DCYF and SFUSD initially launched a data sharing initiative to improve the quality of the enrollment data that DCYF grantees’ programs collected. At that time, manual data entry led to an inability to reliably track youth longitudinally, and presented matching difficulties when evaluation or accountability questions were posed about youth who were enrolled in multiple programs, or enrolled in SFUSD schools and DCYF programs.
Under the terms of the agreement, a set of demographic variables for SFUSD students are shared nightly with DCYF. DCYF may also request permission to use the data shared by SFUSD for evaluation purposes, and/or to request additional data not included in the transfers. The agreement has directly benefited youth and families in San Francisco by enabling DCYF staff to meet reporting requirements with relative ease and allowing DCYF and SFUSD staff access to timely and reliable information to gauge the effectiveness of DCYF-funded programs.
