PROJECT NARRATIVEProject Name: Healthy Relationships and Economic Pathways (H-REP)
Organization and Grantee Name Authorizing Official’s Name: Public Health Institute, Teresa Leung
Address: 555 12th Street, 10th Floor, 10th Floor Oakland, CA 94607
Contact Phone Numbers: 510-500-5993
E-Mail Address: ; ;
Web Site Address:
Abstract: California’s Central Valley suffers huge socio-economic disparities; simultaneously, it is one of the richest agricultural regions in the world and has one of the highest concentrations of poverty in the United States.[1]The Healthy Relationships and Economic Pathways Program (H-REP), led by the California Adolescent Health Collaborative of the Public Health Institute, is serving youth in two counties located in the middle of the Valley: Merced and Stanislaus. According to the Census, 20.3% of Stanislaus County’s population and 25.4% of Merced’s live below the poverty level, well below California’s percentages of 15.9%; children are the largest group living below the poverty line at 31% and 37.2% respectively.[2]Contributing to these high poverty levels is the high unemployment rate. In March 2015, unemployment was at 10.3% in Stanislaus and 12.7% in Merced, compared to the unemployment rate of 6.1% for California and 5.1% nationally during the same period.[3] Poverty combined with exposure to intimate partner violence not only increases children’s chances of adverse outcomes, including homelessness, foster care placement, and involvement with the juvenile justice system, it also increases the chances that they will perpetuate the cycle of violence with intimate partners.[4]
The H-REP program is an initiative to increase and promote healthy relationships and economic stability among youth (ages 14-24) through a comprehensive three-part pathway. The H-REP program will help high school students and opportunity youth (young adults disconnected from school and work) develop the knowledge and skills essential to building healthy relationships and digital literacy skills.Approximately 960 participating youth will access state-of-the-art training and leadership opportunities,comprehensive capacity building including intensive website development bootcamps and evidence-based healthy relationships education, assessment of skills and needsthat is used to create an individual development plan, coordinated case management and supportive services, andprofessional opportunities and networking events.The program will be implemented in 3 setting types:
●9th graders in traditional high schools;
●10th through 12th graders in non-traditional high schools (including a court school, charter school and continuation schools); and
●Young adults ages 18-24 in community-based Workforce Investment Opportunity Act organizations.
The H-REP team includes community-based organizations and school districts:Empower, Hack the Hood, Haven Women’s Center,Merced County Office of Education, Project Yes,Riverbank Unified School District, Valley Crisis Center, and Waterford Unified School District.
Proposed Program Changes
After the March 2016 programmatic site visit with the Department of Health & Human Service’s Administration of Children & Families (ACF) and ICF International, PHI made the following programmatic updates and submitted them to ACF in their last quarterly report submitted on April 30, 2016:
- Updated the logic model by refining the short, medium, and long-term outcomes for clarity and measurability; and removed “provide adolescent relationship abuse training to youth serving agencies in both counties” as an outcome.
- Revised the program narrative to clearly describe the three implementation pathways, and included visual diagrams for each pathway (i.e., traditional andnontraditional high school students, and opportunity youth).
- Revised the partner communication plan to clearly outline who, where, and when partners need to communicate, with particular focus on information needed for continuous quality improvement and the provision of wraparound services to participants.
- Outlined PHI’s sub-recipient commitment procedure to clarify how partner agreements are developed and executed.
- Created justification for using the Fourth R curriculum to outline how the curriculum fits the goals of the project.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
California Adolescent Health Collaborative, a program of Public Health Institute is the backbone administrative organization that provides leadership, direction, guidance, and accountability for the project and is responsible for overall coordination between all the organizational partners.
Staff Positions
Alison Chopel, Program Director - Responsible for overall direction of the project and developing/managing relationships with external organizations.
Julia Zeuli, Program Manager - Oversees the implementation and daily operation of the program to ensure that project milestones are met in a timely manner and within budget; coordinates communication between partners; and assists with program evaluation tasks, including oversight of data collection.
Ana Andrade, Central Valley Program Coordinator - Coordinates the implementation of the program, including managing partner organizations on a regular basis, and coordinating workgroups and meetings.
