System of Systems Building Project: Data Work group meeting 8/14/2013

The Data group meeting of System of Systems building project was held on Aug. 14th between 10:00am to 11:30pm. This meeting was attended by a total of 18 participants. The meeting started with updates which included: Completion of evaluation with the School District of Philadelphia. Participants were informed briefly of the results which found consistent positive relationship between desirable academic and behavioral outcomes and attendance in OST programs. (The full report is available on the Projects website) Selection of Social Solutions to be the software vendor for the OST Extended Information System. The Final decision was based on a combination of factors such as software features and how closely the service aligned with our envisioned proposal requirements, financial sustainability beyond the grant period, and the ability for the Project to extend the system to an ever-expanding array of OST Providers beyond the ones either funded or operated by the City

We further briefly went over the scope of the work with Social Solutions and anticipated contract deliverables: Brief overview Scope: Deploy the Extended IS for the use of the 80 Philadelphia Parks and Recreation afterschool programs and the LEAP programs located at 54 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Interface with PCAPS the data system in place for the 206 DHS-funded OST programs -and other MIS systems, e.g., the ASAP Partner Directory, to seamlessly import and export data and to deliver the desired report function for participating providers and administrators. Where offers are accepted, deploy the Extended-IS at non-city-funded OST program sites willing to participate with the Projects data integration vision. Potential partners are Archdiocese CARES programs, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, large School Age Child Care programs, and programs located in targeted neighborhoods where community OST partnerships are taking hold. (Data Agreements will precede any data sharing occurring.)

Brief overview of contract deliverables: Flexible report writer capability and access to an extensive set of inbuilt reports. Ability to track youth outcomes and quality assessments. (Note: A specific pilot project beginning in October will make use of the Extended IS and is discussed below.) Ability to access over mobile devices and card scan ability for attendance tracking, should that be desired at certain locations. Training for administrators, core users and other end users utilizing a mix of training models. (As a Social Solutions Training Partner, Congreso staff will assume major training and TA roles.)

Next the group was informed of the implementation phases/steps and they include: Initial Kick off meeting (held about 2 weeks ago) Discovery Phase (In process) includes: Completion of Program Charts (detailed information of the services offered by various OST network programs and shared with Social Solutions) In person meetings Identification of common Demographic fields (PCAPS as the basis) Creation of Blue print based on information provided in program charts and follow-up meetings. Building user interface. Upload of PCAPS data (first migration, followed by live/daily feeds) Configuration testing Training Rollout

The next topic discussed the Quality Improvement Pilot (QIP) to track Program Outcomes. The QIP
(starting early October) will utilize the Afterschool Program Assessment System (APAS) developed by the National Institute of Out of School Time (NIOST).

SAYO-S is the tool (part of APAS) that will be utilized. It includes 9 outcome areas. The project has chosen two (in italics below) for the Pilot Providers with providers having the option of choosing the third one of the remaining 7. The SAYO-S Outcome Areas (Afterschool Staff ) Behavior: Youth behave appropriately in school and/or teen program settings. Initiative: Youth exhibit genuine motivation, persistence and goal directed behavior. Engagement in Learning: Youth show interest, and are actively involved in school or teen program activities. Problem Solving Skills: Youth are able to think through and solve problems. Communication Skills: Youth are able to effectively express themselves, share their thoughts and ideas with others. Youth are good listeners of other peoples ideas. Relations with Adults: Youth engage positively with adults and gain their support. Relations with Peers: Youth get along well with peers. Homework: Youth invest effort in, and complete homework assignments of good quality.

The meeting concluded with a spirited discussion led by Tom Sheaffer around data agreements that would need to be put in place with ETO users. These agreements will ensure that data are secure and appropriate access is provided to individual agencies authorized staff and networks of agencies, for example DHS-funded providers or Parks & Recreation. The agreements must also address how and what data will be (or not be) shared across the systems and how and what data would be presented to pertinent stakeholders. Tom informed the group that while the Projects Coordination Workgroup is considering alternatives where data may one day reside, efforts are underway to have an interim structure, thus enabling Agreements to be reached in time for the work to begin this fall.