Project Succeed: A Case Management Initiative
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to uplift a student. Youth Development, Inc. (YDI) is a nationally recognized, New Mexico-based, youth and family service organization with over 50 years of experience providing structured prevention and intervention services in the Albuquerque community. YDI piloted Project Succeed, a case management initiative to provide wrap-around services to students and their families. In 2022, four community schools in the South Valley of Albuquerque, NM welcomed Project Succeed to their campuses. Case managers were placed in each school to support existing educational and behavioral health services by providing services to support classroom learning and to ameliorate behavioral health issues students and their families may be experiencing that may be impeding student success. Referrals were made by the school’s community liaisons to the Project Succeed’s case managers.
YDI partnered with Levado to conduct a developmental evaluation of the pilot year of Project Succeed. A total of 256 students were referred to the program across four schools, 118 students (48%) were enrolled, and 13 withdrew. Case managers received referrals from individual schools through either wellness teams, composed of principals, vice-principals, counselors, family liaisons, and other staff. The project had a retention rate of 89%. With 118 students, Project Succeed reached 59% of its enrollment goal of 200 students. Nine high school students were also employed through the YDI Stay in School Program – working up to 200 hours.
The first year showed promising results, students began seeing improvement in their grades, attendance, and behavior. Students who joined the earliest saw a slower decrease in their grades than students who joined later in the academic year. Suggesting that the earlier a student begins receiving 1:1 support their grades will worsen at a slower rate than their counterparts who do not. However, due to data only being available for one academic year it is not possible to estimate the impact beyond the first year.
Two key highlights emerged from Project Succeed:
Individualized support for families
It is not a surprise that in the Project Succeed Family Survey parents and students shared that they felt their schools were overwhelmed and understaffed. Project Succeed provided the opportunity for families to receive individualized attention. The case manager was able to meet with the students and provide resources to families who expressed the need for services. Case managers were able to help families apply for public assistance programs, receive food boxes, and referrals for behavioral health services. Case managers responded to 108 different family needs. The highest support requested by families was counseling services. For this request, students were referred to either YDI Behavioral Health Services or other community-based therapy and counseling services. Case managers primarily responded to many of the family needs through referrals to other services, connecting families with the appropriate resources, collaborating with the schools, and assisting families with applications for social programs.
Positive youth-adult relationships
In the Project Succeed family survey, students mentioned noticing a lack of 1:1 time with their teachers. Case managers checked in with their students numerous times to discuss grades, attendance, and their behavior. When asked what they enjoyed the most about Project Succeed, both parents and students mentioned their relationship with the case managers. Students were able to build positive relationships with caring adults. Case managers worked to develop trusting relationships that resulted in students sharing more about their lives. Parents also shared in the survey that they saw improvements in their children such as being more outgoing. Students appreciated having someone to talk to, they felt understood and supported.
Project Succeed’s case managers were the heart and soul of this initiative. The thoughtful hiring of local, proximate case managers who were familiar with the neighborhoods and family dynamics are what made this program so powerful. The case managers had either direct or proximate experiences with similar issues and challenges as the students and families they worked with. The success of programs like this is dependent on the support of schools and parents. With a collective effort students can receive the services they need to thrive not only academically but also outside of the classroom.
For additional information about YDI or the Project Succeed model please contact YDI at 505-352-3444 or visit YDINM.org