Your individual assignment will be a 9-10 page evaluation plan. An evaluation plan describes what you expect to learn from an evaluation, and how you would go about conducting the evaluation. More specifically, this document typically provides a description of the relevant program, the questions that will be addressed, the data collection plan (including the sampling process, data sources, timing of data collection), and the planned involvement and communication with program stakeholders. For this assignment, you will also explicitly consider cultural and ethical issues relevant to your evaluation process. Your plan must combine evaluation of program implementation and outcomes.
Prior to completing this assignment, you have had opportunities to work in small teams, with students that share some of your interests related to working with children, youth, and/or families. This final assignment is an individual effort, giving you the opportunity to extend some of the evaluation concepts that you have already practiced, and to focus on one program of your choice. You can choose any existing program as the focus of this assignment, as long as the program provides an activity, or set of activities, intended to support the well-being of children, youth, and/or families. Be sure to cite any websites, reports, or journal articles that you use in your paper, and add each source to the reference list. Organize your paper so that it flows in coherent paragraphs, using section headings throughout.
Proposal (10 points)
1. Title page
2. Definition of the program to be evaluated:
a. What is the name of the program and what are its primary goals or intended outcomes? If the program is a part of what a larger organization offers, identify the organization.
b. Target Population: Describe the children, youth, and/or families that are intended to benefit from the program. Focus on end-users that participate in the activities.
i. What individual needs does the service/program address? Discuss the domains of development that are related to the program’s intended outcomes (social, emotional, language/literacy, cognitive/academic, physical/health).
ii. Describe the geographic reach of the program. (i.e., In what cities/counties/states are program activities delivered?)
c. What is the key service or activity (i.e., what do providers and end-users do)?
d. Program dosage or duration: For how much time, or, how many visits/events/sessions, are participants involved in the program?
e. How is the access of people or groups to the program determined? Is the program available to any community member from the target population, or is it restricted to certain individuals? Explain your response.
**Note that if some of this information is not mentioned on the website, you can indicate in your paper that this information is “not available.” You do not need to contact the program for information.
Final Evaluation Plan (75 points)
1. Title Page
2. Definition of the program to be evaluated (20 points, including 5 points for the Text and 15 points for the Partial Logic Model)
Text: **Same requirements as the proposal, described above** Text from your proposal can be used here, revised as necessary.
Partial Logic Model: Using the table formatting below, identify the following program characteristics:
a. Resources
i. Funding: Identify the program’s funding sources (e.g., foundations, government agencies (federal, state, county, or municipal), private donations, end-user fees).
ii. Staffing (Personnel/roles relevant to delivering the program)
iii. Volunteers (if applicable)
b. Activities and Processes: Identify the key activities/services the program offers to participants. What processes (or steps) are necessary for delivering the program? How do participants learn about and/or access the activities/services?
c. and d. Program Outcomes: Identify the shorter-term and longer-term outcomes that the program intends to achieve.
Resources Activities and Processes Short-term Outcomes Long-range Outcomes
• Enter resources • Enter Activities and Processes • Enter short-term outcomes (Immediate and Intermediate) • Enter long-range outcomes
3. Program Theory (10 points)
a. What is the cause-effect relationship that is assumed to lead to program outcomes for individual participants? Be sure to identify the domain(s) of development addressed.
b. Identify and incorporate one empirical study that addresses this relationship. Explain the research evidence; What was the research question asked in the study? Briefly describe the sample, data sources, and key findings. Relate the findings back to your target program and domain of development. Does the study support the cause-effect relationship that your program presupposes? Explain.
4. Approach to the Evaluation (10 points)
a. What questions will be answered by the evaluation? Include an implementation question and an outcome question.
b. How will you involve stakeholders in the evaluation?
5. Methods (20 points, including 10 points for Outcome Evaluation Design and Sample, 10 points for Measures)
a. Outcome Evaluation Design and Sample: Identify two different evaluation designs from the following list, which could be used for the outcome assessment portion of the evaluation:
i. One group post-test only
ii. One group pre-post
iii. Two group post-test only (treatment and comparison group)
iv. Two-group pre-post (treatment and comparison group)
v. Experimental design (treatment and control group)
Describe how these two designs could be used. Explain the timing of data collection (i.e., What does “pre” and/or “post” participation mean for your program? Will follow-up data be collected?) Explain the sample that makes up each group. (i.e., Who would be included in the sample for each group?)
What strengths and limitations does each option offer? Refer to at least two threats to validity in your response.
Since only one design can be used, which would you recommend, and why?
b. Measures: Data sources
For each evaluation question, describe two different measures, or data sources that could be used to collect data to answer the question. General options include:
Assessment Survey Interview Focus Group Observation Document review
Existing tool, used in previous research Option Option Option N/A Option N/A
New tool that the evaluation team would develop N/A Option Option Option Option Option
i. Be specific: For an existing tool that has been used in previous research, identify the specific tool by name, describe the construct(s) it measures, and cite your sources.
ii. Be specific: For a new tool that your evaluation team would develop, describe the construct it would measure and give two examples of 1) survey, interview, or focus group questions that would be included, 2) behaviors that would be observed, or 3) pieces of information that would be obtained from reviewed documents.
6. Cultural and Ethical Considerations (10 points):
a. Discuss how you would address cultural considerations in the choice of measures and in the data collection process.
b. Identify two ethical concerns that need to be considered (e.g., in choosing between design options, in data collection). How might these concerns be addressed in the evaluation?
7. Discussion: Respond to one of the following discussion questions (5 points for a or b)
a. Discuss why you chose to focus on this particular program. What was it about the program that drew your interest? Why do you think the program is important (Be sure to use terms from this class in your response)?
b. Identify whether your program participants were primarily individual children/youth, or multiple family members.
i. If the focus was on individual children, discuss ways that additional family members could be involved in the program. How do you think involving family members in these ways would change the individual child’s experience or outcomes?
ii. If the focus was on multiple family members, discuss specific reasons why you think this approach is, or is not, important for the program’s success.
8. References, in APA format
Deductions
• Late turn in (half a letter grade per day)
• APA style (up to 5 pt deduction for missing or incorrect formatting of title page, citations, or references)
• Excessive grammatical and spelling errors (up to 4 pt deduction)
• The sections of the assignment must be cohesive (up to 3 pt deduction for lack of focus or cohesiveness between sections of the assignment.)
Total (Out of 75)_________
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