FY 23-24 Program Report

Agency Name: Girls Incorporated of the Central Coast Program Name: College Bound Equity Dimension: Gender Identity

Condition: Lifelong Learning & Education Tier: Small Budget: $22,500.00

Annual Goal FY 23-24	Annual Goal FY 23-24
Unduplicated Participants     Total Unduplicated Participants 60 63	How Many Activities/Services Will Be Provided?     The ECHO Leadership mentoring program will provide high school girls 13 workshops from August-May FY 2023-2024. 13 11 The ECHO Leadership mentoring program will provide high school girls field trips to (3) colleges and the (1) State Capitol from August-May FY 2023-2024. 4 4 The Youth Leaders program provides 10 training workshops to ECHO program graduates on program content and workshop facilitation skills. 10 10 Youth Leaders who complete our workshop trainings will be paid to provide 35 Youth Leaders workshops to middle school and high school students during the FY 2023-2024 35 35 In June 2024, the Smart Choices program will work with incoming high school girls in a weeklong program at UC Santa Cruz. The girls will participate in a serios of workshops on educational and career planning, meeting high school graduation requirements, strategies for achieving health and wellness. 1 1
Annual Goal FY 23-24 Age     0-5 0% 0% 6-18 100% 100% 19-59 0% 0% 60+ 0% 0% Unknown 0% 0%	Annual Goal FY 23-24 Language     English 40% 35% Spanish 60% 65% Other 0% 0% Unknown 0% 0%
Ethnicity     African American 0% 0% Asian 0% 0% Latino 97% 98% Multi-racial 1% 2% Native American/Alaskan 0% 0% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0% 0% White 2% 0% Other 0% 0% Unknown 0% 0%	Gender     Female 100% 100% Male 0% 0% Transgender- Female 0% 0% Transgender- Male 0% 0% Other 0% 0% Unknown 0% 0% Nonbinary 0% 0%
Location     Capitola 0% 0% Santa Cruz 0% 0% Scotts Valley 0% 0% Watsonville 85% 90% Unincorporated Mid-County (e.g., Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos ) 10% 10% Unincorporated North County (e.g. , Davenport )  0% 0% Unincorporated San Lorenzo Valley (e.g., Ben Lomond ) 0% 0% Unincorporated South County (e.g., Freedom ) 5% 0% Unknown 0% 0% Out of County 0% 0%

Annual Goal FY 23-24   Annual Goal FY 23-24 How Well Did We Provide Service?     How many participiants did you survey? 60 63 80% of CORE program participants report being either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with program services as measured by a one-question participant survey that will be completed by June 30th of each FY. 80% 86%

Annual Goal FY 23-24   Annual Goal FY 23-24 Is Anyone Better Off?     80% of ECHO participants who are seniors in high school will apply to college. Participants  applying to college will be tracked via a post program follow up phone call completed by Girls Inc. staff.  80% 100% 95% of Youth Leaders will act as role models for younger girls and provide service to their communities, as measured by surveys and evaluations from participants who are impacted by Youth Leaders.  95% 100% 95% of Smart Choices program participants will improve their readiness for college, specifically participants will increase their knowledge of high school graduation requirements, applying to college and seeking financial aid as measured by pre-and post-s 95% 100%

