This manual provides an overview of the evaluation process, with special considerations for programs funded by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF). The text describes why evaluations are important and explains each step of the process, whether an outside evaluator is used or the evaluation is being conducted by in-house staff. Topics include: purpose, cost, types of evaluation teams, selecting and managing outside contractors, organizational preparation for the evaluation, evaluation plans, data collection, analysis, and reports. In general, program managers should…
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Journal Article This article attempts to explore the tendency of child protection workers to concentrate upon mothers, and ignore or avoid fathers or male cohabitees. The article suggests that ignoring or avoiding men constitutes a serious problem in child protection work, and makes suggestions on how trainers and managers may prepare workers more effectively, enabling them to engage men who are significant in the lives of abused children. 49 references. (Author abstract)
This program evaluation assessed the effectiveness of the Young Men as Fathers (YMAF) program administered by the California Youth Authority. The program offers parenting education to 15 to 20 wards of the state living in four institutions to help them become more involved in their families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and provide greater emotional and financial support to their children. Data for the evaluation was collected for 822 program participants from July 1993 through December 1995 and for a comparison group of 847 wards in two non-participating institutions. While the…
This report details the experiences of six two-generation intervention projects in New York City supported by grants from the Foundation for Child Development. The two-generation projects help low-income families gain access to employment-related services for parents, and developmental services such as quality child care and health care for children. Although programs varied, all included voluntary services, used counseling, and had a moderate level of openness to parent input and decision making. Chapter 1 of the report describes recent changes in the welfare system and efforts to develop…
This report outlines a process for evaluating responsible fatherhood programs. The design was based on interviews with experts, a review of the literature, site visits, and review by technical experts. Components of the recommended evaluation include management information systems, process evaluation, and impact evaluation. The report describes the major design issues for process and impact evaluations and examines considerations such as outcome measurement, explanatory variables, sampling and data collection, participation analysis, and impact analysis. Findings from an evaluability…
This chapter examines the failure of child welfare and permanency planning services to incorporate African American men as significant and serious participants in the service delivery process. Child welfare and permanency planning services have marginalized African American men such that children fail to benefit from the inclusion of these men in the service delivery process. This incomplete and inappropriate approach to permanency planning specifically, and to child welfare services more generally, is a disservice to African American children. Corrective measures are proffered to promote…
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Journal Article This article describes a short-term group intervention with children who witnessed their fathers attempt to murder their mothers. All of the children were aggressive in school and had some degree of speech impairment. During the 12 week session, the children identified their fathers with monsters, specifically Frankenstein. The therapist responded with a description of Frankenstein as a doll with batteries in place of a brain. Children in the group learned that their fathers, like Frankenstein, could not control their behavior. This translation, as well as a focus on safety and acceptance,…
Unpublished Paper
This study investigated the quality of parenting among men who abused their wives. Data were collected from 92 men referred to battering intervention programs about variables that predicted child maltreatment, including batterers' age, history of maltreatment during childhood, exposure to the abuse of their mother, substance abuse, child's age and gender, number of children, and frequency and severity of spouse abuse. The parenting skills of the men were assessed and rated as violent, nonviolent, or positive. In addition, the wives of 16 of the men were also asked to assess parenting and…
