A webinar introducing the Casey Foundation's Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential initiative.

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Welcome!

3. 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

5. OVERVIEW

6. 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

10. 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 nearly 750,000 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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• School-to-Career Transition:
high school seniors
• Dropout Prevention:
– Multiyear (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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• Classroom, small group or individual training
on JAG competency curriculum
• Career association (student-led organization)
• Community service
• Academic remediation
• Individual guidance and counseling
• 12-month follow-up services after graduation
Program Components

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• JAG is administered at the state and local
levels through nonprofits or government
entities.
– Provides training/technical support for
model implementation
– Partners with the local school districts in
the selection of in-school participants
– Aligns well with the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act
Implementation

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• In-school youth: 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.
• Out-of-school: Youth who have dropped out of school and
seeking a diploma, GED and/or occupational skill certificate.
Same environmental and social barriers as in-school.
• College Success: First-year community college students who
were participants in the JAG in-school program and from
families who have not had anyone attend college before.
Target Population

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• Graduation rate: 93%
• Employment rate: 59%
• Positive outcomes rate: 80%
• Full-time jobs rate: 72%
• Full-time placement
rate: 89%
• Postsecondary education
enrollment rate: 43%
Jobs for America’s Graduates: Performance Outcomes for
Class of 2014

27. 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

32. 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.

41. 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

44. Q&A

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For additional information:
www.aecf.org/leap
leap@aecf.org
Questions