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
Local Education Agency ND Coordinator Interview

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 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 the 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 approximately 60 minutes.

• 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

1. Please describe your role in the Title I, Part D program. What are your responsibilities?

2. Which students are served by the district’s Title I, Part D program?

Probe 

1. Are students “at-risk” of neglect or delinquency served by the Title I, Part D program?

B. Shared Decision-Making & Collaborative Planning

1. Have you been involved in the planning during this last school year for your agency’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?

2. Are you aware of the 2014 guidance document, Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings that was released by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice in 2014?
   If yes  Have the uses of Part D funds changed in any way since the 2014 guidance was released?

Probe 

1. Has your district encountered any challenges implementing these guiding principles?

2. Has your district received any technical assistance on implementing these guiding principles?

3. What additional assistance could be provided to help your district implement the guiding principles?

3. N or D students are involved in multiple systems, which may make coordination and communication challenging. Have you experienced barriers to communication, collaboration, or coordination with other systems or agencies that work with N or D students?

Probe 

1. If so, please describe how you have handled these challenges.

2. Is there anything that the State Education Agency or your district could do to help improve interagency communication, collaboration, or coordination?

C. Education Assessments, Strategies, and Services

Next we would like to talk about the types of services and strategies that Title I, Part D funds support at your school district.

Screening and Risk Assessments

1. Could you describe the process of how the children and youth come to the Part D program?

Probe 

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

2. Does your Part D program use any reading or math assessments? If so, which ones? Are these consistently used within your Part D program?

Probe 

1. Please describe how they are administered and how the results are used.

2. Does the State require the use of particular tests?

3. Does your Part D program do any other education-related screening or assessment? If so, what?

Probe 

1. Please describe how they are administered and how the results are used.

General Education Services and Structure

4. Please describe the (educational) services and programs that your Part D program provides.

Probe 

1. Is academic instruction part of the services provided?

2. Are credit recovery programs include in your Part D program?

3. What other education-related services are funded by Part D in your district?

5. If your School District operates a Title I, Part A program, how are services for at-risk youth coordinated with the Part D program?

Probe 

1. Do the services provided to students at-risk of neglect or delinquency differ in any way from N or D students?

6. What efforts are made to maintain the learning conditions (environment) that promote learning in your Part D program for all participating students?

Probe

1. How do teachers provide learning support to students?

2. How are students made to feel safe, both physically and emotionally?

3. What efforts are made to develop teacher-student rapport?

7. Please describe how your Part D program addresses the unique educational and culturally related educational needs of racial and/or ethnic minorities in the program.

Probe 

1. Hispanic and/or Latino students

2. American Indian and/or Alaskan Native students

3. Other cultural and/or ethnic groups

4. If your district includes a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) school within its boundaries, how are services for Native American youth coordinated with the Part D program?

Transition Planning

We would like to ask you some questions about the strategies that your Title I, Part D program uses to support youths’ transitions as they enter custodial settings, and as they transition back into educational and vocational settings.

7. Please describe the transition services and supports that your Part D program provides.

Probe 

1. What are the intended outcomes of your program’s transition services?

2. What transition services are provided to youth: (a) as they enter placement, (b) while they are in placement, and (c) after they leave placement? For example, adult mentor/advocate, orientation or information/counseling to prepare for transition back to school, training while in program, pre-release visit to school/employment setting, etc.?

3. Do you feel that these transition services and supports are effective? Why or why not? What information or data lead you to this conclusion?

1. If not, what do you think could be done to make them more effective?

4. Does the School District have a formal/structured transition planning model or approach for the Part D program? If yes, what model(s)/approach(es)?

Probe 

1. Is this an established model?

5. (At the district level,) who is involved in transition planning for the Part D program and how?

Probe 

1. Is there an individual who leads the coordination process or is a team formed? If a team, who are the members and to what degree is the team individualized to the youth/family?

7. [If not mentioned] Do facilities/programs involve youth in transition planning?

Probe 

1. If so, how involved are youth in transition planning?

2. What are some of the challenges to involving youth?

7. [If not mentioned] Do facilities/programs involve parents/family members/caregivers (in the case of neglected youth, maybe surrogates or advocates) in transition planning?

Probe 

1. If so, how involved are they?

2. What are some of the challenges to involving “parents”?

7. What types of educational information or records are provided or obtained when youth enter the custodial setting?

Probe 

1. How are the youth’s prior educational information/records obtained?

2. Are there any challenges/issues with students’ records? [For example, delayed receipt, missing records, missing/incomplete/inaccurate information?]

1. What issues arise regarding consents, authorizations, understanding of related legislation (e.g., FERPA)?

We would now like to discuss the specifics of these transition services and supports.

7. Do facilities/programs create/use formal (written) transition plans for youth in the Part D program?

If so, Probe 

1. Do you know what is typically included in those plans?

1. Educational or career and technical activities while in residence?

2. Re-enrollment of youth in school or vocational settings upon release? OR Alternative educational placements for youth who cannot return to traditional educational settings?

3. Connections with needed community resources and aftercare support? Including:

Family services and supports?

Mental health counseling/treatment?

Academic support/tutoring/mentoring?

Substance use prevention/treatment?

Prosocial activities/supports?

7. How are the results of educational (needs) assessments or screenings [completed prior to or during a youth’s placement] used in your transition planning and supports?

