Basic Techniques for Evaluating your RAPP

Christine A. Fruhauf, PH.D.

Associate Professor

Director, HDFS Extension

Coordinator, Gerontology Interdisciplinary Minor

Department of HDFS

Relatives as Parents Program 2014 Training Conference

Denver, Colorado - October 18, 2014

Objectives

The learning objectives for this

presentation are to provide:

• Basic evaluation techniques for examining

your RAPP

• Suggestions and helpful hints

• Additional resources related to program

evaluation

Larimer County, Colorado

Background

C. Fruhauf & L. Tanner, 2012

Community Mobilization Model

• Building the partnership

• Developing action plans

• Implementing action plans

• Evaluating effectiveness!!!!!

Miller, Bruce, Bundy-Fazioli, & Fruhauf (2010)

Larimer County Alliance for

Grandfamilies

Organizational Framework

Mission Statement: Work collaboratively to support

the health and well-being of grandfamilies through

community education, development of support

systems, and advocacy for change.

Roles and Responsibilities

Leadership

Council

Kinship

Inclusion

Team

Community

Outreach Team

University

Engagement

Team

Peer Support

Team

Colorado State University

Aging Clinic of the Rockies

Colorado Family Education, Resources

& Training (CFERT)

Department of Human Development &

Family Studies

Larimer County Extension

School of Social Work

Namaqua Center

(Partner Program of the

Larimer Center for Mental Health)

Larimer County

Grandparents & Kin

Larimer County Department

of Human Services

Benefits Planning

Child Support

Children, Youth and Family Services

Office on Aging

LCAG Partners

University Engagement Work Team

Program Evaluation

Program Evaluation

• What is Evaluation?

– Systematic way that data are assembled

– Controlled by those involved

– Way to asses usefulness, feasibility,

accuracy

– Allows for flexibility in design

– Broad

Program Evaluation

• Why is evaluation important?

– Connects you to client/participants and

stakeholders

– Tells you how well an organization is

delivering its services

– How services impact the target population

– Imperative to further knowledge and

improve your RAPP

Program Evaluation

• What resources do you have to conduct

evaluation?

– Partner with other stakeholders

(university)

• Access to faculty, student interns

– Other data – Data Inventory

– Technology

Program Evaluation

• What type of data do you want to

gather?

– Do you want to see change in behavior,

knowledge, and attitude among your

clients? – Outcome Evaluations

– Do you want to see how your RAPP is

functioning? – Process Evaluations

Program Evaluation

• When is the best time to conduct an

evaluation?

– NOW!!!

– Depends

• Before or after a program

• Weeks/months after an intervention

• Holidays?

• Summer?

Program Evaluation

• How will you analyze data?

– Create an evaluation notebook/codebook

– Create an analysis plan

– Create an electronic dataset

– Quantitative and Qualitative data

Program Evaluation

• How will you use disseminate your

results?

– Final Report and Annual Reporting to

Funders

– Presentations

– Press Release & Newsletters

– Webpages/videos

– New Grant Proposals

Future Directions

Discussion

• It is essential for you to conduct

program evaluation on your RAPP.

• Learning from your clients, consumers,

and stakeholders about your program is

key towards future programming

efforts.

• Evaluation can assist you in securing

additional dollars!

In Conclusion...

• Consider partnering with a local

university/college and Extension as a way

to leverage your work and your evaluation

efforts.

• Remember, “one agency” cannot do it all!

(Roe, 2000)

AcknowledgementsFunding Sources:

Collaborators:

Ann Bruce, Ph.D., Kim Bundy-Fazioli, Ph.D., Jacque Miller, MA Colorado State

University

Larimer County Grandparents

Larimer County Alliance for Grandfamily Partners & Affiliates

Research Assistants:

Kendra Doukas, Erin Houston, Lindsay Hornell, Emily Koeppel,

Jennifer Little, Kelsey Thill, & Lauren Vogel

Questions & Comments

ReferencesFruhauf, C. A., Bundy-Fazioli, K., & Miller, J. (2012). The Larimer County

Alliance for Grandfamilies: An innovative approach to meeting a

community need. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 31, 193-214. DOI:

10.1177/0733464810385094

Miller, J., Bruce, A., Bundy-Fazioli, K., & Fruhauf, C. A. (2010). Mobilizing

a community to address the needs of grandparents raising

grandchildren. Journal of Extension, 28(2), 21AW7.

Roe, K. (2000). Community interventions to support grandparent

caregivers: Lessons learned from the field. In C. Cox (Ed.), To

grandmother’s house we go and stay: Perspectives on custodial

grandparents (pp. 283-303). New York, NY: Springer.

Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E., (2004). Evaluation: A

systematic approach (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.