BY DAY 5 OF WEEK 4

Comment on at least four of your colleagues’ posts in the following way:

· Provide comments and corrections to each classmate’s needs statement, goals, and objectives.

Continue to engage in the Discussion until it ends on Day 14.

BRACY

   To reiterate the project is focused on a tribal organization and its efforts to secure recognition and a homeland via varying means to include but not limited to the tribal land acquisition fund. The study intends to chronicle these efforts utilizing an ethnography design. The tribe intends to increase the tribal land acquisition fund by soliciting publications written by tribal member(s). In addition, the researcher will begin collecting data after IRB approval, at this time that date is unknown. Prior to developing SMART goals, it is important to evaluate the current state of the project and research/researcher capabilities. This is done using a SWOC analysis (Aithal, et, al. 2015). SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges) is very similar to SWOT however “Challenges” is far more appealing than “Threats.” Some of the challenges revealed during the analysis include acquiring research funding and as an independent researcher IRB approval. IRB approval can be a difficult task for independent researchers and may have to be attained via a private source.

Reference

Aithal, P. S., & Kumar, P. M. (2015). Applying SWOC analysis to an institution of higher education. International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering, 5(7), 231-247.

MOZETTA

Project: Support and Retention of Licensed Foster Parents

                                                                       Needs Statement

                  Guilford County Department of Health & Human Services: Division of Services currently (DHHS: DSS) has eighty-three licensed foster homes. Prior to the 2019 Coronavirus Pandemic the agency had one hundred licensed foster homes. Presently Guilford County DHHS: DSS is operating under a corrective action plan implemented by the North Carolina State Department of Health and Human Services.  Guilford County Department of Social Services Corrective Action Plan (2023, July 15). A short survey of the foster parents in August 2023 revealed that foster parents are not impressed with being recognized with pizza and water at a local park, foster parents want to receive trauma training, training focused on caring for children in foster care who have experienced trauma, phone calls, text messages, and emails are not consistently followed up by agency staff, and transparency in communicating with foster parents often does not include foster parents in planning for permanency for a child in their home. (Guilford County Department of Social Services Corrective Action Plan 2023, July 15).

                                                                         Goal and Objectives

                A problem statement must include goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time specific. Grant Writing – What Foundations Look For (n.d.).  Each goal has one or more objectives. According to Gitlin, L.N., Kolanowski, A., & Lyons, K.J. (2021) an objective must be written in such a way as to reflect a qualitative or quantitative measurement strategy. The goal for the project is  Guilford County DHHS: DSS will support and retain the current licensed foster homes (83) and new foster homes (30) licensed by June 30, 2026. The goal will be achieved by (1) Guilford County DHHS: DSS will host biannual celebrations for foster parents (a dinner at a site selected through mutual agreement between the agency and the foster parents (2) Paid BSW Interns will complete follow up telephone calls and emails with the foster parents and Paid MSW Interns will complete follow up telephone calls, emails, and quarterly home visits with the foster parents (3) Guilford County DHHS: DSS will work in partnership with Foster Family Alliance to assist foster parents with training and obtaining resources (4) Guilford County DHHS: DSS will offer quarterly parents night out to support foster parents with meeting their self-care needs.  Foster parents often feel overwhelmed while taking care of children placed in their homes. Foster parents need to take care of themselves physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Annie E. Casey Foundation (2017, November 20).

                                                                        References

Annie E. Casey Foundation (2017, November 20) Self-care skills and strategies for foster parents. 

https://www.aecf.org/blog/self-care-skills-and-strategies-for-foster-parentsLinks to an external site.

Gitlin, L.N., Kolanowski, A., & Lyons, K.J. (2021).
 Successful grant writing: Strategies for health and human service professionals

Grant Writing – What Foundations Look For

Guilford County Department of Social Services Corrective Action Plan (2023, July 15). 

https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/human-services/social-services/corrective-action-plan/view-corrective-action-plan-final-approvedLinks to an external site.

CHRISTINA

There is a need for an accredited counseling program in the Allendale, South Carolina, area and surrounding counties. This area is rural, away from the coastal part of the state. My area has a high demand for licensed therapists for all ages and populations. There are two large agencies and two private practices in the area. Each of these agencies has waiting lists of more than six months. Mental health issues have increased since the pandemic, affecting individuals as young as toddlers and senior citizens. 

To begin an accredited counseling program in my area requires a cooperative approach with the local university to assess whether a pilot program could begin in the Allendale area. The accredited counseling program could begin at the undergraduate level to include a bachelor’s degree and then move toward a master’s degree program to include preparation for licensure. The pilot program would extend the Columbia campus, which has in-person and virtual learning. However, many adults in my community prefer in-person learning.

The purpose is to conduct a needs assessment to create a plan of action to meet the identified needs. This grant is intended to serve historically underrepresented populations in the health and science field, including social and behavioral sciences. This opportunity would serve the individuals who need services and provide additional job opportunities. There is a vast need for services for all ages in the community to provide additional career opportunities for the residents.

Goal 1: To increase Rehabilitative Behavior Services (RBHS) to the children of Allendale County and surrounding areas in their homes and schools.

Objective 1: Five students working towards a bachelor’s degree will begin an internship within a mental health agency at the end of the first six months.

Objective 2: After one year, when the five students have graduated, they will each have a position within the agency they interned with.

Goal 2: To increase mental health professionals in the school districts of Allendale County and surrounding areas.

Objective 1: By the end of the first year, a pilot master’s degree program has begun.

Objective 2: By the end of the second year, ten students begin an internship with two agencies in the area to practice mental health interventions in the school system and the other two agencies for therapy after school or with adults during office hours.

Reference:

Gitlin, L.N., Kolanowski, A., & Lyons, K.J. (2021).
 Successful grant writing: Strategies for health and human service professionals.

