The All in For Youth Initiative: Year 6 Evaluation

EvalByte
The All in For Youth Initiative: Year 6
Evaluation
Written by Jessica Haight (ECN Research Assistant)
What is the context of the project?
One in ten people live in poverty in Edmonton (EPE & ESPC, 2019).
The experience of living without basic needs being met, such as
food, housing, and clothing, makes it difficult for children to go to
school and learn. All in For Youth (AIFY) is an initiative that
recognizes this issue and removes barriers to success in the lives
of children and families by providing school-based, wraparound
supports to address unmet needs. These supports include:
Nutrition support
Child and youth mental health therapy
Child mentoring
Child success coaching
Out-of-school time programming
In-home family support services
AIFY started as a pilot program in five of the most socially complex
and vulnerable schools in Edmonton. After five successful years of
positive impact, AIFY was implemented in three additional schools
in its 6th year, the 2021-22 school year. Since its establishment,
AIFY has partnered with the Community-University Partnership for
the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP) and the ECN to
design and implement a community-based evaluation of the
initiative.
Key points
AIFY PROVIDES SUPPORTS TO
MEET THE DAILY NEEDS OF
VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES
THE YEAR 6 EVALUATION
FOCUSED ON THE MENTAL
HEALTH OF SCHOOL
COMMUNITIES AND IMPACTS
OF AIFY MORE BROADLY
AIFY ENABLED SCHOOLS TO
MEET STUDENT AND FAMILIES’
NEEDS MORE EFFECTIVELY BY
CREATING A SUPPORT HUB
FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE
POSITIVE IMPACT AND CAN BE
USED TO ADVOCATE FOR
SCALE-UP OF AIFY
April 2023

Who are AIFY partners?
In 2016, community agencies and school divisions
in Edmonton acknowledged they could have a
greater impact on the lives of children and families
if they came together in partnership. As a result,
ten local partners collaboratively developed AIFY:
the Family Centre, Boys and Girls Club Big Brothers
Big Sisters, e4c, United Way of the Alberta Capital
Region, Edmonton Community Foundation, REACH
Edmonton, Family and Community Support
Services Program (City of Edmonton), Edmonton
Public Schools, Edmonton Catholic School Division,
and the Mental Health Foundation.
What is the project
working on?
Each year, AIFY completes an evaluation on how
the initiative is supporting school communities. We
recently completed the evaluation for year 6 of the
initiative (the 2021-22 school year). Due to effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic, this evaluation was
focused on the mental health of school
communities, as well as the impacts of the AIFY
initiative more broadly.
We completed interviews and focus groups with 52
students, 30 parents and caregivers, and 78 AIFY
agency staff, school staff, and school
administrators from all eight participating schools.
In these sessions, stakeholders shared their
perspectives and experiences with AIFY supports
and services. We also collected secondary data
from the agency partners and school divisions.
Findings are compiled in the AIFY Year 6 Evaluation
Report that was recently released. We learned
that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in
more and different needs among students and
families. Many families struggled with greater
economic insecurity – unable to meet their food,
housing, and clothing needs – as well as mental
health and family challenges. Access to AIFY
staff and supports meant that schools were able
to meet student and families’ complex needs
more efficiently and effectively by creating a
support hub for families in each of the AIFY
schools. The process of leveraging shared
resources allows schools and agencies to
produce better outcomes in the lives of children
and families.
Why is the project
meaningful?
AIFY partners continue to work hard to sustain
and scale up the AIFY initiative. The program
evaluation of AIFY enables us to demonstrate its
positive impacts on the well-being and security
of children and families. These findings can be
mobilized to potential partners, funders, and the
government to advocate for increased funding to
support the expansion of AIFY into other
vulnerable school communities over the coming
years.
Resources
AIFY Year 6 Evaluation Report
More information on AIFY
Reference
End Poverty Edmonton & Edmonton Social Planning Council (2019). A profile of poverty in Edmonton. https://www.endpovertyedmonton.ca
/pdfs/ProfilePoverty2019_1Page_Tabloid.pdf
Acknowledgment
Thank you to the AIFY partners for their support and contributions in developing the report.
April 2023

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