Sunday, November 24, 2024
11/24/2024
Nationally, data-driven decision making is increasingly becoming institutionalized as a best practice in public education. Identifying strengths and areas for improvement and implementing policies and procedures that address those areas is a successful path to achieving positive outcomes for students. South Carolina (SC) uses the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles) as important tools to generate data on adolescent risk behaviors and school policies and practices. The state’s health agencies, including the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the SC Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) and its SC Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative (SCYSPI), and the SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS) consider weighted data from specific questions in these surveys to inform their work. To address SC’s need to strengthen its established, systematic procedures to collect, analyze, and report on adolescents and their behaviors, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) proposes a Component 1 cooperative agreement to administer, disseminate, and use the YRBS and Profiles with the following objectives: Objective 1: Between August and May of years 1, 3, and 5 of the performance period, the YRBS/Profiles Coordinator will work with stakeholders to plan and complete the YRBS in coordination with the Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) to obtain weighed data on risk behaviors of adolescents in SC public schools. Objective 2: By May 31 of years 2 and 4 of the performance period, the YRBS/Profiles Coordinator will complete the Profiles to obtain weighted data on school health policies, practices, and programs in SC public schools. Objective 3: By December each year, DHEC will convene and engage data user stakeholders to review weighted survey data, assess processes, and discuss policy implications. The goal is that by July 31, 2023, the SCDE and its state health agency partners will increase their understanding of adolescent risk behaviors and how school health policies influence student behaviors. In partnership with the SCDE, DHEC will convene an annual meeting of state agencies, including SCDMH, SCYSPI, and DAODAS, and other stakeholders to analyze the weighted survey data and processes, collaborate across sectors, and facilitate data driven decision-making that influences school and health policies and procedures to improve health outcomes for adolescents. These annual meetings will enable the health agencies to achieve the intermediate and long-term outcomes. The SCDE will leverage resources for the surveys by continuing its partnership with DHEC to administer the YRBS in coordination with that agency’s YTS and by continuing to leverage internal agency resources in administration of the surveys. The total funding amount requested for Year One is $98,985.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
