Projects

Evaluation of Nobles County Family Advocate Program

The Family Advocate Program of the Nobles County Family Service Collaborative provided funds to local school districts within the county for staff to provide child and family support services to students in the districts. The overall program was guided by the goal of helping children be successful in school. Students were generally referred to the local family advocate by teachers or principals for problems in the areas of school performance, attendance and behavior. The family advocate, depending on the district, could provide one-on-one counseling or support to students, conduct student groups or make presentations in classrooms, conduct home visits and see parents at the school, and encourage families to use community resources. In some cases, they also run summer and afterschool programs.

CAPD developed forms to collect information from the family advocates and from school staff about contacts with participating families and changes in student school-related behavior and performance. Analyses were conducted to describe the characteristics of participating students and families, the quality of family advocate services according to participating students' teachers, and changes in student and family behaviors that appeared to be associated with participation in the family advocate program, as reported by the family advocates and by the students' primary teachers.