Developing and Sustaining University-Community Partnerships in Rural Communities

Julie Sarno Owens, Ph.D.

Center for Intervention Research in Schools

Department of Psychology

Ohio University

OverviewContext

UC Partnerships: Why and Why Not?

Navigating the Issues

Partnership Initiation

Working Together

Ethical Challenges

Appalachian Region of Ohio

Child Poverty (16%), unemployment (8%), uninsured (12%) exceed state rates

High school completion (78%), per capita income ($16K), and median household income ($39) are below state averages

Isolation, lack of public transportation, limited affordable housing

Mental health professional shortage

Needs exceed resources

Region also has strengths

Youth Experiencing Success in School (Y.E.S.S.) ProgramGoals:

Improve academic and behavioral functioning

Enhance home-school collaboration

Enhance service accessibility

Provide on-going consultation to teachers

Evaluate program effectiveness, feasibility, integrity

Services :Assessment

Behavioral Parenting Sessions

Year-long Teacher Consultation

Classroom Interventions (Daily Report Card)

Individual child counseling, as needed

Owens et al., 2005; 2008; 2010

Other Collaborative

ProjectsKindergarten Screening Projects (Girio & Owens, 2011)

Parent Involvement Project (Mahoney, Owens et al., 2010)

CMHC - Assessing Outcomes Project (Karpenko et al 2011; Owens et al., 2011)

Consultant on a Rural Network Development Grant

OU CBPR Learning Community (Owens et al., 2010)

Center for Adolescent Research in Schools (CARS)

OverviewContext

UC Partnerships: Why and Why Not?

Navigating the Issues

Partnership Initiation

Working Together

Ethical Challenges

UC Partnerships: Why?

Rationale:Current demand for accountabilities is highUptake of science into practice is slow

BenefitsProvides communities with resources and infrastructure for professional development, students program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability Offers universities the opportunity to conduct research that is grounded in the realities of daily school/community operations; opportunities for student learning and training

Opportunity to transforming service delivery and scientific inquiry are unmatched

(Owens, Dan, Alvarez, Tener, & Oberlin, 2007)

UC Partnerships: Why Not?

Culture of Academia

Prioritize precisionSeeking to control variablesSlow pace of actionRewarded for grants and publicationsLanguage of statistics & theory

Culture of CommunitySeeking practical solutionsSwift pace of actionPrioritize improving QOLQualitative, uncontrolled analysesRewarded for quotas and low costInterested in adapting programs

Barriers to CollaborationUnbalanced Leadership

Mismatch in interests/focusTime and scheduling challengesFinancial constraints

How do Community Members Initiate a UC Partnership?

Understand the culture of academiaConnect with the right person

Contact an individual faculty member (read program of research)Contact the Chair of a departmentContact a university training clinicContact the administrator of student services or student affairsContact the clearinghouse for student service learning projects

(Owens, Dan, Alvarez, Tenner, & Oberlin, 2007)

How do Faculty Members Initiate a CU Partnership?

Initiator

Consultant

Collaborator

Roles may be different during different projects/phases of the partnership

(Stoecker, 2003)

Partnership Initiation: Finding Common Ground

What are the needs and resources

of the community?

of the university?

What is the nexus between the two?

What are the values and priorities of each?

How can the resources of each be leveraged?

Clearly articulate the group’s goals, values missions so that you can stay on target

What type of Partnership?

Trust During Partnership

InitiationCommunity: concerned about data casting negative perceptions

University: concerned about community follow-through

Researchers must ‘get to know’ the community

Spend time in the community

Listen to the history, get to know the people and dynamics. (“show up” and “be there”)

Explicitly address past experiences with the university

Wallerstein et al., 2005

Partnership Initiation: Processes & Challenges

ChallengesDifferent languages/ acronyms

Lack of/misunderstandings about each other’s work

Potential for unbalanced leadership

Possible Solutions

Create a glossary of terms for each other

Share info about structure, operating demands and pressures

Co-lead meetings; create opportunities for co-learning and joint decision-making

We Agree To Work Together….Now What?

ProcessesAdopt of set of principles to follow that are relevant to your group (e.g., CBPR) and procedures for monitoring them

Adopt procedures for co-leadership and equitable participation of all members

Adopt procedures for decision-making

70% Rule of Consensus (Everyone supports the decision, but they do not have to be behind it 100%. If all members can provide 70% of their own support, overall consensus has been reached; Israel et al., 2005)

Discuss procedures for conflict

Agree to disagree on some issues

(Israel et al., 2003; Wallerstein et al,. 2005)

Action Steps

Decide on membership size; Who else should be at the table? (other systems, parents, “do-ers” verses “deciders”; political/strategic invites)

Establish a time frame for planning and network development

Identify short and long-term goals

(Wallerstein et al,. 2005)

Content

Research

ServiceTraining

SOCIAL CHANGE

The Wheels Are Rollin’…We’re Moving Right Along

Navigating the Specifics

Research:

Discuss the roles of each partner in:

Framing research questionsImplementing the designCollecting the dataAnalyzing the dataInterpreting the dataDisseminating results Acting on the results

Service:What services?Who provides them?SupervisionNavigating turf issuesConsent formsEthical codes

Training:For students?For staff?Case load size?Who monitors quality?

Tough Decisions and Compromise

Eligible participants

What is the impact of inclusion/exclusion criteria?

What is the impact of severity?

Comparison Condition for Evaluation

Random assignment at what level?

