Evaluation

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Evaluation

To support researchers and evaluators at all levels, the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) has collected resources and tools relevant to evaluation by providing:

Topics on this Page:

• Tools to conduct program evaluations
• Evaluation Reports from previous studies of Fatherhood Programs
• Capacity Building information on evaluation and organization capacity development
• Other Relevant Resources

Tools

• Logic Models outline what you do, why you do it, and how you can measure your results. These Logic Model resources provide guidance on creating and utilizing logic models.
  
  Logic Modeling For Responsible Fatherhood Programs (PDF - 131 KB)
  Logic Modeling For Healthy Marriage Programs (PDF - 356 KB)
  


• Indiana Fathers and Families : Sample Evaluation Tools for Fathers and Families projects.
  Miami University. Department of Family Studies and Social Work.
  Collected by Glenn Stone, Ph.D. of Miami University's Department of Family Studies and Social Work in cooperation with The Institute for Family and Social Responsibility at Indiana University, these tools will assist grantees in measuring outcomes related to the Fathers and Families goals.

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Evaluation Reports

• Commission on Responsible Fatherhood : TANF-Funded Responsible Fatherhood Programs.
  Evaluation report February 28, 2003. The Ounce of Prevention Fund.
  Over a 32 month period, Florida's Commission on Responsible Fatherhood, in partnership with Workforce Florida, Inc., administered five locally based programs under a model called Equipping Parents to Strengthen Families. These programs were part of Florida's welfare reform initiative and served 980 low-income noncustodial parents by helping them find and maintain stable employment, make their child support payments and improve their relationships with their children.
  


• Final Report of the Process Evaluation of the Long Distance Dads Program.
  Penn State Erie. The Behrend College's Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE).
  This report includes a literature and statistical review, overview of the Long Distance Dads program, and a description of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the State Correctional Institution at Albion. Outlining project objectives, process and procedures, then reporting on the results of four phases of the project, the report also includes an interpretation of the data coupled with recommendations for program optimization linking the findings to a proposed outcomes study.

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Capacity Building

• Building Evaluation Capacity in Community-Based Organizations : Reflections of an Empowerment Evaluation Team.
  University of South Carolina. Published: Journal of Community Practice
  This article presents the challenges and successes of a university-based empowerment evaluation team as they promoted community-based organizational (CBO) self-evaluation skills through a large community capacity building effort funded by a community foundation. Using a reflective inquiry approach, the team's approach to empowerment evaluation is discussed, and the how's, the why's, and the outcomes of the team's efforts are presented. Lessons learned emphasize the significance of training, role clarity, management of power relations, participant readiness, adequate resources, technology, coaching skill, and mutual support through a coaching network and interagency networks. Perhaps most significantly, clear and consistent communication between grantee and grantmaker, mediated by evaluation coaches, promoted evaluations that address internal and external stakeholder needs. The ideology of empowerment guided this project, and participatory research did prevail, but grantee self-direction was harder to enable. Likewise, consumer participation was woefully limited.
  


• Elements to Build Capacity for Evaluation and Accountability : Discussion Guide.
  National Child Care Information Center.
  This document identifies six elements that appear necessary, according to the research, for building capacity for evaluation and accountability. Questions to prompt discussion and reflection among the planning/stakeholder group are followed by suggested strategies to address each element.

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