In response to the Notice of Funding Opportunity, CDC-RFA-DP14-0139, Improving Adolescent Health and Well-being Through School-Based Surveillance and the What Works in School Program, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is requesting $107,500 to carry out Component 3: School-Based Surveillance activities. Michigan is the 11th largest state in the nation and ranks tenth in the country (first=highest) for full‐time K‐12 student enrollment (1,429,895). Through this five-year cooperative agreement, MDE will establish, implement, and strengthen systematic procedures to collect Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles) data. Results will help support the development of policies and practices that reduce priority health risk behaviors and experiences among youth.
Approach. MDE will conduct the YRBS in odd-numbered years (2025, 2027, and 2029) among public high schools and the Profiles in even-numbered years (2026 and 2028) across public secondary schools and work to obtain a high enough participation rate to achieve weighted data in all survey administrations. MDE will be adding the eight Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs) questions to the YRBS and will apply for Tier 1 funding. MDE will establish and maintain a YRBS Coalition to obtain community input, streamline efforts, build buy-in for participation, review the data, discuss implications for policies and programming, and build long-term support for the institutionalization of both survey systems.
Outcomes, Evaluation and Performance Management. In terms of short-term outcomes, Michigan will see increased awareness of youth risk behaviors and experiences and school health policies and practices by education and public health agencies. In terms of intermediate- and long-term outcomes, Michigan will have increased state understanding of short-term and long-term trends in youth risk behaviors and experiences and school health policies and practices. Each year, MDE will review survey implementation activities to identify what can be improved in the future and to increase the quality of the data and institutionalization of YRBS and Profiles in Michigan.
Focus Populations and Health Disparities. MDE will review the data with attention to subpopulations that have been historically marginalized (e.g., LGBT students, students of color) to note disparities and support research-informed policies, programs, and practices to create more equitable outcomes.
Organizational Capacity. MDE has demonstrated a long history and strong organizational capacity with the necessary authority for project staff to implement the surveys and obtain weighted data for 14 consecutive administrations for YRBS (1997-2023) and 14 consecutive administrations for Profiles (1996–2022). Most of the $107,500 requested for Component 3 will be used to support staff time (40 percent of an Implementation Lead and 10 percent of a Secretary). The Implementation Lead and Implementation Liaison for Component 3 collectively have 30 years of experience working on YRBS and Profiles.
Collaborations. Collaborations and strategic partnerships are crucial to implementing program strategies and achieving the expected Component 3: School-Based Surveillance outcomes. MDE will collaborate with other Component 1 and 2 recipients within Michigan, Component 3 recipients across the nation, and the CDC and its partners to coordinate, streamline efforts and learn from experts across education and public health sectors.