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Program Description

Overview The Somali Community Services of Seattle’s (SCSS) Child Development Program (CDP) is an after school and weekend tutoring and support program serving Somali children and their parents in Seattle, Washington. CDP’s goals are to (1) increase children’s leadership skills and self-confidence, (2) improve children’s academic performance, and (3) actively involve children and parents in the design and development of program activities.
Start Date 1998
Scope local
Type after school, weekend, comprehensive services
Location urban
Setting community-based organization
Participants elementary through high school students (grades 1–12)
Number of Sites/Grantees one
Number Served approximately 19 students per month
Components Children receive tutoring by two SCSS staff and two volunteers from the Somali community to help increase children’s leadership skills, self-confidence, and academic performance. Tutoring sessions are held Monday through Thursday from 5pm until 7pm at a local community center. Parents are provided Saturday education classes on how to use the resources available to them at their children’s schools, such as counselors and health care. In addition, outside speakers are brought in to discuss crime prevention, working with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and relevant community services.
Funding Level approximately $1,500 per month for the tutoring program
Funding Sources City of Seattle Human Services Department


Evaluation

Overview In 2000, the Community Research Center of Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities worked with SCSS to evaluate the effectiveness of the youth tutoring program.
Evaluators Becky Casey and Marianne Sullivan, Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities

Mohamed Ali Roble, Somali Community Services of Seattle
Evaluations Profiled Evaluation Report: Somali Community Services of Seattle Child Development Project
Evaluations Planned unknown
Report Availability Casey, B., Sullivan, M., & Roble, M. A. (2000). Evaluation report: Somali Community Services of Seattle Child Development Project. Seattle, WA: Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities.

Contacts

Evaluation Marianne Sullivan, MPH
Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities
999 3rd Avenue, Suite 1200
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: 206-296-6817
Fax: 206-205-5314
Email: marianne.sullivan@metrokc.gov
Program Jama Abulkadir
Somali Community Services of Seattle
3320 Rainier Ave S.
Seattle, WA 98144
Tel: 206-770-1185
Email: socomser2002@yahoo.com
Profile Updated November 18, 2004

Evaluation: Somali Community Services of Seattle Child Development Project


Evaluation Description

Evaluation Purpose To examine the effectiveness of CDP.
Evaluation Design Non-Experimental: Data were collected from staff/volunteers, parents, and children who participated in the program. Evaluation questions were designed jointly with CDP staff in order to ensure that issues relevant to the staff would be captured in the evaluation.
Data Collection Methods Interviews/Focus Groups: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two SCSS staff, three volunteers, four participants’ parents, and five youth participants. The two staff and three volunteers were referred to evaluators by SCSS. The group of five children constituted all those participants who were present on the day of the group interview, and ranged from approximately age 7 to 13. The parents were chosen because their children attended the program frequently. The children were interviewed as a group; staff and parents were interviewed individually. All interviewees, with the exception of one staff member, were active participants in the program at the time of the evaluation. All interviews covered the same basic elements: satisfaction with CDP, perception of what worked well about the program, suggested changes, and perceptions of whether the community benefited from the program. In addition, information on the number of children served, topics of instruction, and budget was obtained from informal conversations with SCSS staff.
Data Collection Timeframe The data were collected in the fall of 2000.


Findings:
Formative/Process Findings

Activity Implementation Both parents and children noted that access to computers was a major benefit of the program, though some noted that the computers could have been used more often and more effectively.

Parents and children felt that the program should have offered more social activities, social events, and outdoor activities.
Costs/Revenues Financial constraints and the inability to purchase materials and supplies were commonly noted as problems.
Parent/Community Involvement Staff and parents reported that communication between CDP staff and parents was an important aspect of the program, especially because this was the primary source of information about children’s school performance for some parents.

Parents reported that they stayed informed about their children’s school performance and any problems in school by attending quarterly meetings with their children and program staff.

Recruiting volunteer teachers from the Somali community was considered a program challenge.
Program Context/Infrastructure Staff and volunteers provided transportation for some participants to and from the program in their personal cars, but were unable to provide transportation for all youth in the community. Although most parents agreed that this transportation was much needed and very helpful, it was also the most commonly mentioned problem. The transportation issue was complicated by the fact that the program was not easily accessible by public transportation.

Respondents felt it important that the program provide a place for students to go after school where they could be with peers and tutors who share the same culture.

Parents and children felt that the program should be expanded and should offer more hours per week.
Program-School Linkages Parents noted the help with children’s homework as a program strength, because it helped children avoid staying up late at night to complete their homework.

Parents reported that one of the program’s strengths in linking families to the school system was in overcoming the language barrier between parents and school staff.

While the facilitative role of CDP in brokering relationships between parents and the schools was found to be both effective and necessary, staff reported some concern that more mechanisms were necessary to ensure that this role would be transitional and that parents would develop the abilities to directly communicate with schoolteachers and staff.
Recruitment/Participation Some children expressed that they would have liked for their friends to join the program, but that it was too difficult for the friends to get transportation.

Staff and volunteers noted that they were not able to accommodate all of the children who would have liked to participate, due to limited resources.

Tribal differences within the Somali community were noted by staff as a program challenge, and were thought to have depressed participation rates. Though the CDP is open to all members of the community, some Somalis felt that they did not belong or were not recognized at CDP.

Parents and children felt that the program should increase attendance in the future by encouraging more families to participate.
Satisfaction Interviews revealed that parents and children were satisfied with the way the program was run, and one parent perceived the program to be the best after school program in the community. All parents and children said that they would recommend CDP to friends.
Staffing/Training Parents, staff, and children noted the responsiveness of the staff to children’s needs as a program strength, such as listening and responding to what the children wanted to do and individually assessing each child to determine what supports they needed to catch up to grade level.

Respondents noted cultural relevance as a program strength, since the staff were Somali and were familiar with the unique needs the children have in transitioning to a new educational system.

Parents and children felt that the program should add more teachers from the community.


Summative/Outcome Findings

Academic Both parents and staff reported that the program helped improve students’ academic performance.

Staff and volunteers reported the program’s provision of basic education, such as tutoring in math and reading to be important helping children catch up and make progress in school.

Children reported that the homework help at CDP allowed them to complete their homework, and that otherwise they would not always have gotten it done. Some of these students previously felt unable to complete their homework without help, and often relied on schoolteachers (who had limited time and availability) to help complete assignments.
Community Development Respondents reported that the greater Somali community in Seattle appeared to derive benefit from the CDP by providing an outlet for Somali community members to volunteer in service to their own community, providing parents with the knowledge that their children were getting help, and keeping the children busy and keeping them from getting involved in problems that would affect the larger community.

Some parents spoke of a diffusion process from families in the program to other community members. For example, one parent described how her involvement in the program allowed her to help another Somali family by translating for the parents and acting as a liaison between the parents and school. Similarly, children who learned skills in the program could also then teach them to family and friends.
Family Parent comments indicated that CDP helped families better understand the school system and the importance of completing homework assignments.
Prevention Parents reported that the program prevented children from getting into trouble after school, such as getting into arguments or running in the streets.
Youth Development Staff and volunteers reported improved self-confidence in participating children-specifically, they reported these children as better able to ask questions when they did not understand homework assignments, as generally more outspoken, and as participating more actively in their schoolwork.

 

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