October 6th, 2017
READY NEWS
News & resources from the Forum and the field about collaborative work to get young people ready by 21.

New Wallace Foundation Report Examines How to Scale Up Social Programs Effectively  

My program is working, but how do I connect it to more families in need? This question of effective scale up has dogged the youth-serving community for decades. A new study seeks to explain the key components of scaling up.

"Strategies to Scale Up Social Programs: Pathways, Partnerships and Fidelity," a new report commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, examines how dozens of successful organizations have addressed how to scale up, whom to involve in the process and the trade-offs and decisions leaders make about scaling up that could impact fidelity. Forty-five social programs were examined on how they made strategic choices to grow their organizations.

The programs featured in the study-in the fields of health, education and youth development-are tackling some of society's most serious problems, ranging from teen pregnancy to hunger to climate change. 

The authors identified three main pathways to program expansion used by the efforts studied: "branching," in which a lead organization developed a program, distributed and implemented it; "affiliates," in which a lead organization trained other organizations to offer a program, using their own resources; and "distribution networks," in which the lead organization worked with a distribution partner that then spread the program to an existing network of organizations or individuals for implementation. 

The report also examined the types of partners working together to scale up social programs and the ways in which partners found each other. It further explored how these programs were changed to enable them to scale-up while addressing questions of fidelity.

Social and Emotional Learningsel
The Intersection of Afterschool and SEL for 21st Century Readiness
Free Webinar
October 11, 2017
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm EDT

Despite confusion over what exactly social and emotional learning (SEL) is and what this set of skills should be called, research is clear that SEL can help support the academic, personal, and professional development of young people.

Building upon a session at the 2017 Ready by 21 National Meeting in Austin, TX, this webinar will highlight national research and best practices from around the country to explore:
  • The value of afterschool settings in cultivating SEL;
  • The ways in which SEL can align with 21st century/employability skills over time;
  • What developmentally-appropriate social and emotional skill-building looks like in practice;
  • The relationship between afterschool program quality and the measurement of SEL practices for the purposes of continuous improvement;
  • How SEL in afterschool settings aligns with other common community goals along the continuum of services for young people; and
  • The ways in which afterschool can complement in-school SEL to ensure that all kids are ready for college, work, and life.
This session is presented in partnership with the American Youth Policy Forum.
The Intersection of Readiness and Equityreadiness
Annie E. Casey Launches Race for Results Report
Report and Free Event
Washington, DC
October 24th, 2017

 

We all strive for equity, but how do you define it? The Annie E. Casey Foundation sought to do just that with the Race for Results index, which is based on 12 key infant, child, adolescent, young adult, and family indicators for children's success, including infants who are born at a normal birth weight, young children who are enrolled in an early learning program, fourth graders who are reading proficiently, high school students who are graduating on time, young adults who have completed an associate's degree or higher, and children who are living in a household where someone has a high school diploma. The findings compare children across racial and ethnic groups at the national and state levels.

 

The 2017 report will be released this month and will examine how children from each of the largest racial groups are doing achieving key developmental milestones with a special examination of children in immigrant families.

 

A panel discussion will be led by national television personality Maria Hinojosa on October 24th in Washington, D.C., to discuss the findings.

 
Out-of-School Timeost
Shining a Light on My Afterschool Experience
Blog by Emily Stets, Program Assistant, Big Picture Approach Consulting
This blog is the fourth in a series of junior Forum for Youth Investment staff and interns sharing their perspectives and engaging with the Forum's Changing the Odds concepts.

On October 26, 2017, the Afterschool Alliance will launch the 18th annual Lights On Afterschool, a nationwide celebration to call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for children, families and communities.

Afterschool programs provide regularly scheduled and structured activities where learning opportunities take place after the typical school day, such as debate team, robotics, community service and sports. Among researchers, there is widespread agreement that high quality, structured afterschool programs support and promote youths' academic, social and emotional development.  These programs help young people develop problem-solving skills, self-efficacy, technical capabilities and communication skills.

Taking time to participate in afterschool activities brings a host of new opportunities to master these skills. I was an avid participant in many afterschool activities, mainly of the athletic variety. Tennis, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, football, weightlifting, skiing-the appropriate question was not, "What sport do you play?" but rather, "What sport are you playing now?"


Community Healthcommunity
100 Million Healthier Lives' Fall Gathering
November 12-14, 2017
Philadelphia, Pa.

100 Million Healthier Lives is a collaboration of change agents across sectors who are pursuing an unprecedented result: to get 100 million people living healthier lives by 2020. In November, this broad group will be convening in Philadelphia and virtually across the world to explore how to fundamentally transform the way the world thinks and acts to improve health, wellbeing, and equity to get to breakthrough results.


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