Data tracking is important for knowing where young people are and for short- and long-term program evaluation. PASA has made a high-quality participant-tracking tool, YouthServices.net, available to providers that are offering programming in the AfterZone.
This tool, developed by Cityspan Technologies, works as a citywide data-sharing system that allows individual providers to manage their programs on a day-to-day basis and PASA to manage the AfterZone system.
At the site level, the tracking tool is used for day-to-day management, including:
- Tracking enrollment, participation, retention and day-to-day attendance in real-time
- Supporting the AfterZone transportation system.
At the system level, the tracking tool provides incisive data about student attendance, program popularity and student participation. This data can be culled to help make adjustments to overall program quality. The tracking tool also allows PASA and its partners to see student trends that are helpful in making decisions about programming. Finally, the data stored in Youthservices.net is useful in PASA’s evaluation of the AfterZones and the Hub. Student participation data can be confidentially linked to school department data to understand the impact AfterZone participation on student outcomes.