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SGA works within all of the systems that affect youth--school, family, peer and community – to build consistency and support. Specifically, we provide services in the following areas:
Children’s social and emotional development is an essential underpinning for school attendance and academic success
School-Based Services provide on-site, easily accessible mental health counseling and prevention programs for at-risk students to address underlying emotional and behavioral issues that threaten their development and academic performance. These programs promote school connectedness and teach youth skills that will assist them in overcoming psychological, developmental and social challenges, thus ensuring their success in school and beyond.
School Based Services Highlights from 2009 FY Evaluation Report include:
- 97% of youth in the School Drop Out Prevention Program showed improved academic performance.
- 41% of participants had maintained or improved their attendance from last school year.
- 64% of youth with complete Children’s Global Assessments improved their level of overall functioning; on average, youth increased functioning by 8 points or more.
- 92% of core counseling program participants were satisfied with the progress they made towards reaching their goals.
- 95% of specialized programs participants reported that they perform better in school.
- 44% of school-based program participants showed improvement with depression.
Commitment to the community school model and system change
SGA is the lead partner in nine schools city wide in the Chicago Community Schools Initiative and places Resource Coordinators in four additional schools in the South Shore Community. SGA provides and coordinates out-of-school time programming and social services. In addition to providing direct services, SGA secures other services at these schools to meet specific needs that have been identified by the school and community. This partnership helps transform schools integrating academic, health, and social services, youth and community development, and parental and community engagements. These neighborhood schools become the anchors in their respective communities, with resources to improve the success of young people, strengthen families and provide healthy communities, providing resources for the entire family.
Research has clearly demonstrated the impact of community schools*
- Enhanced safety and positive youth development, improved attendance due to access to health supports
- Decreased drop out rates/increased graduation rates
- Improvement in test scores and grades
- Increased parental involvement
- Improved social skills and peer relationships
- Decreased reports of serious disciplinary incidents in schools
- Improved classroom performance and behavior
* The Federation for Community Schools
Children function more effectively in school, family, and community
Juvenile Justice Services provides services to youth involved or at-risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. These programs help young people make positive life choices and become productive, well-adjusted adults. SGA provides comprehensive gang suppression and prevention programs; a youth centered collaborative that focuses on reducing gang-related and gender-based violence; counseling and mentoring services to help youth steer away from involvement in criminal activity; and help to keep youth referred by the court and/ or on probation from further juvenile justice involvement.
Juvenile Justice Services highlights from 2009 FY Evaluation Report include:
- 79% of participants improved their conflict resolution skills and 77% improved their relationships with pro-social peers.
- 80% of program youth showed improved overall social competence.
- 89% of youth responding to self-satisfaction surveys reported learning new ways to handle problem situations.
- 92% of participants reported being satisfied with the progress made toward reaching their goals.
- 82% of youth in SGA services either graduated high school or advanced to the next expected grade level. Aggregate comparison rate for all the schools (elementary and high school) that SGA is involved in is approximately 71%.
Of available data, nearly 100% of youth were not involved in the juvenile justice system while participating in SGA services.
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Participants demonstrate improved communication, stable and committed relationships and better outcomes for their children
Family Life Skills programming focuses on building healthier families, stronger more resilient relationships, healthy child development, stimulating environments for children and prevents child abuse and neglect. Our programs are rooted in the idea that strong families lead to strong communities.
Selected Family Life Skills highlights from FY 2009 Evaluation Report include:
- 89% of Family Life Skills program participants indicated their relationships with others improved.
- 84% of participants showed improvement in abuse prevention skills, including a commitment to safety, implementing forgiveness and identifying communication danger signs.
- 95% of program participants improved conflict resolution skills.
Parents’ knowledge of child-rearing practices and child development increases
Teen Parenting Services include partnerships with the Ounce of Prevention Fund and Chicago Public Schools to provide services to pregnant and parenting teens. The goals of the programs are to improve the health and emotional development of teen parents, and promote healthy growth and development of their children. Teen parents improve their sense of self-sufficiency; reduce the rate of child abuse, delay further pregnancies, and stay in school.
Teen Parenting highlights from FY 2009 Evaluation Report include:
- 86% of the teen parents exceeded healthy development benchmarks for their children: immunizations, well-child visits and developmental screenings.
- 100% of Healthy Families Illinois/Parents Too Soon participants delayed a subsequent pregnancy during the program year.
- Nearly 100% of Early Advantage program participants reported learning new ways to handle problem situations.
Early Head Start * SGA Youth & Family Services is proud to once again partner with the Ounce of Prevention Fund to bring the Early Head Start Program to the Brighton Park community. The Brighton Park Early Head Start Program will serve low income families with children from birth to three. The program provides parenting skills training, counseling, early detection and screening, monthly home visits, family empowerment, as well as ensuring that clients have access to health care services.
*Early Head Start program began in 2010, outcomes will be reported in the FY 2010 Evaluation Report
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Families acquire skills and knowledge about youth drug use and prevention
Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Services in partnership with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, schools, parents, and community leaders aim to increase student and resident knowledge about the risks and harms of alcohol and drug abuse.
The goals are to organize and empower all sectors of the community to reduce youth substance abuse and to provide direction, support, and oversight to community organizations to deliver youth substance abuse prevention initiatives. SGA provides comprehensive student assessments, group and individual counseling and referral and follow up.
Selected Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention results from 2009 FY Evaluation indicates:
- A 27% decrease of high school youth who reported substance use (41%) compared to the 2005 baseline of 68%.
- Nearly 69% of total respondents reported never having tried tobacco, compared to the 49% who reported tobacco use in 2005.
- Of total respondents, 76% report never having tried marijuana – compared to the 40% in 2005 who did report drug use.
- Knowledge among school-aged youth about the risks and harms related to substance abuse has increased, as indicated by the majority of respondents reporting that substance use causes great harm (51%) and is very wrong (54%).
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Enhanced Services and Expanded Access
City wide SGA establishes networks with other organizations to build community capacity to serve the needs of youth and their families and facilitate positive developmental outcomes. SGA collaborates with similar non-profit organizations to promote the awareness of the social, emotional, and environmental issues that influence positive youth development. The agency advocates for social policies that promote the success of at-risk youth.
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