With all of the things that have to be done to keep your Children’s Advocacy Center
Evaluation matters, especially in an era when funding is becoming increasingly scarce and funders and policy makers want to make sure their money is being used to create the outcomes they anticipate. In addition, it is good stewardship to make sure you are actually getting the results you promised to produce.
It is easy to fall into the trap of looking at anecdotal information and assuming it gives you the full picture. One example of that is the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. This program was provided in over 70 percent of schools across the country. When multiple independent evaluations showed that the curriculum was ineffective in terms of impacting smoking, marijuana use, and drinking among middle school students (the target audience), there was significant resistance to dropping this popular program, even after the U.S. Department of Education prohibited school districts from using DOE funds to pay for it. Why the resistance? It was primarily because those implementing DARE in schools saw that children, faculty, and the community liked the program – the anecdotal evidence seemed to suggest that the program was effective. Multiple evaluations showed it was not, and in fact, some evaluation results indicated that it actually did more harm than good. Although initially resistant to the evaluation findings, the DARE organization revamped the curriculum in an effort to increase effectiveness and the new program became an evidence-based practice approved by SAMHSA.
Often there is a perception that evaluation has to be expensive or complicated. That is not necessarily the case and in fact a number of tools exist for conducting evaluations that are inexpensive and that will produce data that is relatively easy to analyze. The Department of Justice developed a manual for evaluating Children’s Advocacy Centers (see link below) that discusses how to conduct evaluations and includes dozens of evaluation tools including surveys for MDT members and clients.
When thinking about conducting an evaluation, it is important to consider a number of things:
- Who is the audience for the evaluation – will the results be shared with individuals and groups outside of the organization or be limited to in-house consideration?
- What questions are you trying to answer – what is your program trying to change and what are the anticipated outcomes?
- What data will you collect and what tool will be used to collect the data?
- Who will you collect the data from?
- Who is going to conduct the evaluation?
- How will the data be analyzed?
- How will the data be used in considering program design or continuation?
When conducting an evaluation, it is important to remember to include a focus on what works. Looking at what’s wrong tells you what not to do. Looking at what works tells you what you should do more of.
All too often, we can get stuck moving in one direction, thinking we are making progress, only to find we’ve been going the wrong direction, not unlike this seagull - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfPzd7PZ_eM
Taking the time to get feedback from team members and clients helps us better understand the value of the work we do, celebrate our successes, and feel confident that the services we provide are truly making a positive difference.
For more information on how to conduct an evaluation, check out the resources below. You can also contact WRCAC staff for help on how to get started.
Resources:
A Resource for Evaluating Child Advocacy Centers
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/192825.pdf
Basic Guide to Outcomes-Based Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations with Very Limited Resources
http://managementhelp.org/evaluation/outcomes-evaluation-guide.htm
Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook
http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2010/W-K-Kellogg-Foundation-Evaluation-Handbook.aspx
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