Show Up, Stand Out

An Attendance Program of the District of Columbia Justice Grants Administration

Year 1 (2012-2013) Top Line Evaluation Findings
Conducted by Choice Research Associates on behalf of the
District of Columbia Justice Grants Administration

Program Overview

Choice Research Associates (CRA) was awarded a grant from the District of Columbia Justice
Grants Administration (JGA) to independently evaluate Show Up, Stand Out, a community-based program
originally designed to reduce truancy among elementary school students (k-5
th
grade). Show Up, Stand Out is a
joint effort with partners including JGA, District of Columbias Public Schools, selected schools in Wards 1, 2,
4, 5, 6 and 7, and the JGA funded Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who provide truancy prevention
and wraparound services to families of children with 5 to 9 unexcused absences.

During the first year of the program (the 2012-2013 school year), which this evaluation examines, Show Up,
Stand Out CBOs partnered with 17 elementary schools. Because of the programs promising results it has since
been expanded to include more than 45 elementary and middle schools, including charter schools, in an effort to
reach more than 4,000 students.

Five CBOs participated in this evaluation
1
:

Boys Town Washington, DC
East River Family Strengthening Collaborative
Collaborative Solutions for Communities (formerly Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support
Collaborative
Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative
Perry School

Methodology

This evaluation focuses on the first year of program activity from November 2012 when the first referrals
were recorded, through the end of the school year in June 2013. In this period, there were 709 referrals for Show
Up, Stand Out services, representing 571 families. Of the referrals, 457 families had sufficient data to analyze.


1
Show Up, Stand Out currently partners with seven CBOs: Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative, Georgia Avenue Family Support
Collaborative, Catholic Charities, East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, Collaborative Solutions for Communities (formerly Columbia
Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative), Boys Town Washington and DC Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative.



In conducting the evaluation, CRA:
Analyzed and compiled attendance data from DC Public Schools (DCPS) and program data provided by
the CBOs on Show Up, Stand Out students.
Examined the improvements that occurred in family living conditions, after parents participated in the
program.
Conducted site visits and interviews with CBOs.

About the Parents

The majority of the parents being helped by Show Up, Stand Out, are young, single mothers with 2 or more
children.

The average age of the parents or guardians of youth referred for Show Up, Stand Out are 35 years old
(ranging from 21 to 83 years old).
Nearly all, 98% are single parents.
The majority, 78% are women.
88% of the parents are African American and 9% are Latino.
More than half, 67% of the parents are heads of their households.
On average, these parents have 2.6 children under the age of 18 living in their homes, and up to 7
children living in their homes.

Key Findings

Student Findings:

Show Up, Stand Out yielded promising results, as the majority of students who participated no longer had
attendance problems after 1 year.

An overwhelming 73% of students touched by Show Up, Stand Out in year one (the 2012-2013 school
year) increased school attendance from the previous year (2011-2012)
2
.
79% of the students who received comprehensive services from Show Up, Stand Out in year one
increased school attendance from the previous year (2011-2012)
3
.
76% of student participants were not referred to the program the following year (2013-2014) for
attendance problems.



2
(N=457).
3
The reduction in the average rate of unexcused absences ranges from 1-69% (N=99).



Impact on Families:

The Show Up, Stand Out evaluation revealed that the majority of families referred to the program have
generally stable and supportive home environments. However, after participating in the program, many
families reported improvements in home life conditions.

This overall stability, suggests that a simple lack of understanding on the importance of school attendance
may also be contributing to student truancy and reinforces the need for collaboration with parents to
increase awareness on the importance of daily school attendance.

During the Family Assessment Form, parents were asked questions related to five areas of their lives, called
domains (see below). They were awarded scores of 1 to 5, ranking the quality of each domain
4
. Lower
values indicated a more positive, strengthening environment and higher values indicated more severe
and possibly chronic problems.
Initial Family Assessment Form scores indicated that on average, families referred for Show Up, Stand
Out are generally stable, with values hovering around 2 (defined as generally adequate; minor problems
within normal limits) for most of the domains.
After participating in Show Up, Stand Out, there was a substantial decrease in the number of families
who scored 2.5 or above, indicating improvements in all 5 categories.
Families who received case management services and completed both a first and second Family
Assessment Form, showed improvements in one or more of the domains.

o 77% improved Living Conditions
o 60% improved Financial Conditions
o 62% improved Caregiver Supports
o 75% improved Caregiver/Child Interactions
o 72% improved Developmental Stimulation

Family Assessment Form Domains:
1. Living Conditions: Cleanliness of outside environmental conditions, home maintenance, safety
precautions inside the home and in the building and housing stability.
2. Financial Conditions: Degree of financial stress due to high debts, unemployment, financial
management (budgeting, spending money wisely), financial issues due to welfare or child support
issues, adequate furniture and access to transportation.

4
Boys Town does not use the Family Assessment Form (FAF) but employs a similar assessment tool called Strengths and Stressors.
The findings of their assessment of families, not detailed in this report, showed comparable findings to those of the FAF conducted by
the other CBOs.


3. Caregiver Supports: Degree of positive support from friends and neighbors, availability of
childcare, planning for safe and appropriate childcare, availability of healthcare, caregiver provision
of basic medical/physical care and ability to maintain long-term relationships (not family)
4. Caregiver/Child Interactions: Understanding the childs physical, emotional, cognitive and social
development needs; has daily routine for children (e.g., bedtime, naps, meals); use, frequency, and
severity of physical discipline; use of age appropriate discipline while in emotional control;
consistent discipline practices; emotional investment and attachment of caregiver to child; verbal and
nonverbal behaviors regarding attitudes expressed about children/caregiver role; ability to convey
and accept appropriate authority; communication skills from caregiver to child and child to
caregiver; degree to which children follow rules; and childs emotional attachment to the caregiver.
5. Developmental Stimulation: Safe play area and play things within and around the home, caregiver
investment in social and academic growth and development of child, caregivers understanding of
the value of play, and the ability to cope with sibling conflicts.

Ranking System:
o 1 = Above Average (positive influences that strengthen the family)
o 2= Generally Adequate (minor problems within normal limits/do not cause problems intervention not
necessary)
o 3= Moderate Problem (negative impact on welfare of children/put family at risk treatment or counseling
are indicated)
o 4= Major Problem (significant negative influences on children or caregivers well-being, intervention
required)
o 5= Endangers childs health, safety and well-being (calls for removal of children temporarily or
permanently)


CBO Findings:

Show Up, Stand Out has been well-received by community partners who report it has helped them increase
the services they are able to provide families.

All of the CBOs indicated that one of the major successes of Show Up, Stand Out, is that it allowed the
CBO to further their mission in the communities they serve.
CBOs reported that because of Show Up, Stand Out, they were able to reach families they might not
normally have been able to reach without partnerships with the schools they serve.
The other common success indicated by the CBOs is that the Show Up, Stand Out allowed for a
connection to schools that they felt led to positive changes in children and families.






Challenges

Overall, the results of this first year effort to reduce truancy are promising. An important caveat to this
discussion is that this project was in the first year of implementation and typical of many programs in the
beginning, there were a number of challenges from data collection to defining and refining the target population
and intervention. Expectations of intervention impacts should be modest; and any findings are subject to
replication and testing in the second year of the project which is still in progress.


MEDIA CONTACT
Kate Hunte: kate@finnpartners.com, 251-406-0920

Research commissioned by:
DC Justice Grants Administration
1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Ste. 407
Washington, DC 20004