Evaluating a School-based Social and Material Needs Identification System to Prevent Youth Violence Involvement

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the effects of Pathways to Potential (P2P) on youth violence involvement in Michigan public K-12 students. The main goals of this study are: This project will link longitudinal P2P participation data to state administrative records and school disciplinary data to evaluate associations between school P2P participation and youth outcomes-specifically chronic absenteeism, peer aggression expulsions, and child maltreatment rates within a school (Aim 1). Given the focus of P2P is to improve the social and structural conditions within a school that contribute to student chronic absenteeism, the team will assess if chronic absenteeism rates mediate the relationships between school P2P participation and youth violence involvement (Aim 2). Finally, a survey of success coaches will inform the examination of school and implementation factors that moderate associations between P2P participation and youth violence involvement (Aim 3). Schools participating in P2P receive Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) caseworkers, called success coaches, in local elementary, middle, and high schools. After identifying a social or material need that is a barrier to school attendance (e.g., transportation barriers, caregiver unemployment), success coaches connect students and families to community resources and public assistance.

Official Title
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Evaluating a School-based Social and Material Needs Identification System to Prevent Youth Violence Involvement

Conditions
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Violence, Physical, Maltreatment, Child

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Pathways to Potential


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Administrative Data Inclusion Criteria: State of Michigan K-12 public school In person instruction Open to all students in District/area Administrative Data Exclusion Criteria: Private schools Virtual learning Needs-specific schools Survey Inclusion Criteria: 18 years of age and older Working as a Success Coach inside a Michigan K-12 public school during the data collection period Survey Exclusion Criteria: Former Success Coaches Success Coaches not working inside a Michigan K-12 public school during the data collection period

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Implementing Schools<br>Implementing schools are public K-12 schools in the State of Michigan that participated in the Pathways to Potential program in a given year (from 2012 to 2024). | Other: Pathways to Potential<br>* Pathways to Potential stations MDHHS caseworkers, called success coaches, in local elementary, middle, and high schools. After identifying a social or material need that is a barrier to school attendance (e.g., transportation barriers, caregiver unemployment), success coaches connect students and families to community resources and public assistance.<br>|
| Non-implementing schools<br>Non-implementing schools are public K-12 schools in the State of Michigan that DID NOT participate in the Pathways to Potential program in a given year (from 2012 to 2024). | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Peer aggression expulsions | The state of Michigan requires all public schools to report expulsions for all students to the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), including the incident type(s) which led to the expulsion. Expulsions are instances in which the local educational agency removes a student from their regular school for disciplinary purposes for the remainder of the school year or longer. The investigators will consider expulsions for peer aggression as expulsions which included any of the following: 1) firearm possession-handgun; 2) firearm possession-rifle/shotgun; 3) firearm possession-other firearm; 4) other weapon possession; 5) bomb or similar threat; 6) arson; 7) physical violence with injury, or; 8) physical violence without injury. For each school, the study team will calculate the total number of peer aggression expulsions per school year. | Peer aggression expulsions will be measured for every academic school year from 2001 to 2022, possibly to 2024 depending on data availability | 
| Child maltreatment | The Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (MiSACWIS) includes dates of investigations into child maltreatment, names of alleged victims, and date of birth of alleged victims for all child maltreatment investigations in the state of Michigan. Investigators will link the MiSACWIS data to individual student data from MDE that includes information on student name, date of birth, schools of enrollment, and dates of school enrollment enrolled schools. The study team will use this linked dataset to calculate the number of child maltreatment investigations per school per school year. | Peer aggression expulsions will be measured for every academic school year from 2001 to 2022, possibly to 2024 depending on data availability | 
| Chronic absenteeism | A student is considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of school days in which they are enrolled at the school. For each school, the investigators will calculate the total number of students that were chronically absent via the data provided by MDE. | Chronic absenteeism will measured for every academic school year from 2004 to 2022, possibly to 2024 depending on data availability | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Firearm-involved expulsions | In the state of Michigan, firearm possession on school grounds by a student requires the student to be expelled from the school. Expulsions for firearm possession on school grounds can be recorded as one or more of the following incident types: 1) firearm possession-handgun; 2) firearm possession-rifle/shotgun; 3) firearm possession-other firearm. The study team will consider any expulsions that included one of these types as a reason for expulsion as a firearm-involved expulsion. For each school, the study team will calculate the total number of firearm-involved expulsions per school year. | Firearm-involved expulsions will be measured for every academic school year from 2001 to 2022, possibly to 2024 depending on data availability | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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material needs, social needs, intervention, school-based, school violence