Stay up-to-date with the ISC April 2015 newsletter
ISC out and about
ISC staff members Ashley Clark, Eric Caratao, and Alyssa Brown joined approximately 250 volunteers for a training session before Charlotte’s Annual Point in Time Count, an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a given night.
New data deposits
ISC continues to grow its data deposits and sign new data sharing agreements with community partners. Over the next few months these data will be deposited into the ISC Database and added to the ISC Codebook.
| DSA Signed | Homelessness Management Information Systems (current data) | 2012 – current |
| The Relatives | TBD | |
| Meck. Partnership for Children (SmartStart) | 2009 – 2014 | |
| Data Deposited | A Child’s Place | 2012 – 2014 |
| Communities in Schools | 2001 – 2014 | |
| Charlotte Family Housing | 2011 – 2014 | |
| Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools | 2006 – 2014 | |
| Crisis Assistance Ministry | 2014 | |
| Homeless Management Information Systems (historical) | 2004 – 2012 | |
| Meck. County Department of Social Services | YFS: 2000-2013
Public assistance: active as of 12/31/2013 Adult protective services, guardian, and Transportation: active cases as of 9/29/2013. SCNP: active cases as of 1/15/2014 |
|
| Meck. County Sheriff’s Office
Meck. County Sheriff’s Office (eviction data) |
2003-2013
2009-2014 |
|
| Charlotte Housing Authority | Current as of 2/2015 | |
| Cabarrus County Schools | 2007-2014 | |
| Kannapolis City Schools | 2007-2014/td> | |
| Meck. County Support Services, Veterans | 2007 – 2014 |
ISC data dictionary
The ISC Database Information Portal is undergoing a remodeling. The new website will be a secure site where properly credentialed researchers can search an online version of our database codebook and learn more about how to access data from the ISC Community Database. If you are interested in finding out more about what is currently in the database, please contact Ashley.Clark@charlotte.edu.
Highlighted project using ISC community database
Title: Children’s Scholarship Fund – Charlotte
Research Team: Diane Gavarkavich, Data and Research Specialist, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute; Lauren Zachary, Research Assistant, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute; Alyssa Brown, Graduate Assistant, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute; David Hill, Database Administrator, Institute for Social Capital, Inc.
Project description: The research team utilized public school data from the ISC Community Database and surveys of students who were not in the database to discover academic outcomes of children who received scholarships to attend private school, then attended public CMS high schools. Data analysis revealed that children who received a CSF-C scholarship averaged less absences and suspensions than their peers in CMS. Survey results indicated that 92.9% of children who had received a scholarship graduated from high school.
IDS research spotlight
Washington State utilized their integrated database to identify key predictive factors of homelessness in youth aging out of foster care. The study incorporated de-identified child welfare data, education data, homeless service system data, and health and behavioral health system data to analyze risk factors that lead to homelessness after a child ages out of the foster care system. Click here to read the full report.
In a separate study, researchers used administrative data from the Washington State integrated database to describe the characteristics and needs of homeless students. The report analyzes homeless students across a variety of demographics such as housing status, race, urban or rural residence, welfare status, etc. to better understand the types of services needed. Click here to read the full report.
Data and Agencies in the news
- UNC Charlotte was awarded a $2.1 million grant to further research efforts in data science and business analytics: Director of the University’s Complex System Institute, Mirsad Hadzikadic, will be the lead investigator for the project “North Carolina Data Science and Analytics Institute.” He will coordinate with investigators from NC State and UNC Chapel Hill to develop research hubs that will help UNC Charlotte and North Carolina to establish a state-of-the-art infrastructure for applied research in data science. Read more
- How Local Governments Are Making Data-Driven Decisions: This article summarizes how cities across America including Rochester, NH, Palm Springs, CA, Fort Worth, TX, and Philadelphia, PA are utilizing data and analytics to improve decision making processes. Read more
- Improving Results: Setting Goals and Tracking Performance: The Federal Government is incorporating administrative data and analysis in the budget to better evaluate the effectiveness of Federal programs and policies. Read more
- Getting Proactive in the Quest to Protect Student Data: Kathleen Styles details ways to use administrative data as an essential tool for researchers and legislators to develop better education policy while maintaining student confidentiality. Read more
- District of Columbia School Uses Data to Boost ELL Achievement: Through the use of data, the Petworth neighborhood campus of Center City Public Charter Schools found ways to improve instruction based on individual needs and produced high achievement gains. Read more
- Five Reasons Veteran Homelessness in Virginia Dropped 75% in 100 days: Several housing and development agencies in Virginia worked together to reallocate services and resources, such as voucher and subsidy programs, available in each community to address veteran homelessness. Read more
- Mecklenburg DSS Director Peggy Eagan stabilizes once-troubled agency: New director of Mecklenburg County’s Department of Social Services has revived the department through restructuring, boosting employee morale, and building relationships with other organizations in the community, such as schools and churches. Read more
Grants opportunities
ISC has compiled a list of grant opportunities that could be used to conduct research using the ISC community database.
| Grantor/Granting Agency | Type of Grant (RFP, Application Letter, LOI, etc.) | Due Date | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Justice | Application | April, 20 2015 | Criminal justice research and evaluation with partnership component |
| National Institute of Justice | Application | April, 8 2015 | Research and evaluation on children exposed to violence |
| US Dept of Education | LOI Application | June 4, 2015 August 7, 2015 |
Education policy research |
| William T. Grant Foundation | LOI | May 5, 2015 | Evaluation of programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality |
Community feedback
ISC wants to hear from you! What research do you think our community needs more of? What data would you like to see integrated into ISC?
Click here to provide your feedback
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Alyssa Brown wrote this article while interning at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute in 2014-2015.
Alyssa Brown