Coastlines CSG/ERC'S Monthly Newsletter |
| Education: One State Could Pave the Way Pennsylvania helps develops a national program to keep students in school
In addition to developing the workforce, students who stay in school are more likely to graduate and find jobs, but finding evidence-based ways to keep at-risk students in classrooms is tough.
One Northeastern state is trying to change that.
Pennsylvania has increasingly shifted toward using evidenced-based prevention programs in schools, betting that those programs will help reduce violence in the classroom and keep students out of jail.
It's a bet that seems to be paying off. According to the Penn State Prevention Research Center, the state reported a $317 million return on its $60 million investment in these educational programs over the last 10 years.
The research center released a report last year detailing its educational programs' cost-benefit for Pennsylvania, including mentoring programs, skill-building programs and individual and family therapy for juvenile offenders.
According to the report, the programs helped produce returns of between $1 and $25-per dollar invested, and can generate savings of as much as $130 million for a single program.
Northeastern states like Pennsylvania clearly need to save money. Increasing costs in criminal and juvenile justice systems have made it vital that states find innovative ways to trim criminal justice costs.
States have to find ways to "utilize very limited resources in circumstances of increasingly scarcity to improve the quality of the services that are delivered in education, and also to families and children," said Michael King, CSG/ERC executive committee member and director of the Legislative Office for Research Liaison in Harrisburg. "And using research-based, proven programs is a way to do that." State | School Population | Out-of-School Suspensions | Connecticut | 531,865 | 36,368 | Delaware | 111,079 | 12,150 | Massachusetts | 897,529 | 49,928 | New Hampshire | 182,678 | 10,169 | New York | 2,808,173 | 106,670 | Pennsylvania | 1,680,560 | 114,038 | Rhode Island | 146,178 | 12,250 | Vermont | 85,900 | 3,431 |
Source: USDOE, Office of Civil Rights, Elementary and Secondary School Survey 2006 There is a clear link between education and keeping young people out of jail, said Pennsylvania Rep. James Roebuck, chair of CSG/ERC's education program and the Pennsylvania House Education Committee.
"Most people in prisons are people who never finished even high school," Roebuck said. "So that's a clear relationship there. We have to do a better job at making education relevant to young people."
The state's prevention programs are trying to do just that.
By applying evidence-based programs to known risk factors in a community, states can reduce incidences of violence and drug use in schools, Pennsylvania officials said.
"We're no longer in the position economically to take a chance on a program that may, or may not be effective," said Brian Bumbarger, the coordinator of policy research and outreach for Penn State's Prevention Research Center. "In these times, ethically and fiscally, we can't take the chance on things that haven't been proven to be effective."
The research center promotes the use of evidence based research in prevention and intervention programs and provides community assistance to organizations that use those programs.
But applying the evidence-based programs isn't easy. Some communities can often fall back on cheaper programs that do not effectively reduce violence or drug-use rates, Bumbarger said. Communities must also frequently pay for training costs or educational materials for the schools, and those costs can add up.
But, "if you can reduce the amount of truancy in a school, there's a dollar value to that," Bumbarger said. "If you can increase the graduation rate, there's a dollar value that can be attached to that."
He added: "The overwhelming conclusion from this whole body of cost-benefit research is that these evidence-based programs are also very cost-effective."
More states seem to be looking to Pennsylvania as a model for evidence-based education. Bumbarger said he gave a presentation to the North Carolina State Legislature in February, touting the cost-effectiveness of the evidence-based programs, for example.
"This is research that has not only been tried over a period of time and evaluated ... but then has been moved and implemented elsewhere," King said. |
Q&A With CSG's New Director The Council of State Governments has a new leader. David Adkins, former Kansas State Senator, became CSG's new executive director in November. He replaced Daniel M. Sprague, who retired after nearly 30 years with CSG. The succession was just one of the changes CSG has undergone since last year. Wendell Hannaford became the new director of CSG/ERC in January, and Marge Kilkelly became CSG/ERC's deputy director.
Below, Adkins discusses his new role in CSG:
When you were a member of CSG as an elected official, did you ever think one day you would be the executive director?
No, I didn't, but sometimes life takes you not where you think you should go but where you need to go. The CSG family was important to me as a legislator and now to serve as the Executive Director of the organization, well, I am just incredibly honored to have the opportunity. The people I have met that lead and work for CSG have so enriched my life and it has been good to renew so many longstanding CSG based friendships. I am looking forward to the journey and I am pleased to have the chance to do this important work. The CSG family is indeed a special group. I'm a very lucky guy.
Are there any similarities between running an organization like CSG and being a legislator?
Sure. In both instances there are a lot of moving parts, you always worry about the budget, you juggle competing agendas, reach out to stakeholders to inform your judgment and agenda, raise money to support your work, communicate with your constituents, competitively position and brand your efforts, seek to bring the best people onto the team to share your work and you must recognize your friends who make it all possible. Both jobs certainly constitute a calling to serve the common good. Being a successful legislator and successfully running an organization like CSG requires leadership. Everything I learned as a legislator better prepared me for this job-and I'll be the first to agree I have a lot more to learn-but that's one of the things that makes every day at CSG interesting for me.
What do you envision as the future of CSG?
I know the future of CSG is very bright indeed. I want to build on our existing strengths as America's only regionally-based, multi-branch, nonpartisan organization of state leaders. For over seventy-five years the states and territories have come together through the Council of State Governments to learn from each other, to advocate for the interests of the states at the federal level and to enhance the ability of state leaders to serve the common good. That tradition will continue in the future. Our goal will always be to help empower state leaders to achieve excellence in state governance. The complexity of the challenges facing the states and the polarization that so infects our political system call on us to be at our best.
What does CSG provide that other state organizations don't? The secret of CSG's unique success is reflected by the outstanding leadership brought to our organization by our members. Our members own this organization and the work we focus on reflects the priorities they have established as important to them. Their investment of time and the passion they bring to advancing our agenda is the single most powerful source of our credibility as the voice for the states. The CSG family includes dedicated public servants from all three branches of state government and those who choose and are selected to lead our committees, task forces, affiliates and regions are exceptionally dedicated to making CSG a relevant source of ingenuity, innovation, transformation and information.
How do you see CSG/ERC fitting into the rest of the CSG family?
CSG East has a long and proud history of serving its member states well. With an office in New York, CSG East positions CSG as a major resource for the states. The unique and valuable programs that have emerged from the East on energy, environment, justice issues and trade issues, to name a few, are something the entire CSG family can be proud of. I would expect CSG East to continue to be a leading force for CSG as a national organization.
What advice would you give elected officials who are stewards of very limited resources during these difficult times?
I wouldn't presume to give elected officials my advice. But I would want them to know if I can ever be of assistance I am always a phone call away. These are tough times for the states but from the current challenges new innovations will emerge, new opportunities will be created and new lessons will be learned. CSG will be there to support and sustain state leaders as they confront these challenges and create a better future for the citizens they serve. That is the calling of the CSG family and the work we are fortunate to carry out every day. |
| |
| Related Links $300 million available for student loans - Boston Globe: The state will be able to offer $300 million in low, fixed-rate student loans to undergraduate and graduate students this fall, Governor Deval Patrick announced today at Braintree High School.
New Jersey teachers pension fund closer to insolvency - Philly
InquirerThe pension fund for New Jersey teachers fell $2.6 billion more into the red last fiscal year, prompting warnings that the state might not be able to pay educators promised benefits.
Delaware private schools try to hang on to students - News Journal: School districts across the state had the most trouble filling world language teaching positions last year, according to a report on teacher shortages released by the state Department of Education.
|
|
