User:Gledezma/sandbox

Challenges
Because federal grants only provide funding for 3 to 5 years, Promise Neighborhoods face sustainability issues. Grant awardees must consider where supplemental funding will come from and may have to partner with other agencies to maximize funds.

The “cradle-to-career” approach also poses challenges to Promise Neighborhoods because it creates a large age range to be served: prenatal to college-age. Additionally, because Promise neighborhood programs are serving specific neighborhoods, it may be difficult to determine the effectiveness of services, since clients are not restricted to receiving services in that neighborhood. Another challenge in measuring the results of programs is the mobility of families, which may be moving in and out of the neighborhood.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that many Promise Neighborhood grant awardees faced challenges with data access and collection, since FERPA requires written consent to access student information.

Collaboration and Partnerships
The Promise Neighborhood award system encourages collaboration between agencies with similar goals, in order to leverage resources in the target area.

Institutions of higher education hold a significant role in the Promise Neighborhoods with regards to program and service implementation, partnership-maintenance, capacity-building, and mission-related contributions. In many Promise Neighborhood grant applications, higher education institutions were set to contribute to workforce capacity training, research, youth programs, and administration. However, the information regarding the role of higher education institutions was identified from grant applications, and may not reflect actual practices in the Promise Neighborhoods.

Criticisms
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that the Department of Education failed to set clear expectations for Promise Neighborhood Planning and Implementation Grants. The GAO also determined that the Department of Education did not link award grantees with federal programs and organizations that share Promise Neighborhood goals. Additionally, the Department of Education asks Promise Neighborhood grant awardees to collect data, but has no method to assess its validity. This makes it difficult to determine the effectiveness of Promise Neighborhood programs.

There is also criticism regarding the holistic approach of Promise Neighborhoods. More funds are required in a neighborhood approach, which includes different types of community services, as opposed to a schools-only approach. Some argue that a schools-only approach is just as effective in improving academic outcomes, while requiring less money. Harvard researchers Dobbie and Fryer assert that there is “no relationship between community services and academic outcomes…” The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings had similar conclusions, stating “there is no compelling evidence that investments in parenting classes, health services, nutritional programs, and community improvement in general have appreciable effects on student achievement…”