ALYSSA

In accordance to the ask for Phase 1 of the Learning for Careers Grant, below is my statement and goals. 

During the Learning for Careers Planning Phase, we propose to convene our Employer Group and our partnering school districts to develop a Learning for Careers Plan that meets the workforce needs of our Employer-Partners while helping youth with disabilities prepare for employment after high school. The Learning for Careers Plan will specifically address the workforce preparation needs of youth with disabilities ages 14-22. Drawing on our experience building school-to-work transition programs in schools throughout Delaware, we plan to develop an LFCP that will expand the availability of paid work-based learning experiences to students with disabilities in our partnering school districts while designing a program plan that meets the needs of our partnering employers. This partnership was born of dire need. The pandemic has had a significant and harmful impact on schools’ abilities to connect students with disabilities to these types of vital work experience programs. In conversations with school districts throughout the entire state, the feedback has been uniform: since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, work readiness and work-based learning experience programs have been difficult to re-establish. In building this Phase I partnership, our goal is to zero in on hard-hit Kent County and help its school districts re-build their school-to-work transition programs. By targeting Kent County students with disabilities ages 14-22, we’re targeting an age bracket often overlooked and underserved by these types of programs.

The foundation for our Phase I proposal comes from data that shows that when students have paid work experience in high school, they are both much more prepared and much more likely to choose to work as an adult.  Research shows that having a competitively paid job during secondary school is the strongest predictor of job success after graduation (Colley & Jamison, (1998); Luecking & Fabian, (2000). By working with our project partners to build programs to give students with disabilities the job skills and job preparation to be successful at work, we hope to give them the tools to lead more independent, enriching lives when they leave school.

Our Plan will be developed over a series of meetings during the Phase I period. These meetings will help us and the participating school districts understand the workforce needs of the businesses in our Employer Group, and give those businesses the chance to share the occupation-specific skills and employability standards they’re seeking in future employees. These meetings will help us collectively develop a plan for student work experiences that will provide participating youth with the following services: workforce preparation; job shadowing; the development of a range of soft skills around workplace competencies, communication, awareness, and appearance; occupation-specific skills training; supportive services; and individualized and paid work experiences within a range of industries. Our project planning will be shaped by an economic consideration as well: Delawareans with disabilities face abnormally high rates of un- and underemployment. A part of the reason is the “services cliff” that many youth with disabilities experience when they leave school. Without a connection to services, many fall into a cycle of joblessness or poverty. By helping students develop job skills and build relationships with local employers with immediate hiring needs, we have the potential to help provide a remedy to that. In addition, a focus of our planning will be to expand our growing network of Delaware businesses who have experienced the myriad benefits a business can achieve through inclusive hiring. We will seek to build relationships with local businesses that turn into long-standing partnerships, so that the paid interns of today become long-lasting employees, and our partnering businesses become advocates for inclusive hiring. Phase I activities and completion of the Learning for Careers Plan will take place between March 15, 2023 and June 29, 2023.

1st meeting with our Employer Group and partnering school districts to accomplish the following objectives: Assess employers’ workforce needs and critical skills gaps, Assess needs of students to explore careers, participate in work experiences, and develop professional and occupational skills, Further inform and educate employers about the benefits of inclusive hiring practices, Begin to build relationships between key contacts at schools and participating businesses, Develop list of additional employers for potential outreach, Outline next steps & schedule next meeting by March 15, 2023.

2nd meeting with Employer Group and partnering school districts objectives: Continued conversation with schools & participating employers to shape a plan, Present employers with different work-based learning experience models, Hear from key school district representatives about student population and needs, Brainstorm & sketch basics of a LFC Plan based on the needs of school districts and employers by March 22, 2023.

3rd meeting with Employer Group and partnering school districts to accomplish the following objectives: Introduce any new employers, Revisit initial sketch of Learning for Careers Plan, and further develop it based off input from employers and school district partners, Get a clear picture from each district about eligible student population, and practical estimates of how many students could be served at each based on school and CIS resources and employer needs, Schedule next meeting by March 29, 2023.

4th meeting with Employer Group and partnering school districts to accomplish the following objectives: Meeting to build the basics of the Learning for Careers Plan, Get fixed plan on numbers of students served, begin to develop program curriculum, and put together a finalized list of participating businesses, Schedule next meeting, prior to which Draft 1 of LFCP will be drafted and distributed April 15, 2023.

5th meeting with Employer Group and partnering school districts to accomplish the following objectives: Review and solicit feedback from all parties on Draft 1 of Learning for Careers Plan, CIS Grants Team in attendance, tasked with taking notes on feedback and inputting changes in LFCP Revision 1, to be drafted and distributed prior to the next meeting April 29, 2023.

6th meeting objectives: Distribute revised LFCP, and convene meeting with Employer Group and school district partners to accomplish the following: Review revised draft of LFCP, Solicit feedback and suggested revisions to LFCP, CIS Grants team tasked with taking notes on feedback and inputting changes, finalized version of LFCP to be distributed and reviewed prior to next meeting May 15, 2023.

7th meeting objectives: Continue to coordinate with Employer Group and respective school districts to edit, update, and complete a final draft of the LFCP June 1, 2023.

8th and Final meetings with Employer Groups to finalize and sign-off on final draft of the LFCP June 15, 2023

Submit final Learning for Careers Plan June 22-29, 2023

Alyssa Babuca

References

Colley, D.A., & Jamison, D. (1998). Post School Results For Youth With Disabilities: Key Indicators And Policy Implications. 
Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 21, 145 – 160.

Luecking, R. G., & Fabian, E. S. (2000). Paid Internships and Employment Success for Youth in Transition. 
Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 
23(2), 205–221. 

https://doi.org/10.1177/088572880002300207Links to an external site.