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This self-paced module by You for Youth provides steps and strategies for program leaders to recruit, train, and retain program staff. It includes many resources such as sample job descriptions, human resource policies and staff manuals, and ideas for interview questions and reference checks. It can assist a program leader in creating a plan for improving staff recruitment and retention. Unless you need a certificate of completion, you do not need to log in to the Y4Y portal to do the module--just click "cancel" when asked to log in and proceed.
This issue brief shares a model about a collaboration between Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and Boys and Girls Club (BCG) to pilot behavioral and mental health services for youth in grades 1-12 participating in 13 out-of-school programs. This model used initial SAMSHA funding to bring 2 counselors as well as graduate practicum students into the BGC to provide social-emotional learning, behavioral, and mental health services and to train staff on trauma-informed care, suicide, substance abuse response, and how to make referrals. These supports will be sustained as they fast-tracked the process of Medicaid credentialing. This resource supports equity.
This webinar explores what intermediaries are learning about what it takes to recruit and retain OST staff. The panel is facilitated by Angelica Portillo from NAA with panelists from Utah Afterschool Network, California Afterschool Network, Dallas Afterschool Network, and San Francisco Beacon Initiative. Strategies include hiring bonuses, compensation, flexibility, being involved in decision making, pre-service training and career pathways, and staff nurturing.
This webinar by the Grantmakers for Education OST Impact group shares how funders, adults, and peers in OST spaces can provide support to LGBTQ+ youth, especially in the current context of attacks on LGBTQ+ identities. Panelists from the Trevor Project, Horizons Foundation, and an LGBTQ+ organization in Florida shared data on mental health concerns and suggestions for ways to create safe spaces in OST programs. A robust list of resources are also included. This resource supports equity.
This case study highlights the historical context behind the Pay Equity Fund, the vision and goals of the fund, early implementation successes and challenges, and future goals based on interviews with key informants, parents and guardians, center directors, and home-based providers. The goal of the Pay Equity Fund is to improve staff recruitment, retention, and morale and mental health, as well as program quality improvement and child outcomes. These findings can inform jurisdictions across the country as they design and implement compensation improvements for the child care workforce.
This Better Kid Care module about supporting LGBTQ youth in out-of-school-time programs is designed to prepare staff to provide a supportive and inclusive environment. It includes videos of researchers, counselors, staff, parents, and youth who share their ideas and experiences. It also includes a number of helpful handouts, suggestions for wording about policies, and activity ideas. This resource supports equity.
This webinar features authors from the recent volume, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation. Youth development professionals and researchers share how to build relationships that increase engagement that is centered in equity, inclusion, and diversity. This resource supports equity.
The Urban Institute engaged in a yearlong project to document how states access and strategically use federal funds to support early childhood systems and compensation. Five states including GA, IL, NM, TX, WA and other leaders joined in a convening to discuss their experiences. States shared challenges and the innovative strategies they are employing that include tailoring strategies to state context to address fragmentation; using philanthropic or private TA organizations to build state leaders' knowledge of how to access funds; and using cost models to advance child care compensation.
Grantmakers for Education and Out-of-School Time Impact Group held this webinar to hear from key researchers on trends, needs, and opportunities for research in the OST field. The panelists noted that there has been a shift from an earlier focus on academics to an increased focus on SEL, STEM, and social justice. The panelists identified research to read, researchers to follow, and issues that need to be addressed in research.
On June 29, 2023, the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment hosted the webinar “Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Supports for Out-of-School Time: A Conversation on Strategies and Systems” to address the topic of building SEL and mental health capacity for Out-of-School Time programming. The event included a facilitated discussion with system leaders on the best strategies to equitably address the SEL and mental health needs of children and families, along with consideration for culture, ethnicity, linguistic needs, income, historical context, and other factors.