United Friends of the Children (UFC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of foster youth through programs that help foster youth become successful, independent adults. UFC contracted the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) to conduct a needs assessment for alumni program services, as well as to provide information on service utilization. ETI used surveys and focus groups to capture relevant information about the program, and analyzed data by sub-groups of alumni to highlight alumni group differences as well as major trends across groups. Finally, ETI compiled a list of program improvements to increase service utilization and address the needs of any underserved alumni groups.

ETI conducted an evaluation of El Viento, a community-based organization that supports students’ academic and social development through a mix of school-based and recreational programs.  The goal of the program is to provide support to students in Grades 5 – Year Two of college to enable them to graduate from high school and attend college. To measure the program’s impact on students and parents, ETI collected and analyzed longitudinal quantitative data and documented the outcomes in an annual report. Two types of outcomes were studied: psychosocial development and academic achievement.  Surveys were used to collect psychosocial data, which included trust, personal behavior, academic practice, and self esteem.  Academic performance was measured by data collected by state standardized tests (STAR) and local school districts (GPA).   The final reports are used by El Viento to document the impacts on students for ongoing program development purposes.

The Little by Little (LBL) program is an early literacy program provided through the WIC program, a federal program that serves low-income pregnant women, infants and children from 0-5 years of age. The LBL program offers WIC participants’ handouts about child development milestones, information on activities parents can do with their children, children’s books, and safety items (such as outlet plugs, bath thermometers, safety scissors, etc.). The LBL implementation evaluation was designed to help Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE) WIC program managers monitor how LBL was conducted across the different WIC Centers. ETI’s evaluation of the Little by Little program included four site visits for each site (3-4 hours per site visit), site observations of the staff that deliver the LBL program, site summaries describing how the program is delivered to participants (including the model used, how the materials are introduced, and how they store their materials), and the distribution and collection of surveys given to LBL participants to measure how the program has impacted their parenting as a result of participating in the LBL program. Site reports for each of the seven sites were due a month after the last site visit for each site. An end of the year report comparing all ten WIC sites, including the three observed in 2014, was due September 2015.

The Love is Respect (LIR) Start Talking Campaign educates young people about dating abuse through an interactive experience that helps each teen define what a healthy relationship is and help them realize that they have a right to a safe and healthy relationship. LIR, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting positive social development for teens, contracted ETI to conduct an evaluation of its program. The evaluation was based on a pre/post-program surveys research design, and instruments were designed to measure program objectives. The results were presented for three sets of participants who had participated in the program: program facilitators, peer leaders, and program participants. The final report was used to provide information that focused on program impact among stakeholders and program improvement and was presented to LIR’s funders and interested participants to show the effectiveness of the curriculum.

Healthy Smiles established a dental clinic as a separate entity from the CFCOC program, although the two maintain close contact and coordination. To document the outcomes of the Healthy Smiles program, ETI collected evaluation data for each child at initial screening and each subsequent clinic visit. Research questions addressed outreach, screening, referral, retention, clinical effectiveness, parent education and satisfaction. The final report was used to make improvements in the program and the evaluation, adding questions to the instruments as needed.

Orangewood Foundation’s Rising Tide Communities program is a transitional living program providing emancipated foster youth with subsidized living in combination with a complete range of support services (including scholarships, activities, programs, etc.) to help them make a successful transition to independence. As part of a long-term evaluation process, ETI developed a set of indicators and corresponding process and outcome measures that provided information to guide program improvement and to document program effectiveness. ETI’s evaluation included the use of focus group and survey data to understand program impacts in five key areas: financial competency, independent living skills, employment and preparedness for college or vocational training, personal growth, and the cultivation of a spiritual life. The results were then presented for two sets of residents who had participated in the program (those who had participated for 6 months or more and for 12 months or more). The final report was used to provide information to support continued program improvement and document resident successes and challenges for a wide audience (including internal staff, Board members, potential funders, and professionals) considering using this program model in the future.