2017-558-E Finance - Voices Together - Outside Agency Performance Agreement

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 571863E8-F892-43F0-B73F-4AB062ACBOBF XHIBIT A PROVIDER'S OUTSIDE AGENCY APPLICATION • Duke University Bass Connections: Research partnership to measure the efficacy of the Voices Together program model. • Our partnership with the Orange County School District, Director of Exceptional Children, and classroom teachers are imperative to the success we have experienced throughout our eight years in the district. Program Description (3 pages OR LESS) Over the last 12 years, the prevalence of developmental disabilities (DDs) in U.S. children has increased 17.1%—that's about 1.8 million more children with DDs compared to a decade earlier. Orange County Schools identified approximately 1,036 students with DDs, or 13.7% of the student body. Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. This dramatic jump in the number of Exceptional Children's students increased the financial burden on our schools and families without the proportionate increases in federal special education appropriations or state education spending necessary. Students with disabilities often face additional challenges with regards to school readiness and long-term academic success. To begin with, it's difficult to overcome the adverse educational effects of some disabilities. Other potential causes include the association between disability and poverty, rigid testing policies and practices, misallocation of resources, lack of staff training or effectiveness, or failures in service delivery. Families of students with a disability face complex financial challenges. Insufficient financial resources and/or inadequate access to intervention services often prohibit these families from receiving specialized therapy services. The partnership between Voices Together and the Orange County Schools will help close the achievement gap and help children from these families succeed academically and into adulthood. Voices Together in Education is designed to advance education and student achievement by increasing the development of students' social-emotional skills and building a foundation to improve and expand communication and language capabilities. Social and emotional skills are defined as the ability to understand, manage, and express the social and emotional aspects of one's life in ways that enable the successful management of life tasks such as learning, forming relationships, solving everyday DO NOT SUBMIT THIS PAGE 1/26/2017 11:10:15 AMII'age 18 •0 31