Project STRIVE
Project STRIVE is a partnership between Youth Guidance, Chicago Public Schools, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that successfully helps at-risk youth, who are wards of the state, lead safe and productive lives as they transition to adulthood.
The program design is simple; nonetheless, its execution is far from commonplace. A trained social worker is sent into a school that has a significant number of wards of the state with the goal of engaging those student-wards' lives more fully in the educational process. The STRIVE worker accomplishes this through many means which include: counseling the student, attending staff meetings, initiating all types of conferences, helping the ward find meaningful employment, and generally advocating on the ward’s behalf in a multitude of ways.
Furthermore, the Project STRIVE worker serves a wide variety of functions, depending on the climate of the school and the specific needs of the wards and their families. In each case, however, the STRIVE worker connects to the ward’s case manager and develops relationships with the primary stakeholders of the school, including administrators, programmers, and teachers. For every child, the worker ensures the greatest chance for success by engaging the student, his/her family and caseworkers, and all necessary and appropriate school personnel and community members. This is a difficult but meaningful process.
STRIVE, however, is not just about individual empowerment and change. Project STRIVE also goes beyond the margins and incorporates whole-school and prevention activities that benefit the entire school community, keeping STRIVE integrated in the school.
The results of this holistic engagement are astounding, and include: student stabilization at home and school, truancy/suspension/expulsion reduction, improved academic performance, value given to education through increased involvement at school by foster/relative parents and workers. Through this dynamic and exhaustive care, today’s wards have brighter futures.
Total amount of time spent on each activity under STRIVE:
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