– William Bruce Cameron
Project News
The Redesigned YOS and COS are Live!
The new YOS and COS are live! Here are the resources you need to make the transition to the new surveys smooth and easy.
YOS and COS Optional Question Sets
One of the best features of the redesigned YOS and COS is that BBBS agencies now have the power to turn on or off a number of optional question sets. This level of customization has never been available on previous versions of the YOS and COS, and will allow agencies a wide amount of latitude to determine exactly what information they want to collect from Littles.
YOS and COS Go-Live Preview
The redesigned YOS and COS go live on August 31, 2020. But to be honest, not much is really going to feel different on go-live day. The effects of the go-live of the new YOS and COS will be slowly felt over a couple of months. Moreover, the customization that is built into the new surveys will allow agencies to control how much their surveys actually change.
The Importance of the YOS and COS for Federal Funding
BBBSA currently has grants valued at $20.5 million from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 90% of these funds are passed from BBBSA to BBBS agencies. The data collected by the YOS and COS is instrumental in securing government grants like these. In the following video, Julie Redcay, BBBSA Director of Federal Grants, explains the role the YOS and COS play in securing federal funds.
The New YOS and COS are Here!
A Promise Made, A Promise Kept
The current versions of the YOS and COS are well designed to reliably measure the validated metrics required to support the surveys’ multiple uses. However, the surveys have proved to be lengthy and difficult to administer.
The objective of the YOS and COS Redesign Project is to modify the current versions of the YOS and COS surveys to meet the needs of all BBBS stakeholders – especially those who administer the surveys. The desired outcome of this project is a set of surveys that balance the need for reliable, valid, and multi-use data and information with more practical, easier survey administration.
Valid and Reliable
Easy to Administer
Multi-Use
Project Leadership
Mandy Bisceglia
About Mandy
Mandy currently serves as BBBSA’s Chief Agency Officer (CAO). Prior to her role as CAO, Mandy was the BBBSA Director of Affiliate Support. In her 15 years of service to BBBS, Mandy has held numerous affiliate program related positions, first at BBBS of the Capital Region and later at BBBS of Tampa Bay.
Kevin Turgeon
About Kevin
Kevin works for BBBSA’s project and change management partner organization, True Owl. Kevin has close to 20 years experience leading change initiatives across a wide spectrum of industries, including nonprofit, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. Most recently, Kevin led the project and change management effort associated with the Matchforce implementation project.
Affiliate Task Force
Small Agency Alliance
Jessica Dirks
Program Director
BBBS of Greater Fredericksburg
Chad Krockover
CEO/ED
BBBS of Greater Lafayette
Hung Nguyen
CEO/ED
BBBS of Manitowoc County, Inc.
Small-Mid Agency Alliance
Suzanne Leavitt
Program Supervisor
BBBS of Snohomish County
Roxanne Akstulewicz
School-Based Coordinator
BBBS of Sheboygan County
Tiana Ochoa
Director of Mentoring Programs
BBBS of Rhode Island, Inc.
Mid-Large Agency Alliance
Melissa Goerbig
Vice President of Programs
BBBS of New Hampshire
Ann Matvick
Program Director
BBBS of Central Minnesota
Camille Brugh
Sr. Director of Mentoring
BBBS of Central Indiana
Large Agency Alliance
Nancy Basinger
President and CEO
BBBS of Utah
Muna Walker
Director of Community Programs
BBBS of Metropolitan Chicago
Dan Campbell
Vice President of Quality Assurance
BBBS of the Sun Coast
External Research Team
Liliokanaio Peaslee, Ph.D.
James Madison University
Amanda Teye, Ph.D.
James Madison University
David DuBois, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Carla Herrera, Ph.D.
Independent Consultant
Project Timeline
Preparation and Project Kickoff
Preparation for the YOS and COS Redesign Project began in late September 2019. In November 2019, True Owl gathered information from over 1,300 BBBS agency staff members on sentiments regarding the current YOS and COS surveys. The survey redesign project officially kicked off in early December 2019.
Agency Task Force Creation
In mid-December 2019, the co-chairs of the BBBS affinity groups nominated representatives for a task force that would help craft the new versions of the YOS and COS and speak on behalf of their colleagues throughout this process. This task force should be in place by early January 2020. The members of this group will be instrumental in crafting the new versions of the YOS and COS.
Soliciting Network Input
True Owl will release a survey to the entire BBBS network in January 2020 to gather input on exactly what revisions should be made to the current YOS and COS. All BBBS staff are encouraged to provide feedback.
Writing First Drafts
The redesign project team will create first drafts of the new YOS and COS in February and March of 2020. Once complete, these draft surveys will be released for comment to the entire BBBS network.
Revising and Finalizing
The project team will spend April and May of 2020 revising and finalizing the new versions of the YOS and COS. The final versions of the surveys will be unveiled to the BBBS network at the 2020 National Conference in June.
Training and Matchforce Preparation
After the National Conference, BBBSA and True Owl will build the revised surveys in Matchforce and develop training materials to help staff learn to use the the new tools
Training and Go-Live
In the fall of 2020, BBBSA and its partner organizations will train agency staff on how to administer the new surveys and interpret the resulting data. Once staff have completed this training, the surveys will go-live and the network will begin using them with matches.