Discussion

Instructions

Respond to a colleague by doing all of the following:

· Identify the stage or stages of the program to which your colleague’s selected question relates.

· Suggest an additional question or concern that stakeholders may have about program evaluation.

· Recommend an alternative model for the evaluation.

Please respond to this post

Brief summary of the program that you selected.  

Diamonds on the Rise, a non-profit organization in Baltimore, MD, provides their consumers a low-cost or free summer camp day program, Camp Diamond. This camp incorporates their mental health service plan, educational activities, community services, while providing these young consumers a safe and secure setting that helps to protect them from the negative aspects of their community and home environment. 

 

Recommend a program evaluation model that would answer a question relevant to the program.  

There are multiple program evaluations a social worker could use to assess the summer camp.  Since Camp Diamond is sponsored by a local community organization, program monitoring maybe the best fit, to evaluate how the program is functioning.  The program evaluators and sponsoring agency may want to know if the “target population” is attending the program, if the program is being implemented as proposed, the consumers family outlook and perception of the program, program changes or improvements, and finally the cost per consumer to attend the program.  The results the program monitoring evaluations may lead to additional evaluations for example: client satisfaction and cost-benefit analysis. 

 

Explain the potential benefits of the program evaluation that you proposed (both process and outcome).  

By utilizing program evaluation, the evaluators can gain an understanding of the quality of services provided, the effectiveness of the program and identify how the program can be improved.  Program monitoring, client satisfaction, and cost-benefit analysis allows the evaluators to monitor the progress of the program, how the program has improved since becoming sponsored, explore how the funding is being used, and identify effective ways to cut the implementation cost.  By monitoring the program, the evaluator can monitor the progress of the program while identifying the necessary changes and improvements.  Finally, the evaluator can monitor and assess the provided services compared to the goals of the program an agency. 

 

 

Identify 2–3 concerns that stakeholders might have about your proposed evaluation and how you would address those concerns.  

The consumer parents, the sponsoring organization, and the program administrator are a few of the stakeholders who have specific interest in the program and the outcome of the evaluations.  The consumers parents may have concerns regarding the program being beneficial for their children and if their child’s identity will be used in the evaluation report. The evaluator or program member may discuss with the consumers parents confidentially and how consumer confidentially will be maintained and how program monitoring evaluations will be implemented. For example, the parents will receive a questionnaire, at the end of summer camp, to complete regarding their opinions on the program and services provided.  While consumers, with parents' permission, will be interviewed regarding their experiences of the summer camp program.  The sponsoring agency may have concerns regarding the implementation of the summer camp program and the program cost per consumer per week.  To address these concerns, the evaluator may develop specific questions for the evaluation regarding how the program is implemented and obtain information regarding the amount of consumer in attendance each week and weekly program expenses.  The agency may be concerned with the consumer summer camp experience and make changes or improvements the consumer would like to see for the following year.  By using a satisfaction survey, at the end of camp, the evaluators will be able to gather information regarding the consumer feelings, perceived services, and changes that could help improve the program. 

 

Then explain 2–3 concerns that stakeholders may have about your proposed program evaluation and how you would address those concerns. 

A concern the consumer parents may have about the evaluation process is regarding the findings and providing accurate non-bias information, regarding the consumers outcomes.  In order to provide non-bias information, the evaluator may work with the stakeholders to identify areas of concerns or interest and specific questions they are answering.  The sponsoring agency may be concerned regarding the types of evaluation, the time frame of the evaluation, and why the program is being evaluated (Logan & Royse, 2010).  In a stakeholder meeting, members may discuss the idea of increasing the number of consumers enrolled for summer camp, increase the services offered, and seek to increase the summer camp budget and funding.  The evaluator or agency members may suggest conducting a formal evaluation to answer general budget and outcome questions, develop a time frame (i.e., during summer camp and parent survey at the end of summer).  Once the data has been collected, the evaluator will provide a written report regarding the evaluates findings and addressing the stakeholder's question regarding the program (Dudley, 2014). 

 

References: 

Dudley, J. R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do. (2nd ed.) Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books. 

 

 

 Logan, T. K., & Royse, D. (2010). Program evaluation studies. In B. Thyer (Ed.), The handbook of social work research methods (2nd ed., pp. 221–240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (PDF) 

Please Respond to this post

The program that is utilized at the help living assistance I am utilized at is an individual help plan. Singular help plans are commanded by our funders at San Andreas Regional Center to guarantee that customers are engaged with their consideration procedure. Singular help plans are made utilizing earlier appraisal data, customer contribution, and direct staff inclusion. Every recorded gathering cooperate to choose what are the objectives that will be dealt with during their time inside the upheld living assistance. These objectives can incorporate customer coordinated objectives, for example, acquiring an occupation, getting their GED, getting progressively dynamic in the network, reinforcing their relationship with significant people, and so on. These plans likewise incorporate court-commanded objectives, for example, wiping out medication use or other criminal conduct.

 

A program assessment technique that would be a brilliant method to decide whether the program is as a rule properly executed is process assessment (Logan and Royse, 2010). While a result or effect assessment (Logan and Royse, 2010) would likewise be a helpful method to assess the program, this is as of now required by the financing organization. Or maybe, it would be increasingly gainful to audit how the program is being actualized on some random day (Logan and Royse, 2010). The explanation I see this as the most advantageous for my organization is that I frequently battle with inspiring staff individuals to archive their endeavors with the program. Doing a procedure assessment can assist me with distinguishing how the program is really being executed in the office, who is fittingly actualizing the program, and what outer elements are affecting the usage of the program (Logan and Royse, 2010). Probably the greatest advantage of utilizing this assessment will be that we will have the option to contrast the customers' result assessments and the procedure assessment to show signs of improvement comprehension of how the program influences the customers.

 

One challenge that I can predict in executing a procedure assessment is the additional work that it may put on the staff individuals. Staff individuals are as of now amazingly bustling investing their energy composing customer notes and working hands-on with customers. One way that procedure assessments are led is through meetings with partners to distinguish how the program is going (Logan and Royse, 2010). I can envision there would be a touch of opposition with the expansion of a procedure assessment. One approach to get around this, however, is to disclose the advantages to the partners and clarify that it may lessen their general remaining task at hand during result assessments.

 

Another concern that may emerge is trouble in finding a fitting method to direct a procedure assessment that would be significant and valuable. While a few offices utilized top to bottom meetings, others utilized various strategies, for example, investigating program archives (Logan and Royse, 2010). This may represent an issue as discovering time to do additional assessments in a human help organization can be incredibly troublesome as staffing and subsidizing are restricted. In any case, to get around this, the social laborer can disclose to managerial staff the advantages of utilizing a procedure assessment which can possibly incorporate distinguishing zones that are less helpful and a bit much employments of time. While actualizing another assessment can be joined by opposition from partners, clarifying the advantages related with the assessment can help improve the probability that the partners be eager to embrace the change.

 

Reference

Logan, T. K., & Royse, D. (2010). Program evaluation studies. In B. Thyer (Ed.), The handbook of social work research methods (2nd ed., pp. 221-240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.