FY24 has been a wonderful year for Worcester Connects. Enrollment increased by 68%, going from 28 students in FY23 to 41 students in FY24. Our two most significant accomplishments were successfully implementing the group mentoring model and collaborating with the school system. The group model allowed students who were waiting for an individual mentor to benefit from the program. Groups included available mentors, staff, mentees, and parents of mentees. They were offered one or two times per month depending on staff availability and cost. Our group events increased in popularity and attendance over the year. We had a variety of groups that offered enrichment activities designed to connect students, enhance self-esteem, teach problem solving, and teach life skills. Groups included in-house activities (movie night, game night, pie baking, cookie decorating, Bingo night, and cookie decorating), offsite trips (Frontier Town, Jolly Rogers water park, Assateague walk in the woods, bowling, and the Humane Society), and skills classes (sewing, tire changing, CPR, and banking). In addition, we were able to successfully collaborate with the school system and receive referrals and ongoing support for students. Schools in close proximity to our office in Berlin regularly referred students and maintained contact about their progress. However, our reach expanded to Pocomoke High School who asked us to partner with them as well. With that, we provided group mentoring during the last semester of their after-school academy and this summer we are offering group mentoring during 4 weeks of summer academy with incoming Freshmen. We are excited to continue this wonderful collaboration. 

FY24 Annual Challenges: This past year, one of the biggest challenges we faced was recruiting volunteer mentors. We advertised on social media, newspapers, and tv; participated in community outreach events; and did presentations for various civic organizations. Despite the effort, we only recruited about one mentor a quarter. This is what reinforced the need for group mentoring so that all students could be mentored in some way. Another ongoing difficulty that we encountered was collecting the BERS assessment tool from students and parents. This has been a challenge for a couple of years, and this past year families continued to have a very hard time completing it and returning it to our agency. We tried many things to make it easier, such as making an online form, bringing the assessments to events, and calling each family to complete it over the phone. These efforts were still unsuccessful. With the help of our Executive Director, a new survey was created asking about evidence-based factors that contribute to resilience (see attachment). Resilience may be understood as the capacity of a child to deal effectively with stress and pressure, to cope with everyday challenges, to rebound from disappointments, mistakes, trauma, and adversity, to develop clear and realistic goals, to solve problems, to interact comfortably with others, and to treat oneself and others with respect and dignity. This was selected because the research shows that the single most common factor for children who develop resilience is at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult. This is the heart of what Worcester Connects does and appeared to be an equally suitable way to assess outcomes. With that, in less than a month we have gotten 6 survey forms returned to us versus 0 BERS forms within the same timeframe.

Like many programs, Worcester Connects was impacted by the Mid-March COVID-19 State of Emergency shut-down. The Worcester Connects program vendor, Worcester Youth and Family, was unable to meet face to face with mentees and mentors; and mentors were unable to meet face to face with mentees. Virtual outreach, meetings and trainings were still conducted, but the inability to meet face to face with youth hindered their enrollment.

Worcester Connects is a new program for FY2020. During the NOFA planning process for programs in FY20, the Board of Directors voted to put all programs funded by the LMB out for bid through the RFP process. Worcester County LMB is a branch with in the Worcester County Government, and therefore, must abide by the policies and procedures related to procurement. Once funds were approved and allocated for FY20, the LMB released the RFP for the Worcester Connects program on July 2, 2019. Interested program vendors were asked to submit their proposal to Worcester County Administration on August 12, 2019. Third party evaluators reviewed each proposal on August 19, 2019. On September 3, 2019, with the support of the Board of Directors, the LMB Staff presented who the chosen vendors were to the Worcester County Commissioners. Selected program vendors were notified on September 6, 2019, and were expected to be ready to implement the program on October 11, 2019.

Worcester Youth and Family was the chosen vendor to provide the Worcester Connects program in Worcester County. They began to develop their program once notified in September. The Worcester Connects program is a mentoring program based on the Check and Connect program model. The program serves youth in grades 6-12, who are at high risk for truancy and bullying. Worcester Connects provides a comprehensive screening, including utilizing the BERs Scale to track improvement in school functioning and intrapersonal strength.

Worcester Connects also utilizes volunteer mentors to provide mentoring services to the mentees. The volunteers undergo background checks and trainings in order to ensure that they are a good fit for mentees.

Worcester Youth and Family, and the Worcester Connects program developed a robust and specifically targeted outreach plan for not only youth but volunteers as well. 

A flyer, brochure and facts sheet was developed for Worcester Connects and was used in promotional and recruitment events throughout Worcester County. There were 15 outreach meetings/events held in various locations, including the schools, faith based organizations, recreational halls and state agencies.

Additionally, Worcester Youth and Family also promoted the Worcester Connects program through their monthly newsletter, which is sent to the area Chambers of Commerce, businesses, patrons, and partners.

In FY2021, the Worcester County LMB will work closely with program providers to develop continuity of service plan. This plan will be impactful and crucial for those vendors that are unable to meet face to face with children, youth and families. It is evident within the performance measures and program narratives that COVID-19 and teleworking has had an large impact on the way that services were delivered. This continuity plan will be required by all vendors.

Worcester Youth and Family will continue to provide outreach throughout the county. They will also look into promotion of the program in more non- traditional ways, including social media, radio and TV. 

Additionally, the LMB will continue to link partners and agencies to Worcester Connects through resource development, meetings, and event tabling. 

In January, Worcester Youth and Family will host and record a “Training Night” for interested mentors. This will be able to be utilized through their website and YouTube to educate the public about the program.

This program will provide youth, grades 6-12, with a supportive and positive mentor/role model. The mentor service is designed to be a hybrid of 1:1 mentoring services as well as group mentoring to allow mentees to engender a sense of membership with their peers. This program will be based upon the Check and Connect mentoring program which promotes increased self-esteem, confidence and improve overall health and wellness.

Youth between the grades of 6-12 that are truant, at risk for truancy, those that are in low poverty income areas (Pocomoke, Berlin, Snow Hill) and youth who are being bullied/harassed.