Children, Youth, and Families

Families today require comprehensive resources to raise their children to be healthy, educated, and productive members of their communities. Having the economic means to provide good nutrition, healthcare, and a high-quality education is essential. OMG understands the challenges families and communities face in promoting their children’s well-being. To improve the lives of the most vulnerable children and youth, responsibility must be shared with parents, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government.

Much of OMG’s work in children, youth, and families focuses on helping partners create lasting, systemic change. Our experience includes numerous evaluations and strategy supports for our clients, such as leading national and local initiatives aimed at creating actionable solutions for lasting community impact in improved health and healthcare, education, and workforce participation for families and their children.

Pennsylvania Early Childhood Mental Health Consultancy Project
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OMG is conducting a formative evaluation of the Pennsylvania Early Childhood Mental Health Consultancy Project with funding from the William Penn Foundation. The Pennsylvania Key, the state’s arm for professional development and childcare investments, recently launched the program to provide support to childcare providers in assessing and supporting children’s mental health needs. OMG is looking at the effectiveness of service delivery and identifying potential gaps across the state. OMG will make recommendations to standardize and improve services across the six regional Keys, and provide training on the new standards to the 13 mental health consultants.
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Hartford Community Schools Initiative
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The Hartford School-Community Partnership – a collaboration among the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Hartford Office for Youth Services, Hartford Public Schools, and United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut – engaged OMG to conduct a three-year participatory evaluation of its Hartford Community Schools Initiative. OMG is helping this partnership refine its overall theory of change, assess implementation of its initiative, and identify outcomes and indicators for success. Also, OMG is consulting with the partnership to improve the capacity of its partners and stakeholders to participate in program evaluation and collect, use, and interpret data for improved program performance.
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William Penn Foundation's Early Learning Network (ELN)
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ELN is a comprehensive data system that links data on child and family services in Pennsylvania. OMG’s evaluation focused on process issues including: how buy-in was gained from key stakeholders and providers; training and technical assistance provided to users of the system; reporting capacity; and the likelihood for sustainability. The evaluation provided useful feedback to the Office for Child Development and Early Learning, prompting system upgrades and other supports to improve implementation.
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Beacons’ Young Adolescent Initiative in New York City and San Francisco
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OMG conducted a four-year evaluation of the Beacons’ Young Adolescent Initiative in New York City and San Francisco for The Fund for the City of New York. The initiative sought to improve outcomes for young adolescents through participation in Beacons' out-of-school-time programming. OMG documented how the New York City and San Francisco intermediaries promoted enhanced services for young adolescents and encouraged partnerships and networking among participating Beacons. The evaluation results guided enhanced programming and were widely shared nationally among out-of-school time practitioners.
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Children's Literacy Initiative
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With support from the William Penn Foundation, OMG evaluated the Children’s Literacy Initiative’s (CLI) program to increase early literacy development among children in Philadelphia schools. An Innovation Fund award recipient, CLI needed evidenced-based research to demonstrate its effectiveness in improving reading scores in the early grades. OMG conducted a randomized trial of its model classroom program. Findings helped CLI win $22 million in federal funds to replicate its program in four cities.
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Pennsylvania’s Pre-K Counts
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Pre-K Counts is a statewide program that provides high quality pre-kindergarten services to 11,800 three- and four-year-olds in the PA Commonwealth. With funding from the Pennsylvania Key, OMG studied the relationships between district features and the number of children needing Individual Education Plans. Findings were used during state budget negotiations to maintain program funding.
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The Atlantic Philanthropies’ Disadvantaged Children and Youth (DCY) Program
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Through the design and management of a portfolio-wide convening, OMG worked with the funder to build a learning community and network among the 50 DCY grantees. Grantees broadened their understanding of each other's work, created the energy and support to work collaboratively, and identified specific opportunities and next steps for joint advocacy action.
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