Gayle Tule-Chen, Program Assistant - Performs administrative support duties; manages program documentation; and coordinates travel arrangements for local events and meetings.
Elva Castellanos, Training Coordinator - Supports programming and administrative duties. Coordinates all staff and partner staff trainings.
Robert Lee, Curriculum Developer – Responsible for the development and refinement of the healthy relationships and job training curricula.
Adaora Ezike, Communications Coordinator – Responsible for the development and implementation of communications and marketing strategies.
TBD, Finance & Operations Manager - Reviews financial data, prepares and controls program budget, and maintains program financial well-being.
Health Education/Case Management Partners
Valley Crisis Centers of Merced County will facilitate all of the healthy relationships education for students and opportunity youth in Merced County. They will also assist in data collection efforts, and provide short-term case management at the school sites.
Staff: Pana Chee has hired and will supervise two full-time health educators to assist in delivering the healthy relationships education at the traditional and non-traditional high schools, and non-school sites.
Haven Women’s Center of Stanislaus County will facilitate all of the healthy relationships education for students and opportunity youth in Stanislaus County. They will also assist in data collection efforts.
Staff: Holly Grace Palmer will supervise three health educators to assist in delivering the healthy relationships education at the traditionaland non-traditional high schools, and non- school sites.
Center for Human Services will provide on-campus, short-term case management to students in Stanislaus County.
Staff: Taryn Muralt has hired and will supervise two case managers to work in the schools.
Technical Training Partner
Hack the Hood will provide training and technical assistance to Project YES (Stanislaus) and EMPOWER (Merced), who will train opportunity youth inweb development and client relations and provide case management and support services. They will also support relationship building with local small businesses that will provide youth with opportunities to gain paid work experience.
Staff: Victor Ramirez, Central Valley Accounts Manager and Hack the Hood Training & Support Team.
Evaluation Partner
Alliance for Community Research and Development (ACRD), our local evaluator, will oversee the evaluation design and implementation.
Staff: Steve Roussos, lead researcher; Kristi Olivares, data analysis; and Brittany Oakes; assistant researcher.
School Site Partners
The following school sites will support H-REP implementation, including providing class time for healthy relationships education, co-facilitating the 12-week extracurricular Youth Leadership Teams (YLT), and providing space for an on-site case manager.
●Adelante Continuation School
●Atwater Continuation School
●Charter Scholar School
●Iris Garrett Court School
●Los Banos Continuation School
●Riverbank High School
●Sentinel Continuation School
●Waterford High School
Staff: Each school site will recruit one school champion to co-facilitate the YLTs.
School District Liaisons
The school district liaisons will assistwith developing and mantaining sustainable school partnerships.
Staff: Jeanne Knapp, Merced County Districts, and Keenon Krick, Stanislaus County Districts
Opportunity Youth Partners
Project YES, a federally-funded One-Stop Center under the Workforce Investment Act, is designed to help low-income youth overcome barriers to achieving academic and personal success, as well as provide employment assistance services. For H-REP, they will provide opportunity youth (young adults ages 18-24 who are disconnected from school and employment), with comprehensive services that include jobs training, healthy relationships education, case management, individual development plans, support services, and paid work experience in Stanislaus County.
Staff: Dustin Pack will supervise two program case managers that will provide comprehensive services, training and referrals to opportunity youth.
EMPOWER, a federally-funded One-Stop Center under the Workforce Investment Act, will similarly provide comprehensive support services to opportunity youth in Merced County.
Staff: Daphne Post will supervise two program case managers that will provide comprehensive services, training and referrals to opportunity youth.
SERVICE DELIVERY APPROACHYear-2 Deliverables/Activities
Overall Goal: Youth in Stanislaus and Merced Counties will gain the personal and professional relationships skills they need to successfully transition and thrive into adulthood.
Healthy Relationships Education
Goal: Youth will have the ability to maintain healthy relationships, including increase the quality and longevity of personal and professional relationships, as well as become effective leaders.
