| Session Title: The Children's Trust Evaluation Policy and Practice: Lessons Learned Assessing Progress and Opportunity at Multiple Levels |
| Multipaper Session 864 to be held in the Agate Room Section C on Saturday, Nov 8, 10:45 AM to 12:15 PM |
| Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Lori Hanson, Children's Trust, lori@thechildrenstrust.org |
| Discussant(s): |
| Catherine Raymond, Raymond Consulting Inc, raymondconsult@bellsouth.net |
| Abstract: The Children's Trust is a source of public revenue established in 2002, with a mission to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their future. This session discusses the development, implementation and impact of The Trust's three-tiered approach to evaluation policies/practices since its creation over recent years. First, our $40+ million investment in Out-of-School programs illustrates a contract-level evaluation approach, including development of a uniform set of program components and measures for participant-level outcomes, as well as ongoing provider capacity-building. Next, we illustrate initiative-level evaluation, focusing on formative evaluation of HealthConnect, a $26 million three-pronged portfolio to strengthen child/family health conditions through early childhood home visitation, school-based health, and community health workers focused on health care access. Finally, we discuss efforts conducting community-level research/evaluation around the well-being and needs of children in our community, as well as progress toward fulfilling our mission. |
| Out-of-School: Moving Towards Common Program Components and Outcome Measures |
| Dalia Garcia, Children's Trust, dalia@thechildrenstrust.org |
| Lori Hanson, Children's Trust, lori@thechildrenstrust.org |
| In 2004, The Children's Trust launched an Out-of-School initiative to expand the availability of after school and summer programs in Miami-Dade County, including children with disabilities. In 2005, The Trust created Project RISE (Research, Inspiration, Support and Evaluation) in partnership with a local university to support provider capacity-building, quality improvement and development of program and participant outcome standards. Core OOS program quality standards and participant outcome measures have been adopted in collaboration with providers and expertise in the OOS field. Two required common measures were introduced last year for all contracted providers to ensure consistency and comparable results. The One-Minute Oral Reading Fluency evaluates improvements in reading skills, and the School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale evaluates overall program quality. Providers are offered specialized trainings regarding selection, administration and uses of participant measurement tools. The Trust and Project RISE are evaluating the outcome of the first year using these tools. |
| HealthConnect: Initiative-level Evaluation as a Framework for Collaborative Partnerships |
| Sharon DeJoy, Children's Trust, sharon@thechildrenstrust.org |
| Lori Hanson, Children's Trust, lori@thechildrenstrust.org |
| In 2006, The Children's Trust launched the three-pronged HealthConnect initiative to create systemic improvements in child health and increase the number of children linked to medical homes. Recognizing that Miami-Dade has a higher proportion of uninsured children than national and state averages, HealthConnect programs were designed to increase access to health care for all children from early childhood (HealthConnect in the Early Years) through school-ages (HealthConnect in Our Schools), with HealthConnect in Our Community filling gaps through outreach and health navigation at the neighborhood level throughout the community. Integration and collaboration are critical to HealthConnect's success; therefore, in collaboration with experts and literature in the field, we developed a unique evaluation framework to drive program implementation. The formative evaluation strategy identified opportunities to improve, leverage resources and integrate strategies across providers; including 'inreach' referral networks. Summative evaluation for providers focuses on consistent measures to ensure achievement of common objectives. |
| Community-level Research and Evaluation to Inform Progress and Opportunities |
| Lisa Pittman, Children's Trust, lisa@thechildrenstrust.org |
| Lori Hanson, Children's Trust, lori@thechildrenstrust.org |
| The Children's Trust's approach to evaluation policy and practice begins and ends with community-level analysis. Compiling and analyzing statistical data to understand and compare the changing status of children and families within Miami-Dade County - across neighborhoods, demographics, and time - enables The Trust, and the community it serves, to identify both areas of success and challenges. This information leads to needs-identified investments in child and family services at the initiative-level, and to data-rich measures of change at the community-level. Periodically fielding a comprehensive survey of parents and compiling indicators of child health and well-being, The Trust identifies need, establishes baselines, and measures community/neighborhood change to assess the value of its investments, as well as inform policymakers. A community data integration collaboration is underway to follow children as they traverse various systems - health, child care, school, social services, justice, employment, etc - to improve service delivery and measure impact. |