the custodial setting?

Probe 

1. Are there standard requirements regarding components or timing of transitional planning?

12. Does your agency/SEA monitor transition plans or transition planning processes? Please describe your monitoring practices.

13. How does the State support collaboration and coordination work across agencies (juvenile justice, child welfare, and education systems) on transition planning and services?

Probe 

1. Who does your agency collaborate with on transition services?

2. What is the nature and the roles of collaborations and partnerships for transition services?

14. Do you have a formal/structured transition planning model or approach that is expected to be followed by all Part D program agencies and facilities statewide? Please describe.

Probe 

1. What does your agency expect of sub-grantees/programs in terms of the development and application of transition plans?

2. Are there standard requirements regarding components or timing of transition planning?

D. Instructional Staff Qualifications and Professional Development

1. How does the State support a qualified pool of instructors available to teach for Part D programs across the State?

2. How does the State support the professional development of instructional staff in Part D programs?

3. Please describe any State monitoring of curricula and high quality teaching in Part D programs?

4. What policies are in place at the State level that support retention of highly qualified and effective teachers?

E. Outcome Assessment and Utilization

1. Please describe any State-level guidelines or legislation that guide the local Part D programs’ assessment of educational outcomes.

If no guidelines, Probe 

1. Are programs able to select their own assessments to track educational outcomes?

2. In your opinion, are there benefits and/or challenges related to the use of different assessments across programs? (e.g., Can data from these assessments be aggregated at the State level to look at trends in educational outcomes across programs?)

2. Does your State continue to follow students after they leave correctional institutions or child welfare facilities in order to track long-term educational outcomes? If yes, please describe the key long-term educational outcomes and the process for tracking them.

Probe 

1. How do agencies coordinate and are there any policies or procedures that facilitate tracking long-term outcomes?

2. Who is responsible for data collection?

3. How far out after they have left correctional institutions or child welfare facilities are you able to follow students to track these outcomes? (e.g., 90 days?)

3. Are there educational outcomes (short or longer term) that you are not currently tracking, but would like to? Why are these outcomes of interest to you?

F. Use of ESSA Title I, Part D Funds

1. What is the overall structure for distributing Title I, Part D funds in your state?

2. How does your State make decisions about how to spend Part D funds?

3. Who is involved in making resource allocation decisions?

4. How is Title I, Part D funding most useful in supporting state goals and outcomes for youth?

5. What is challenging about how the funding is structured and used?

Probe 

1. Has the State been able to work around these challenges? If so, how?

6. Has the role or use of Title I, Part D funding changed over time? Please explain.

G. Overall Facilitators, Challenges, and Perceived Benefits

1. In terms of implementing Part D program activities, what has gone well overall? What has facilitated implementation of program activities?

2. What have been the key challenges in implementing Part D program activities overall (in addition to what we have already covered in this interview)? Please describe.

3. In your opinion, what have been some of the key benefits for children and youth involved in the Part D programming?

Probe 

1. What evidence is available to document these benefits?

4. Is there anything else that you would like to add regarding the topics we have talked about?

THANK YOU!

PPSS Task Order 25—Evaluation of Title I, Part D: SEA ND Coordinator Protocol 1