Objectives: By the end of Year-2
80% of youth will:●Increase their knowledge of healthy relationship behaviors and skills
●Increase their awareness of the benefits of positive relationships with parents and guardians
Youth Leadership Team (YLT) members will:
●Increase their effective leadership skills and knowledge by 80%
●Increase their understanding of the foundations of leadership by 80%
Economic Stability & Mobility
Goal: Youth will have the skills and ability to improve their economic well-being and job retention.
Objectives: By the end of Year-2
75% of youth will:
●Increase their employment skills
●Increase their knowledge of entrepreneurial skills
Case Management & Support Services
Goal: Youth will have a reduction in barriers to employment, educational opportunities, and healthy relationships.
Objectives: By the end of Year-2
80% of youth will:
●Identify their personal strengths and needs
●Increase their ability to identify and access support services
●Make progress on their individual development plan goals
Traditional High Schools
● During the 2016 fall semester, all 9th graders will receive 45 hours of healthy relationships education (HRE) instruction during regular class time. HRE will be implemented by health educators from Haven Women’s Center (HWC) of Stanislaus County and Valley Crisis Center (VCC) in Merced County;
●During the first two weeks of HRE instruction, health educators will administer a needs assessment to all students during HRE instruction. Students determined to be in need of case management will be referred to short-term, campus-based case management services through the Center for Human Services (CHS) in Stanislaus and VCC in Merced;
●During the 2017 spring semester, youth that complete HRE will be able to join Youth Leadership Teams (YLT), a 12-week long extracurricular activity where youth will learn leadership skills and implement peer education activities. YLTs will be co-facilitated by a health educator and a school champion (e.g., educator, school counselor, administrator, etc.);
●During the 2017 spring semester, 9th grade students will be able to take a digital healthy relationships and financial literacy (DHRFL) component facilitated by BEAT tech educators in Stanislaus County and a MCOE educator in Merced County during regular class time.
Non-Traditional High Schools
●10th, 11th, and 12th graders will take HRE instruction imbedded in 6-week (25-hour) elective courses on a rolling basis implemented by HWC and VCC health educators;
●Health educators will administer a needs assessment to all students during HRE instruction. Students in need of case management will be referred to short-term, campus-based case management on an ongoing basis;
●Youth that complete HRE will be able to join a 12-week long (2-school cycles) extracurricular YLT that will be co-facilitated by a health educator and a school champion;
●During the 2017 spring semester, students that took HRE will be able to take a 6-week DHRFL elective course facilitated by BEAT tech educators in Stanislaus County and a MCOE educator in Merced County during regular class time.
Traditional* & Non-Traditional Schools** TimelineSeptember 30, 2016 - September 29, 2017
Task / Responsibility / Start / Finish / Performance Measure
Participate in bi-monthly partner meetings / School Liaison/School Admin / Ongoing / Ongoing / 80% participation in meetings
Assist in data collection - nFORM / School Liaison / Ongoing / Ongoing / 100% data collection on all H-REP participants
Participate in monthly site team meetings / School Liaison/
School Admin/
Health Educator/ Case Manager/
CV Coordinator / Ongoing / Ongoing / 100% participation in the meetings
Coordinate H-REP implementation at school site with Health Educator, Case Manager, & Tech Trainer (Stanislaus) / School Liaison / Aug / Oct / Health and Tech Educators connected to course/teacher
Traditional / Parent consent forms distributed to youth participants under 18 / Health Educator /Teacher / 1st Qtr / 2nd Qtr / 1st Qtr / 2nd Qtr / 100% forms distributed to all participating students
Aug / Oct / Aug / Oct
Parent consent forms signed and submitted from parents are collected / Health Educator /Teacher / Aug / Oct / Aug / Oct / 70% forms returned
Pre-survey / Health Educator / Aug/ Oct / Aug/ Oct / 70% of youth will take pre-survey
Student needs assessment / Health Educator / Aug/ Oct / Aug/ Oct / 90% will take assessment (see below)
