Spring Data Walk with Hartford Youth Researchers
On June 8th, the Hartford Data Collaborative (HDC) hosted its first Data Walk focused on data about youth engagement in Hartford. Earlier this spring, the Hartford Data Collaborative launched its inaugural cohort of Hartford Youth Researchers. HDC coordinators Kate Eikel and Geethika Fernando co-led the presentation of data with Hartford Youth Researchers Shian Earlington, Nicaury Espinoza, Nate Gardner, Winder Munoz, and Daniel White. Officials from the City of Hartford Department of Families, Children, Youth, and Recreation; the Mayor’s office; the Hartford Public Schools; the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; and HDC community partners including Capital Workforce Partners, COMPASS Youth Collaborative, and Our Piece of the Pie, attended the presentation and engaged in a discussion about the findings afterwards.
The Data Walk marked the first direct community involvement in an HDC project. Earlier this spring, six youth from Hartford ranging in age from 16-22 joined HDC for a series of workshops dedicated to data sources, data analysis, integrated data, and data storytelling. They then applied their data skills towards researching public data about Hartford youth and analyzing data about Hartford children and youth participation in youth engagement programs under the City of Hartford UNITY project. This project was funded through a grant from Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH)’s Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
HDC’s involvement in the UNITY project began last summer when the City of Hartford issued grants to local youth providers to develop and enhance programming for Hartford children, to add enrichment and development after the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants were funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, and fiscal year 2022 is the first of 3 years of planned grants to enhance children and youth programming in the city. Grantees receiving over $5,000 were required to join the Hartford Data Collaborative and share data about the children and youth who participated in their programs. CTData staff linked data from 16 different providers to help provide insights into overall participation rates by city youth, the demographics and neighborhoods of participating youth, and any other aggregate information shared. In keeping with HDC policies and agreements, all personally identifiable information was removed before aggregate analysis.
During the Data Walk, youth spoke of their experiences growing up in Hartford. They talked about how they joined HDC this spring to better understand data and how it can be used to advance social change. They discussed what they learned from the UNITY data about children and youth participation, but also the impact of missing data from the community providers. Some providers were not scheduled to provide their final participant data until the end of the fiscal year (June 30th), so data was limited to interim findings from program participation from summer and fall 2021. HDC and youth researchers also found that those providers that did provide HDC with their participant data did not collect and share key information needed for integration and analysis. Several of the providers did not include basic information about their participants—address, age, race, ethnicity, and gender—that would allow the Hartford Youth Researchers and the City of Hartford to know what types of children and youth were served by UNITY programs and any gaps in engagement.
HYR spoke candidly about their frustrations in not having sufficient data that represents who they are. The original focus of the program was on youth behavioral health indicators for city youth, but available youth for Hartford is limited. The group started its work brainstorming around research ideas and developed two key questions: (1) which students are referred to mental health services; and (2) what hobbies do Hartford youth engage in? These questions came from youth researchers’ interest in how many students receive counseling services in Hartford who may need it. Hobbies were a focus because of the need for youth to explore different types of hobbies as part of their identity development. Youth wanted city and school officials to tailor programs and offerings to local interest.
HYR used public data from the CT State Department of Education’s EdSight website to find that 82.4% of Hartford Public School students are considered high needs (have a disability, English Learner, eligible for free or reduced-price meals) compared with 51.1% Connecticut students overall in the 2020-2021 school year, which they said underscored the need for additional services and supports for Hartford youth.
In the data walk, city officials listened carefully to the Hartford Youth Researchers findings and the need for more comprehensive youth programming in the city. Several youth researchers expressed a desire for youth programming beyond traditional sports. “If we keep providing football and basketball programs then that’s what Hartford will produce,” one said. Youth also want support for entrepreneurial programs and connecting with the tech industry. Our next steps will include continuing our research efforts through the summer with the complete set of UNITY data from the past year, providing support to FY2023 UNITY grantees this summer in gathering needed data about their program participants and continue to develop the Hartford Youth Profile.
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