Probe 

1. [If not mentioned] What kinds of assessment or screening information might be available? [academic, vocational/career technical assessments, disabilities, learning style/study skills]

7. What challenges or barriers has your Part D program experienced in transition planning (and supports)? How has the school district worked to address these challenges? Have the strategies proven successful?

7. If your district serves youth at risk for neglect or delinquency, does your Part D program provide transition services for these youth, or are these separate service populations?

7. What aftercare/post exit services does your Part D program provide (directly)?

Probe 

1. Are facilities/programs responsible for aftercare [do they employ transition coordinators]? And/or does/how does the School District play a role?

2. What is the extent, nature, and frequency of contact with youth and families during the aftercare period?

3. How are the community services/aftercare plans determined?

4. What challenges or barriers does your School District encounter with aftercare services/supports?

7. Is the School District required to evaluate your transition services, strategies, and youth outcomes? If so, please describe how this is accomplished.

Probe 

1. What have been your program’s key findings regarding provision of transition services and strategies, and youth outcomes?

1. What have you learned about the efficacy of the Part D program’s transition strategies?

2. How are these data used to inform transition-related activities?

2. What is the process of monitoring youths’ outcomes? Who is responsible?

3. How long after exit are individual youths’ outcomes assessed?

D. Instructional Staff Qualifications and Professional Development

Next I would like to ask you about how you recruit and retain instructional staff in your Title I, Part D programs.

1. Please describe the qualifications for instructional staff in your Part D program.

Probe 

1. Do staff need any special qualifications or certifications to work with N or D youth? If so, what are they?

2. What, if any, additional qualifications are required for staff that teach English language learners?

   1. Does each Part D-funded facility/program include at least one instructional staff certified to teach English?

3. What, if any, additional qualifications are required for staff that teach students with disabilities?

   1. Does each Part D-funded facility/program include at least one instructional staff certified to teach students with disabilities?

2. What efforts are made to ensure that curricula used in your district for Part D programs are aligned with required State content standards?

3. Are there opportunities for instructional staff and administrators in Part D-funded facilities/programs to participate in professional development?

If yes, Probe 

1. Are these staff invited to/included in professional development offered to all instructional staff in the School District?

2. How often and what types of professional development are offered?

3. Is any professional development focused on/tailored for serving neglected and delinquent youth? (For example, understanding and addressing the unique educational and related needs of youth who are N or D, providing education in institutional settings, supplementing traditional pre-service and in-service training, transition planning, and how to align State and school district curricula)

4. What challenges or barriers has the School District encountered regarding training/professional development for the Part D program? How has the district addressed these challenges?

5. What types or topic areas of training/professional development have seemed to be effective?

4. What strategies does the School District use to retain highly qualified and effective instructional staff within the Part D Program?

Probe 

1. Does the district have trouble with staff retention in Part Dfunded facilities/programs?

E. Outcome Assessment and Utilization

1. Please describe the key educational outcomes for students participating in Part D-funded educational programs.

Probe 

1. How are the outcomes measured? What assessments are used (are they standardized)? Is the assessment of any specific educational outcomes required (e.g., improvement in reading/math, high school course credits earned)?

2. Who is responsible for collecting the data?

3. How often does data collection take place? (e.g., pre-post?)

4. Are some educational outcomes measured specifically for certain sub-populations of students (e.g., students with disabilities or English language learners) or in specific settings (e.g., correctional institutions, child welfare)?

2. How are educational process and outcome data analyzed and reported by the School District?

Probe 

1. How are findings utilized by the district?

3. What key (successes and) challenges has the school district experienced in assessing educational outcomes for students while they are participating in Part D-funded educational program(s)?

4. Are you able to continue to follow students after they leave residential placement/custodial settings in order to track (long-term) educational outcomes?

If yes, Probe 

1. What outcomes are tracked? [For example, outcomes of certain sub-populations of students (e.g., students with disabilities or English language learners) or specific settings (e.g., correctional institutions, child welfare), high school completion rates for students who have participated in Part D-funded educational programs]

2. How are the outcomes assessed?

3. Are any specific assessment instruments used?

4. Does the School District coordinate with other agencies and/or programs to track (long-term) educational outcomes? If so, who does the district coordinate with and are there any policies or procedures that facilitate tracking (long-term) outcomes?

If no, Probe 

1. What are the major barriers to following students?

5. Are there educational outcomes (short or longer term) that the School District is not currently tracking, but would like to? Why are these outcomes of interest? Why are they not being tracked?

F. Use of ESSA Title I, Part D Funds

We would now like to ask you some questions about Title I, Part D funding.

1. How does the School District make decisions about how to allocate Part D funds?

Probe 

1. Do funds go to specific facilities/programs/schools, and if so, how are decisions made about who receives Part D funding?

2. Who is involved in making resource allocation decisions?

3. Are any Part D funds retained by the School District for administrative use?

2. Are Part D funds blended/braided or otherwise coordinated with other Federal or private funding?

If yes  What are the other funding sources and approximate amount/% allocation (e.g., Title I, Part A funding).

G. Overall Facilitators, Challenges, and Perceived Benefits

1. In terms of implementing the key 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.

Probe 

1. How have these challenges been handled? 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: Local School District ND Coordinator 12