An Introduction to Assets-Getting To Outcomes for Maine
This month’s Asset Champion will profile Assets-Getting To Outcomes for Maine, a federally funded study combining the Developmental Assets framework with the Getting To Outcomes model in several communities across the state. Getting To Outcomes, or “GTO,” is a 10-step process that enhances communities’ capacity to evaluate the planning, implementation, and short- and long-term outcomes of their programs. The community coalitions and programs will also use the Developmental Assets as a part of their positive youth programming. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this 5-year collaboration of the RAND Corporation, Search Institute, Vision Training Associates, Maine’s Communities for Children and Youth initiative, and the University of Southern Maine will deliver the combined Assets-GTO intervention to six community coalitions across the state, with six additional communities serving as a control group.
Technical Assistance in Maine: Mike Clifford & Margaret Jones
Mike Clifford and Margaret Jones call each other every morning. As the technical assistance providers for the Assets-Getting To Outcomes for Maine project, they need to be in close contact about the guidance they provide to the six communities chosen for the Assets-Getting To Outcomes (A-GTO) intervention. Clifford describes this morning ritual as an important part of the energy they are able to bring to the communities they serve. “When you provide technical assistance and you’re the lone person on-site, just knowing that there is backup and support is important because it improves the assistance we are able to offer to community groups.”
The Community Perspective: Portland, Maine
Sometimes, by taking a couple steps backward, it is possible to take a leap forward. This is what Boys to Men Program Coordinator Jeff Morrill discovered while working with the Assets-Getting To Outcomes (A-GTO) for Maine project. Boys to Men, a program with a mission to reduce interpersonal violence through the healthy development of boys, along with Ripple Effect, an outdoor experiential leadership training program, created A Boys Leadership Expedition, a powerful high school course that brings together the best parts of the two programs for a group of 15 students. The program ran in a local high school last year with moderate success, but, as Morrill reports, Boys to Men had trouble with the school doing their part, including getting student leaders in the program and providing basic support.
