The YOS/COS Redesign Task Force is excited to share that we have completed the first drafts of the new YOS/COS surveys, and we are ready to share these documents with you!

A lot of work went into getting us to this monumental stage in the process.  Just eight weeks ago, the task force met in Tampa to learn about the steps BBBSA took to develop the current YOS and COS, to receive a crash course in survey design, and to lay out a plan for releasing a new survey to the network by July.  We have met twice a week via conference call since then to adapt the current surveys to meet our federation’s data collection needs.  Here are some of the changes the task force approved:

• We’ve shortened the introduction page on both the YOS/COS and restructured the content for improved readability
• We have removed several constructs (sets of questions), including Excused Absences, Goal Setting and Pursuit Skills, and Personal Conduct
• We have eliminated the question about carrying a gun and combined some of the other risky behavior questions
• We have reworded and reduced the Very Important Adult section
• We moved some of the sections around to keep questions with similar response sets (answers youth give to questions) together

To get a better sense of how different the new YOS/COS look, we will be releasing tracked changes versions of each survey that show exactly which questions were cut or modified.  We will also be releasing clean versions of the YOS and COS so you can envision what youth will be viewing when they take the surveys. Finally, we will be releasing a summary document the explains in detail exactly what changes were made to each survey.

Now, we need YOUR help!  After reviewing the proposed drafts, please take the time to complete a survey about these new versions of the YOS and COS.  This survey will be the last formal opportunity for the BBBS network to provide feedback on the new tools.  After we have incorporated the comments and suggestions from the surveys, we will proceed with creating final versions of both the YOS and COS.  If you have any concerns or thoughts about the direction we are taking, we ask that you please take advantage of the survey to let us know.

The draft versions of the YOS and COS and the feedback survey will be released on the project website on 30 March 2020. The survey will stay open for two weeks (it will close at end of day on 10 April 2020).

Thank you for the support you’ve shown our task force over the past two months.  We look forward to moving closer to a final design!