Students in need of services referred to on-campus case management / School Liaison/
School Admin/
Health Educator / Ongoing / Ongoing / 100% of students in need will be referred to case management
HRE (8-weeks) / Health Educator / Aug / Dec / 280 students served/196 participate in evaluation with permission
Post Survey / Health Educator / Oct/ Dec / Oct/ Dec / 196 students will take survey
Students complete HRE / Health Educator /Teacher / Aug / Dec / 252 (90%) complete course
Non-Traditional / Parent consent forms distributed to youth participants under 18 / Health Educator /Teacher / Aug / Aug / 100% forms distributed to students under 18
Parent consent form signed and submitted from parents are collected / Health Educator /Teacher / Aug / Sept / 70% forms returned
Pre-survey / Health Educator / Aug / Sept / 70% of youth will take pre-survey
Student needs assessment / Health Educator / Aug / Aug / 70% will take assessment (see below)
HRE (6-weeks) / Health Educator / Aug / Dec / 180 students served/126 participate in evaluation activities with permission
Post-survey / Health Educator / Dec / Dec / 126 students will take survey
Students complete HRE / Health Educator /Teacher / Dec / Dec / 162 (90%) complete course
Students (traditional and nontraditional) that complete HRE join YLT / Health Educator /Teacher/School Champion / Dec / Jan / 48-96 students sign up for YLTs (6-12 per school)
Co-facilitate 12 YLT sessions/activities / Health Educator /School Champion / Jan / May / 12 extracurricular YLT sessions
School Champion and YLT members create extracurricular club at each site / School Champion /YLT Members / Jan / Jan / Extracurricular student club meets 1 hour per week
Select and support youth to participate in Countywide Youth Advisory Council / Health Educator /School Champion / Dec / Jan / At least 1 student rep per year
*Riverbank & Waterford
** Adelante, Atwater, Los Banos, Iris Garrett, Scholar Charter & Sentinel
Opportunity Youth
●Needs assessment and an individual development plan (IDP) based on needs and goals;
●30 hours of Fourth R HRE facilitated by health educators from HWC & VCC;
●6-week intensive website and professional development training to be delivered quarterly;
●Comprehensive case management (up to 2 years) a minimum of once a month;
●Life skills training, including problem solving, critical thinking, and professional communication;
●Paid work experience developing a website for a local small business and mentorship;
●Support services and referrals to services.
Opportunity Youth* Deliverables & TimelineSeptember 30, 2016 – September 29, 2017
Task / Responsibility / Start / Finish / Performance
Measure
Participant Outreach and Recruitment / Program Manager / Ongoing / July, Oct, Jan, April / 150-180 youth recruited
Recruit small businesses / Program Manager/
Youth Advisors / Ongoing / July, Oct, Jan, April / 80 small businesses recruited
Participant Orientation / Program Manager/
Youth Advisors / July, Oct, Jan, April / July, Oct, Jan, April / 150-180 youth attend orientation
Eligibility Process and Youth Choose Pathway / Program Manager/
Youth Advisors / Ongoing / July, Oct, Jan, April / 150-180 youth participate in process
Pre-Employment Training and HRE Training for non- Website Development Track / Program Manager/
Youth Advisors/
Haven Health Educator / July, Oct, Jan, April / July, Oct, Jan, April / 90-120 youth enrolled
Co-create Individual Development Plan / Youth Advisor / July, Oct, Jan, April / Aug, Nov, Feb, May / 150-180 youth have IDP
Website Development Training Track (6-weeks) / (2) Youth Advisors per site / July, Oct, Jan, April / Sept, Dec, Mar, June / 60 youth complete Website Development Track
HRE simultaneous with Website Development Track / Haven Health Educator / July, Oct, Jan, April / Sept, Dec, Mar, June / 60 participants receive HRE training
Case Management (min. 1/month to max 1/day)
for up to 2-years / Youth Advisors / Ongoing / Ongoing / 150-180 youth receive Case Management
Paid Work Experience
(6-8 weeks) / Youth Advisors / July, Oct, Jan, April / Sept, Dec, Mar, June / 50 youth develop websites and are compensated for their labor
Facilitate youth getting a job with local business / Youth Advisors / Ongoing / Ongoing / 30% of youth that complete Boot Camp
Facilitate getting post-secondary degree or GED / Youth Advisors / Ongoing / Ongoing / 50% of youth that complete Boot Camp
*Served at Project YES and EMPOWER
Case Management and Program Support Services