Need to Track YSA - Out of Unit

[dotson98]

Hello:

I have a calling where I need to track Young Single Adults in our Stake. This includes:

1) YSAs living at home, going to their ward.
2) YSAs living at home, going to a YSA / College Ward
3) YSAs living abroad, but family is still in the Stake

I can get information for YSAs who still live within our Stake, but the other two are extremely tedious. The only way I can find them is to go to each household record and look at the children. If the household has a child that is a YSA, then we will need to track them. As you can imagine, this assignment is extremely hairy.

So, the data is in MLS. I just can't figure out how to get it out. It doesn't pull in any custom reports, and it doesn't export in any data exports (that I know of).

Anyone have any ideas?

[russellhltn]

It's trivial to print the records of YSA whose records are in the stake. I think you've probably figured that out.

However, I don't know of any easy way to do what you want to do. I'm not even sure you can get a report of parents who have YSA-aged children (the information coming from the parent's record, not from the YSA own membership record.) Certainly you wouldn't be able to know if that child is married or not. So, in that respect I don't think the information IS in MLS.

But there is one other thing - I can understand having responsibility for YSA living in the stake boundaries, regardless of what ward/stake their records are in. But I'd question the need to know about YSA living outside of the boundaries. That's just not the way I understand Church organization. I would recommend checking the Church Handbook of Instructions for guidance on that issue.

I can understand the desire to promptly know when they return, for example for the summer. (I'm not sure if it's changed, but moving records used to be on a 3-month rule. If a members wasn't going to be absent from their ward for more then 3 month, the record normally wouldn't be moved.) I'd be tempted to ask that notification that the YSA is returning/has returned home be put on the home teachers. They're supposed to know what's going on with their families.

Just my own 2¢ on the subject.

[lajackson]

... moving records used to be on a 3-month rule. If a members wasn't going to be absent from their ward for more then 3 month, the record normally wouldn't be moved.)

The 3-month rule is still there, but as a matter of practicality, the records of Young Single Adults in student wards and branches are sent home during the summer (if the student returns home) because the student will usually live in a different student ward/branch the following school year.

1) YSAs living at home, going to their ward.
2) YSAs living at home, going to a YSA / College Ward
3) YSAs living abroad, but family is still in the Stake

As for category 2 and 3, MLS will not be much help. You almost have to go directly to the family concerned.

Before the YSA leaves home, there is the infamous Institute Potential report in MLS. If you can get the bishopric or other ward leaders to give you a good copy of that, you will capture where many of the YSA have gone to school or other activities. But, again, it will take information from the family to keep it up, I am afraid.

And once the record is gone, the YSA will not show up on the Potential report.

[russellhltn]

but as a matter of practicality, the records of Young Single Adults in student wards and branches are sent home during the summer (if the student returns home) because the student will usually live in a different student ward/branch the following school year.

Depends on the size of the school. I learned clerking in at a non-BYU school ward. If they came back to the same school, they were going to be in the same ward. Any of the BYU wards is a different story.

[lajackson]

Good point. That would apply only to the larger schools.

And I suppose a clerk like you probably asked the students where they were going and if they planned to return, then handled the records appropriately according to their response. [grin]

[russellhltn]

And I suppose a clerk like you probably asked the students where they were going and if they planned to return, then handled the records appropriately according to their response. [grin]

Well, the good-looking ones anyway. Being a clerk had it's perks. It gave this introvert an opportunity to talk to everyone.

The rest I got the info from the Ward Council (hey, I can't talk to everyone)

[1historian-p40]

I agree with Russell there wouldn't be a stewardship so there would be no report. However on Sunday we received a letter from the institute at a college in a different city saying that 2 of our youth were attending that collage and to extend to them an invitation to attend the institute. So apparently the institute system can track these YSA.

[aebrown]

But there is one other thing - I can understand having responsibility for YSA living in the stake boundaries, regardless of what ward/stake their records are in. But I'd question the need to know about YSA living outside of the boundaries. That's just not the way I understand Church organization. I would recommend checking the Church Handbook of Instructions for guidance on that issue.

Our stake president has asked the bishops to be aware of the YSAs from families in our stake, even if the YSA records are not currently in the stake. The reason is that we have had many cases where YSA records get moved out to who knows where and then they just slip under the radar. Often these young people move frequently and there is none of these transient wards have much ability or desire to track them, but their parents care deeply.

So the bishops (with a lot of help from executive secretaries and clerks) research where those YSA records have gone to. If the YSAs are attending a student ward, or some other singles ward, that is easily noted and there is no issue. But we do come across situations where the YSAs are no longer living in the ward where their records are, and we help the families track down the appropriate priesthood leaders for their new locations.

The YSA age group represents a huge chunk of the members who have been lost -- the Church no longer has a valid address, so they receive no care and fellowship. You won't find anything in the CHI that opposes helping find lost sheep, regardless of where their records reside.

[russellhltn]

The YSA age group represents a huge chunk of the members who have been lost -- the Church no longer has a valid address, so they receive no care and fellowship. You won't find anything in the CHI that opposes helping find lost sheep, regardless of where their records reside.

True enough, but how do we do this? All the ward/stake has is the ward the records move out to (assuming the clerk printed the move-outs and kept them). The first move-out shouldn't be a problem. It moved either because they showed up in another ward and requested their records, or it was moved out by the parent's ward based in the best information at that time.

Where the problem arises is when the YSA moves a second time. So to do follow-up, we've got two problems - are they still single and where are the records now? We can ask the parents for where they think their kids are - but unless we can catch a bored CHQ employee, I don't know as we're going to be able to find out if the current location of the records match the parent's knowledge.

What tools am I missing?

If any of the wards involved have sent the record to Address Unknown, doesn't the church contact the parents? It would seem to me that we have a working system for that situation.

[aebrown]

True enough, but how do we do this? All the ward/stake has is the ward the records move out to (assuming the clerk printed the move-outs and kept them). The first move-out shouldn't be a problem. It moved either because they showed up in another ward and requested their records, or it was moved out by the parent's ward based in the best information at that time.

Where the problem arises is when the YSA moves a second time. So to do follow-up, we've got two problems - are they still single and where are the records now? We can ask the parents for where they think their kids are - but unless we can catch a bored CHQ employee, I don't know as we're going to be able to find out if the current location of the records match the parent's knowledge.

There is no goal to match the current location of the records to the parents' knowledge -- merely to keep contact with the YSA.

What tools am I missing?

You're not missing any tools -- there aren't any, except the list of children on the parents' membership record.

The process I described often involves communication with the parents. Sometimes the bishop communicates directly with the YSA, if they have left contact information (cell phone, e-mail) behind when they left.

If any of the wards involved have sent the record to Address Unknown, doesn't the church contact the parents? It would seem to me that we have a working system for that situation.

I don't know about that system. I have never seen any documentation about it. Your surmise seems reasonable, but I have no evidence to confirm or deny that we have a working system in that case.