Agency-Based Program Evaluation: Lessons From Practice

This text aids both students and practitioners in articulating the elements of program evaluation, deepening their understanding of the contextual issues that surround and shape an evaluation. Authors Stephen A. Kapp and Gary R. Anderson offer readers details on the application of useful and accepted evaluation methods. It also shows readers how to make sound decisions in balancing techniques and strategies with the realities of the agency environment. Key Features Ethical considerations related to collecting data from service consumers and working with agency personnel Strategies for accommodating cultural and ethnic differences when collecting program evaluation data Techniques for engaging agency personnel and key constituents in the entire evaluation process Accompanied by robust ancillaries This text is accompanied by a robust companion site. The password-protected Instructor′s Site features: Sample Syllabi PowerPoint Slides Test Bank The open-access Student Study Site offers: Quizzes Journal Articles Web Resources and Activities This text is designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in program evaluation within departments of social work, mental health, and human services. It is also a great resource for practicing professionals, supervisors, and managers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Purpose of This Book Ch 1. Making the Case for Program Evaluation Ch 2. Steps in Program Evaluation Ch 3. Ethics and Program Evaluation: Applying a Code of Ethics to Field-Based Research Ch 4. Ethical Challenges for Evaluators in an Agency Setting: Making Good Choices Ch 5. Agencies and Academics: The Social and Political Context of Program Evaluation Ch 6. Cultural Competency and Program Evaluation Ch 7. Program Definition: Using Program Logic Models to Develop a Common Vision Ch 8. Program Description: Evaluation Designs Using Available Information Ch 9. Evaluation Design: Options for Supporting the Use of Information Ch 10. Evaluation Design: Group Designs and Methods Ch 11. Evaluation Design: Qualitative Designs and Applications Ch 12. Consumer Satisfaction Ch 13. Dissemination: Spreading the News About the Authors

About the Author :
Stephen A. Kapp, MSW, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of  Kansas School of Social Welfare. Dr. Kapp has focused his career on agency-based program evaluation of children and family programs.  He has over twenty years of experience working both externally and internally on agency evaluations. His teaching and writing efforts have focused on evaluation with an emphasis on the use of information by agency staff and giving service recipients a voice in the evaluation process. Currently, he is managing research grants that examine the service experience of young offenders in the Kansas Mental Health System. Gary R. Anderson, MSW, PhD, is the Director of the School of Social Work, College of Social Science, at Michigan State University. He came to Michigan State University from Hunter College, City University of New York (New York, New York). At Hunter, he was a Professor and the founding Director of the National Resource Center for Permanency Planning. Dr. Anderson has written a number of books and articles on policy and practice related to children and families. His most recent book, Widening the Circle: The Practice and Evaluation of Family Group Conferencing with Children, Youths, and Their Families, was just released by NASW Press. He is the Editor of the journal CHILD WELFARE. He has had over twenty funded projects addressing aspects of child welfare, and is currently leading projects on child welfare worker recruitment and retention, and research related to alternative dispute resolution strategies. He has just completed a three-year term as a board member of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work, and serves on three journal editorial review boards. He received his PhD. from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and MSW from the University of Michigan.

Review :
"What sets Kapp and Anderson’s book apart is an emphasis for nonevaluators on a succinct argument for conducting evaluations and a thorough discussion of applied ethics in evaluation. Agency-Based Program Evaluation would be a good fit for a program evaluation survey course, especially for those in the social work and human service professions (e.g., family therapists). Practitioners of all specialties who are interested in adding program evaluation activities to their skill set will find this a useful introduction to the field, but it shouldn’t serve as the sole resource."