Additional CORE Questions  (The maximum length is limited to 1200 characters in the below boxes)
1. Briefly describe any progress and/or successes your CORE program achieved implementing its activities during FY 2023-2024. (Recommended 2-4 sentences)	From July 1 , 2023, to June 30, 2024, we served 63 girls. The girls from Watsonville High School attended 11 1.5-hour workshops. They also visited 3 colleges Cal Poly, Santa Barbara, CSU Sacramento, and UC Davis as well as the State Capitol to advocate with their legislators on issues of concern to them. The Youth Leaders participated in 10 training workshops: Steps for Mandated Reporter, Mental Health First Aid, Public Speaking, Classroom Management, How to open a Saving and checking accounts, Fill out college application, What is teamwork. The Youth Leaders also participate in 3- 1.5-hour sessions, led by AIM Youth Mental Health and received certified as Teen Mental Health First Aiders. This training teaches teens how to identify, understand and respond to mental health and substance use challenges in their friends and peers. During the school year the Youth leaders facilitated 11 workshops to high school girls, 10 workshops to 8th grade girls, and 12 workshops to 7th grade girls. In June, we worked with incoming high school students in a week long overnight program at UC Santa Cruz. This field is required
2. (Optional, Success Stories) Please share a short story about the experience of a participant or family that received services funded through this contract during FY 2023-2024. Please state the specific activity that was provided and the impact or positive change that occurred as a result of the service(s) provided. *Please make sure to change any identifying information, such as names.*	“My name is Maria, I am a 16-year-old . I enjoyed visiting the beautiful and unique Universities. These trips inspired me! It is important to me and other young women to visit colleges because it shows us what is possible and the future awaiting us! This experience was eye-opening because I learned terrific facts on how to apply and get through the difficult times of college life. This trip showed me that this is what my hard work and grades can lead to after high school. I need to continue the hard work every day because one day, it will lead to getting admitted to the college of my dreams." "My name is Mia, As a participant, some of the things I learned were: how to prepare for an interview; the importance of college and managing your money. Visiting UC Davis and the state capitol was a big eye opener for me. Girls Inc. gave me the opportunity to see what is out there! Thanks to Girls Inc., I will be graduating from high school this year and will continue my education at a local community college."
3. Please describe any challenges your agency experienced in implementing its CORE funded program.	Recruiting staff members from Santa Cruz County has been a difficult task. Our objective is to have adult staff from the community working in their own area. We recently started working with an external agency to help us with the recruitment process, and they have been assisting us in identifying potential candidates from the region. Additionally, we have been facing issues with the recruitment of participants, since the onset of Covid-19. Therefore, we are working closely with school sites and making more recruitment presentations to engage them. We are also researching various outreach strategies to increase our participation rates. This field is required
4.Have you encountered challenges in collecting CORE program or participant data?	Yes No This field is required
5. If you answered yes, what challenges did you experience? (Recommended 2-4 sentences)
6. What technical assistance can HSD or the CORE Institute provide to support your data collection activities?	We didn't have any issues with data collection. We have always collected data of our activities from the participants for example pre and post survey and the girls evaluate each workshops at the end of the day. Your survey where part of our data collection for the program. This field is required
7. During FY 2023-2024, did your CORE program staff participate in a CORE Institute event (e.g., Coffee Chats or Conversations)?	Yes No This field is required
8. During FY 2023-2024, how did your CORE program engage its staff on issues of equity?	Youth Leaders, an integral part of our staff each year, are instrumental in determining the impact of these two programs on participants. They are trained in program content, facilitation, working with girls in groups and how to mentor and guide the girls. They make suggestions for improving the program’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of the participants. They are part of the Watsonville community, offering encouragement to the girls to pursue their dreams and demonstrating their confidence in achieving success, despite their economic circumstances. This year, our staff revised Smart Choices to LEAD-HER-SHIP to increase girls’ leadership skills and take charge of their futures. The program now includes greater focus on leadership: how their values and strengths contribute to their unique leadership styles, developing awareness of how social pressures can keep girls from setting bold goals and taking risks, and reframing failures as a chance for experiencing growth and learning. As a result, girls will not only understand the importance of a college education, but each girl’s role and responsibility in determining her future—undeterred by societal obstacles or past regrets. This field is required
9. In the CORE RFP, your program indicated an equity issue your program would address. How has your program impacted this equity issue in FY 2023-2024?	Workshops focused on overcoming social and economic barriers, i.e., lack of role models, lack of confidence in themselves, and limited knowledge of how to achieve their goals, ad strive to achieve economic self-sufficiency and academic success. Youth Leaders, Latinas and successful role models from their community, inspired girls to attend college, pursue a career, achieve health and wellness, and see themselves as leaders. Youth Leaders gained practical work experience, valued their experiences as role models, acquired valuable job skills, and gained confidence in their ability to achieve success both in college and a future career. All who were seniors will attend college in the fall at colleges that include Yale, U.C. Davis, UCLA, Santa Clara University, and UC Irvine. Girls in Smart Choices (now LEAD-HER-SHIP) learned how to prepare for both high school and college, understood that they could afford to attend college through scholarships and financial aid, learned how to stand up for themselves and felt comfortable identifying themselves as leaders. They developed goal setting, decision-making, and leadership skills, and learned how to make good choices for themselves. This field is required