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Determining the Impact of Communities In Schools, Inc (CIS) Programs: Student-level Randomized Controlled Trials
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| Presenter(s):
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| Heather Clawson, ICF International, hclawson@icfi.com
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| Allan Porowski, ICF International, aporowski@icfi.com
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| Felix Fernandez, ICF International, ffernandez@icfi.com
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| Christine Leight, ICF International, cleicht@icfi.com
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| Abstract:
Communities In Schools, Inc. (CIS) is a nationwide initiative to connect community resources with schools to help at-risk students successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. CIS is currently in the midst of a comprehensive, rigorous five-year national evaluation, culminating in a two-year multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) to ascertain program effectiveness. In this presentation, we will draw from our experience working with Austin, TX, Wichita, KS, and Jacksonville, FL public schools, present our overall study design, and the process involved in conducting a student-level RCT. We will also be presenting on the final results for the multi-year, multi-cohort RCT studies.
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Perils, Pitfalls, and Successes: The Implementation of a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to Examine the Effects of Alternative Response in Child Welfare
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| Presenter(s):
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| Madeleine Kimmich, Human Services Research Institute, mkimmich@hsri.org
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| Linda Newton-Curtis, Human Services Research Institute, lnewton@hsri.org
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| Abstract:
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used to examine the effects across multiple sites in Ohio, of an Alternative Response to the traditional investigative approach taken when a report of child maltreatment is made. This presentation opens with a short discussion of the ethics involved in using RCTs when evaluating interventions in the child welfare system, followed by a discussion of the experiences and lessons learned in the development of our RCT implementation. Key aspects include an overview of the challenges associated with establishing an RCT within a context where sites have a localized service delivery system and yet where random assignment is centralized. Our presentation will also address the problems (and solutions) we have found in monitoring the screening process to randomization, tracking changes after random assignment, establishing environmental comparability (surrounding the intervention) and making the whole process as user-friendly, simple and straightforward as possible.
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Impact Evaluation for Youth Empowerment: Lessons From a Systematic Review and a Randomized Controlled Trial
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| Presenter(s):
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| Matthew Morton, University of Oxford, matthew.morton@gtc.ox.ac.uk
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| Abstract:
Practitioners and policy-makers increasingly promote youth empowerment as a strategy to improve a range of psychosocial outcomes. Yet, little is known about the demonstrated impacts that participatory programming has on young people. This paper summarizes the state of impact evaluation for youth empowerment programs based on an international systematic review. Considerations for the design and implementation of an impact evaluation of youth empowerment are illustrated through the example of a randomized controlled trial in Jordan. The trial assessed the effects of a participatory education program for out-of-school youth. The case illustrates the merits of stakeholder involvement—including youth—to strengthen evaluation, as well as the importance of complementary process research to improve the role of impact evaluation in facilitating organizational learning.
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