Lucas County Pathways to Success Initiative Deborah Hodges, Project Director Marjory Curry, Program Coordinator Denise Navarre Cubbon, Administrative Judge Juvenile Division

Lucas County Juvenile Court The Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division is located in Toledo, Ohio. The Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division is located in Toledo, Ohio. The Lucas County Juvenile Court hears cases involving persons up to 21 years of age, and cases dealing with unruly, abused, dependent, and neglected children. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction in adult cases involving paternity, child abuse, nonsupport, visitation, custody, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Lucas County Juvenile Court hears cases involving persons up to 21 years of age, and cases dealing with unruly, abused, dependent, and neglected children. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction in adult cases involving paternity, child abuse, nonsupport, visitation, custody, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Juvenile Court is a separate and distinct division within the Lucas County Common Pleas judicial system. The goal of the Juvenile Division is to effectively, efficiently, and equitably administer justice in all matters brought before it. The Juvenile Court is a separate and distinct division within the Lucas County Common Pleas judicial system. The goal of the Juvenile Division is to effectively, efficiently, and equitably administer justice in all matters brought before it.

Project Description Project goals and objectives 1.Improve educational outcomes for youth in foster care; 2.Increase stability, maintain placement and school enrollment for youth in foster care, when doing so would be in the child's best interest; 3.Provide transportation when necessary for a child to remain in their original school; 4.Utilize trauma-informed approaches to delinquent and unruly behavior, and develop strategies to effectively intervene and address school misbehavior while simultaneously diverting youth from formal court contact. 5.Facilitate a smooth transition from secure detention to mainstream academic settings; 6.Equip teachers, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Guardian Ad Litems (GAL), caseworkers, court personnel and other community stakeholders with the skills necessary to address the unique needs of youth in foster care; and to 7.Develop systematic, accurate and efficient means for identifying foster youth across agencies.

Target population The Lucas County Pathways to Success Initiative will serve youth in foster care ages who are at risk of academic failure as a result of educational mobility, delinquent and unruly behavior, placement instability, and other challenges associated with foster care experiences. Expected Outcomes This initiative will increase educational stability, graduation rates, foster placement stability and reduce the risk of foster youth becoming involved in the juvenile justice system through strategic planning, policy reform and linked inter-agency services. Project Description cont’d

Key collaborative partners The Lucas County Pathways to Success Initiative fosters strategic coordination and communication between Lucas County Children Services, Toledo Public Schools, Lucas County Juvenile Court. Other collaborative partners include: 1. Current and former foster youth 2. Lucas County Department of Job & Family Services 3. ProMedica, The Cullen Center 4. United Way 5. Lucas County CASA Program 6. Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities 7. Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County 8. Lucas County Foster Parent Association

Project Description cont’d Proposed services/ activities/ processes 1. Mediation services focused on placement stability and diverting from formal court contact. 2. Trauma Training for frontline staff, teachers, and community providers. 3. Policy review and revision 4. Identity a single point of contact within each school for youth in foster care. 5. Hire a social worker to act as a liaison between the agencies and schools, to implement strategies designed to improved educational stability and outcomes for youth in foster care. 6. Focus groups

7 Evaluation Approach Document implementation Qualitative data collection – Review of program materials – Key stakeholder interviews – Focus groups – Observations Process evaluation questions – What are the practices, policies, and procedures of the PSI? – How have the new enhancements been incorporated in to the existing systems and practices? – Has the project achieved its stated objectives? – What are the factors and strategies associated with successful partnerships and collaborative efforts? – Are data collection and management systems in place to measure program outputs and outcomes?

Outcome Evaluation Approach Determine performance (short-term outcomes and setting the stage for long-term outcomes) Quantitative data collection – Pre/Post teacher and staff assessments – Archival data sources Outcome evaluation questions – Effectiveness of trainings (skill development) – Foster placement disruptions – School transfers – School suspensions – Graduation rates – Juvenile justice involvement

Expected Opportunities We are excited about: – The opportunity to re-define ‘what is in the best interest of all children’ through policy revision and development. – The opportunity to improve the lives and the educational outcomes of children. – The opportunity to truly collaborate with our child welfare agency and school system in a much more aggressive manner than we ever have before. – The opportunity for statewide and national replication.

Anticipated Challenges Changes in leadership with our Toledo Public School system; Societal mindset that suggests that “nothing can be done to help these kids”; Existing assumptions and beliefs about youth in foster care; and The magnitude of system-wide change across agencies.

Responses to anticipated challenges Continuing to forge meaningful relationships with community leaders and stakeholders; Creating positive energy and excitement for our mission in the face of nay-sayers and “those who say it cannot be done”; Challenge assumptions and historical beliefs about youth in foster care and emphasize that each child in foster care is unique as is their experience. Create more opportunities for youth in foster care to have a voice; Focus on one thing at a time, celebrate success and KEEP MOVING FORWARD

Sustainability Collaborate on funding strategies (i.e, the school system is open to using Title I funds to support the initiative. Likewise, court and child welfare will explore the allocation of a portion of Title IV-E funds to sustain the initiative. Collaborate on funding strategies (i.e, the school system is open to using Title I funds to support the initiative. Likewise, court and child welfare will explore the allocation of a portion of Title IV-E funds to sustain the initiative. Policy and procedure reforms that will be created and sustained through MOUs between collaborating partners. Policy and procedure reforms that will be created and sustained through MOUs between collaborating partners. Inclusion of staff at multiple levels of responsibility to ensure buy-in and long term sustainability as administrators move on. Inclusion of staff at multiple levels of responsibility to ensure buy-in and long term sustainability as administrators move on. Briefly describe initial plans for dissemination of grant evaluation outcomes and findings and outcomes Briefly describe initial plans for dissemination of grant evaluation outcomes and findings and outcomes

Dissemination Plans The program evaluators will provide Annual Evaluation Reports. This information will then be shared with key players and community stakeholders. In order to develop and implement a dissemination plan about the successes and lessons learned from the work of the Lucas County Pathways to Success Initiative, the Lucas County Juvenile Court has partnered with American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Legal Center for Foster Care and Education (Legal Center FCE). The Legal Center FCE will assist in developing a plan on how to spread the information across Ohio, as well as to other states and localities across the country. The Legal Center FCE currently has an active and growing listserv membership of advocates with specific interest and expertise in foster care and education issues, conference calls and webinars with up to several hundred participants, and a website ( with over 10,000 hits per year. Information regarding the Pathways to Success Initiative will be published on these outlets.

Questions for fellow CWED Grantees What unexpected hurdles have you encountered? How did you address? What creative resources have you discovered through your collaboration? What creative activities/tools/ideas have you utilized with you in foster care and foster parents?