Timing of Evaluation

Consider potential confounds to conclusions drawn

Consider staff/teacher time and competing demands

Participatory Method Development

Solicit input and feedback from those who will be involved in the methodology

Recruitment Strategies

Language on the consent form

Name of program/intervention conditions

Relevant compensation

Time of measurement completion

What have you left out/what would they like to add?

Trust During the Difficult

DecisionsShow respect for others’ opinions and needs

Follow through – do what you commit to do between meetings

Compromise

Respect confidentiality – “what happens in the partnership meeting stays in the partnership meeting”

Start to include each other in events beyond the partnership

Celebrate successes(Becker et al., 2005)

Partnership and Program

AssessmentProgram

OutcomesData –Driven Student Outcomes

Staff feedback on feasibility and acceptability

Are we producing the intended + outcomes?

Are there unintended outcomes (+ or -)?

What modifications are necessary?

Partnership OutcomesFormal or informal approach?

Are we meeting our short-term goals?

Are we making adequate progress toward our long-term goals?

Assessment of partnership process dimensions (e.g., communication, trust, leadership)

Open ended questionnaires

(Schulz et al., 2003)

Retreats and Strategic Planning Sessions

Ultimate Outcome Indicator: Will you work together again?

Effect Sizes for Grade Point

Average

Grade Point Average

GPA

GPA

-1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2

Waitlist

Treatment

Building Capacity in Partners• Establish a meeting structure that facilitates co-learning

• Researcher gains knowledge in school-based procedures (e.g., IAT/IEP) and community history and culture

• Community members gain knowledge about rigor in methods, data-driven decision making, strategies for interpreting data

Example: Community members begin to appreciate the value of data and rigorous methods (Owens et al., 2010)

Example: Writing and presenting with co-partners

Dissemination of Outcomes

Local presentations

State conferences

National conferences

Co-write articles in practice-based outlets

Co-write articles in academic outlets

Boosts morale and pride

Enhances relevance of the data

Builds capacity in all partners

Facilitates social change

Thinking Ahead: Sustainability

What type of partnership do you want to be?

Stay connected to stakeholders in the larger communtiy

Financial stability

Development of new goals/projects

Synergistic

Integration of goals

Working with shared resources

Working for common goals

Planning and formalized leadership

Coordination of activities with each other

Communication with each other

Unilateral awareness

TransformationalPartnership

TransactionalRelationship

Positive Transitions in the Partnership

Clayton & Bringle, 2010

Initiation• Partnershi

p development• Monthly meetings

Year 1• Y.E.S.S.

begins in School 1• Waitlist in School 2

Year 2• Y.E.S.S. in Schools 1 & 2• Waitlist in School 3

Year 3• Y.E.S.S. in Schools 1, 2, 4• Waitlist in School 5

Year 4• Y.E.S.S. in

4 schools• No waitlist School

Year 5• Y.E.S.S.

scales back to 3 schools• Rethinking

Implementation

Year 6,7,&8• Strategic Planning Retreat• District receives USDOE Grant • Y.E.S.S. in

all Schools• Examining sustainability model

Timeline of Y.E.S.S. Program Partnership Development Depicting Expansions and Transitions in Leadership

Pupil Personnel Director Retires

All Principals change buildings

University Partner on maternity leave

Juvenile Court Judge deceases

New Judge elected

Multiple District Leadership

Positions Change

Interim Judge appointed

Hire new School

Counselors

Pupil Personnel Director Retires

Managing Challenging Transitions in the Partnership

•Leverage program champions

•Stay connected to key decision makers

•Have an orientation packet to efficiently integrate new members

• Rely on formerly defined group processes and procedures

Recruitment & Informed Consent

When researchers are embedded within the school, do families understand the ‘choice’ to participate?

Example 1:

School Counselors trained to implement the Y.E.S.S. Program

Consenting parents at one of many ‘stations’ during a Kindergarten screening

Teachers As Participants

Do teacher feel that they have a choice to participate? Examples:

Principal decides “our school is participating”

Questionnaires are completed in a group setting at a teacher in-service

What is the impact if one teacher declines to participate?

Example in K Screening Project:

Parents are expecting a summary report that provides the results of parent and teacher screening measures, but the teacher has declined to participate? How do we protect that teacher from negative repercussions?

Clinicians As Participants

How should researchers address low integrity in a clinician’s performance?

Example:

When monitoring integrity to the protocol, one clinician’s skills are below the acceptable threshold? What if the procedures are considered harmful to the client?

Interpretation of Data

The “Push for Positive Results”

Community: program continuation is dependent upon positive outcomes

University: next steps in research are based upon both expected and unexpected outcomes

CBPR Recommendation: Discuss possible interpretations and consequences of them prior to starting the project (Israel et al., 2003)

Ownership of Data

How will each partner use the data?

In CBPR, there is a tenet of “shared ownership”

What challenges does this create?

Examples:Community project occurs with and agency as a function of a student’s thesis/dissertation. New interns to the agency want to use the data for their field placement project.

Pilot data sample sizes are small and may reveal information about the performance of specific clinicians.

SummaryUC Partnerships offer a mechanism for

Accelerating the uptake of evidence-based practices that address community needs

Evaluating effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of evidence-based practices

Challenging, but results in rewarding, meaningful work

Each partnership is unique, but there are commonality across

Lessons learned offer guides for initiating partnerships, navigating challenging relationship and ethical issues, developing rigorous but feasible methodologies, disseminating results and ultimately achieving social change

Thank youowensj@ohio.edu