Each year, a portion of the NCLB Act (2001) Title IV funds distributed by the U.S. DOE to states for SDFSC provisions is directed to each state’s Office of the Chief Executive. As a part of this process, U.S. DOE requires that community-based organizations applying for drug and violence prevention program funding comply with the data collection and reporting requirements that state and local education agencies follow. Data are currently collected in two ways:
- CBO grant applications: When applying for funding, CBOs fill out an electronic application that includes data on:
- The population to be served
- The scope of services
- The type of programming offered
- The duration and intensity of services
- The location of the programs
- Self-Monitoring Tool: CBO grantees are also required to submit mid-year self-reported outcome data to track performance, program implementation, and evaluation efforts. This data helps the Governor’s Office of Drug Control ensure that CBO grantees are implementing the programming activities as outlined in the grant applications.
Prior to the involvement of SDFS-QDM staff in this process, CBO grant applications were submitted electronically in a non-standardized narrative format and the mid-year self-monitoring tool was distributed in a paper format. To improve the quality and analyzability of the data, SDFS-QDM staff has worked with the Governor’s Office of Drug Control and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to incorporate a standardized set of questions into the grant applications and the mid-year self-monitoring tool for the 2006-2007 funding cycle.