As Program Director you have been instructed to develop a thorough program evaluation, including the types of data that will be required and when it should be collected. Program Data requirements within a human service agency requires Coverage data, Equity data, Effort (output) data, Cost-efficiency data, Results (outcomes) data, Process data, Cost effectiveness and Impact data to conduct a Program Evaluation. Choose any four types of data: 1) define, 2) how/what it contributes to the program evaluation, and 3) an example of each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: 1) Coverage data: provides feedback on the extent to which a program is a) meeting the community need and b) reaching its target populations. Used to document that only eligible clients were served and to assess the adequacy, or inadequacy, of current program funding and service levels to meet community need. Ex. What % of our clients had family incomes below the poverty level?
Equity data: feedback on the extent to which specific sub-geographic areas of a community as well as specific sub-groups are being served by a program. Used to ensure adequate coverage of a sub-geographic areas and sub-groups to document that the program is reaching the target areas and sub-groups. Ex. What percent of our clients are minority and what percent live in the southern part of the city?
Process Data: provides feedback on the extent to which a program is implemented as designed. Used to compare actual service delivery to planned service design to ensure conformance with such items as service definitions, service tasks, service standards, work statements and service specifications. Ex. Do our clients meet the ADA definition of “disabled”?
Effort Data: provides feedback on the amount of products and services provided, the amount of quality products and services provided and the number of service completed. Used to monitor a program during implementation to compare actual effort to planned effort and to take corrective action when actual effort fails to coincide with planned effort. Ex. In the first quarter of the fiscal year, have we enrolled the number of clients that we planned to reach during that time period?
Cost-Efficiency Data: provides feedback on the costs of providing program products and services. Used to compare actual cost data with planned costs. Ex. Are we within the cost of our program for the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Results Data: provides feedback on the extent to which a program achieves its intended results, both intermediate and final. Used during implementation to compare actual results achieved with planned results. Ex. What percent of our students passed the GED test and how does that compare with our intended pass goals?
Impact Data: provides feedback on the question: What happened to clients as a result of participation in our program that would not have happened in the program’s absence? Used in human services to demonstrate the extent to which a program achieves measurable impacts with its clients. Ex. What percent of our GED graduates have found employment after graduating from our program?