FACT - State Initiatives Go Local


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The social services provided to students with disabilities who are experiencing or are at-risk of experiencing school failure is often fragmented, reactive, and insensitive to family needs. In addition, the services do not align with other school reform efforts. Through the implementation of this innovative state-wide program, Utah has found a way to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities as part of an overall initiative to reform schools. Utah’s Goals 2000 plan involves including students with disabilities in assessments (over 96 percent of the state’s students are involved in state-wide assessment), a comprehensive system of staff development, school-wide reform and redistributing resources to effectively link schools, families, and communities.

Families and Agencies Coming Together (FACT)

FACT is a collaborative initiative involving Utah’s Departments of Human Services and Health, the State Office of Education, and the Administrative Office of the Courts. Since it’s inception in 1989, FACT has sought to implement state legislation that links education, health, mental health, juvenile justice, and human services resources to support early intervention efforts for at-risk students and communities. The FACT program provides individualized, strength-based, family-centered, culturally sensitive, community-based, collaborative, coordinated, and efficient services that utilize a flexible pool of funds to implement individual service plans for children and their families. FACT interventions include tutoring, counseling, and medical services.

Who does FACT serve?

The FACT program incorporates a wide range of projects and services, including over 100 site-based programs which serve children prenatal to grade six, and 25 Local Interagency Councils (LICs), which serve youth with multiple, severe, and chronic illness. During 1997, over 19,000 ongoing services were delivered to over 1,517 families and 2,577 students in kindergarten to grade six. In addition, 34 percent of the services received were in the area of health for the K-6^th grade group and 30 percent for the prenatal to age 5 group. Services are delivered in many areas, including: education, behavioral/mental health, financial assistance, health and legal help. Almost all families in need received proper services; the primary reason for services not being delivered is parental refusal.

LICs exist in all of Utah’s 29 counties and help to serve children and families that have multiple, long-term, often multi-generational, mental health and economic problems that require long-term interventions. Twenty-four of the twenty-five LICs in existence helped to serve 737 children in the last fiscal year, with an average student age of 11.8 years old. LICs play a particularly important role for providing financial support for families. A review of the Individualized Service Plans (ISPs) showed that 77 percent of the children had goals related to emotional/behavioral needs, 64 percent addressed financial needs, and 64 percent addressed social skills development. The FACT program, particularly the K-6^th grade and prenatal to age 5 projects, serves an ethnically and economically diverse population, in some cases, even more diverse than their respective counties.

In the nine years since its inception, FACT has sought to improve the health, safety, education and economic well-being of children in Utah. Evaluation data suggest that FACT has made great strides in its goals to help children and their families; some of their accomplishments include:

Helped maintain or place young people in less restrictive settings;

Improved links between schools and families;

Improved student reading and math scores;

Prevented the development of more serious problems, i.e., out-of-home placements, more serious crimes; and

Alleviated the stress on families through increased access to services and resources.

Outcomes

FACT has had a great impact on the student population which it serves — students who are at risk or are experiencing school failure. In the kindergarten to grade six population, students participated in the project for an average of 1.5 years, during which time individual student progress was measured by attendance and end-of-year core reading and math skills. Data shows that of the tracked students, attendance was 90 percent, 64 percent of the reading material was mastered, and 70 percent of the math material was mastered.

Many families express great appreciation for the services that FACT provides them, such as, tangible resources, emotional support, education and training, health services, positive experiences and a positive attitude. Families gained a sense of empowerment and had positive changes in meeting individual child and family goals and service needs. The Wasatch Elementary School for example, employs the FACT program to increase family participation in planning and monitoring their children’s programs and to improve the academic and behavioral performance of students with emotional and behavioral problems. This has resulted in an increase in participation from less than 40 percent of families to over 90 percent. The FACT program continues to maintain a strong commitment to making a difference in the lives of the children and families of Utah.

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