Facts In Action

A new guide on evaluating local out-of-school time programs gives out-of-school time providers the techniques, tools, and strategies for improving their programs and tracking their programs' effectiveness over time. The tips and strategies the guide presents are also relevant to early childhood programs considering evaluation. The guide explains the different levels of evaluation, describes how a logic model can be a useful tool for program planning and evaluation (for more information on logic models, look online at factsinaction.org/mcount/mcaug002.htm), and provides suggestions on how to use evaluation results. The guide also discusses some of the issues in planning an evaluation, such as engaging stakeholders and satisfying funders' questions.

The most pressing issue for many programs in planning an evaluation is finding the resources and funds to support it. Evaluations can be costly — not only in terms of finances, but also in terms of time, training, staffing issues, and technological capacity. According to the guide, designing an evaluation involves assessing tradeoffs between what the program needs to know and the resources available to find the answers.

Some programs are able to find the resources for evaluation from their own budgets and from in-house expertise. However, when programs aren't able to support evaluation, they may need to look to others for resources and funding. The guide provides several suggestions for finding these resources, such as:

• Programs can share resources with other community service organizations to collect information that could be used for different types of evaluations.
  
• Resources can come from organizations that might have a vested interest in the results of the evaluation, such as local businesses and school districts.
  
• Colleges and universities can provide expertise around design issues, and student volunteers may be available to assist with data collection and analysis.

Ultimately, if a program is unable to find the resources and funds to support an evaluation, it does not have to forgo evaluation activities completely. Depending on the evaluation plan, a program may be able to work on smaller pieces of the evaluation. According to the guide, these smaller evaluations can be equally valuable — they can provide feedback to programs quickly, enabling programs to make changes in a timely fashion. In addition, with the results from the smaller evaluations, programs may be able to leverage funds to expand evaluation activities in the future.

Source:
Documenting Progress and Demonstrating Results: Evaluating Local Out-of-School Time Projects, P. Little, S. DuPree, and S. Deich, Harvard Family Research Project and The Finance Project, September 2002.

For more information:
contact: Harvard Family Research Project, 3 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, call (617) 495-8594, or look online at www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/content/projects/afterschool/resources/issuebrief3.pdf.

Making it Count: A Special Issue of Facts in Action

Over the past year, Facts in Action published a series of articles designed to take you step-by-step through the process of measuring outcomes in your program or family child care home. This series of articles has been repackaged into a special issue of the Facts in Action newsletter and is now available for only $2.00 per copy.

If you would like to order this special issue of Facts in Action, please contact:

Erika Argersinger
Early Education Clearinghouse
Associated Early Care and Education, Inc.
95 Berkeley Street, Suite 306
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 695-0700 x271
eargersinger@associatedearlycareandeducation.org

Facts in Action, October 2002