Practical Evaluation for Collaborative Services: Goals, Processes, Tools, and Reporting Systems for School-Based Programs

Foreword by Joy Dryfoos "The title says it well. This practical work offers a guiding framework for evaluating a school-linked services' initiative, delineates specific steps, and includes a host of useful tools that have been field tested. Anyone planning such an evaluation will find this a major resource aid." Howard Adelman, School Mental Health Project Center for Mental Health in the Schools, UCLA Los Angeles, CA "A very good resource for those in collaborative services who are new to evaluation. The authors break down the sometimes complex and intimidating process of evaluation into manageable action steps, and show how evaluation can be used to both improve accountability and foster organizational learning." Karen Horsch, Research Associate Harvard Family Research Project Cambridge, MA Specific evaluation instruments you can start using now! Do collaborative services between schools and community service agencies really work? What are realistic goals, and how can they be achieved? The pressure to build and use reliable tools to assess collaborative services is growing, but there's no reason to 'start from scratch' when creating the processes and procedures you need. Here are time-tested instruments you need to evaluate the success of collaborative services, already developed and in use in large and small communities – and presented in a format that your school and district can immediately adapt and put into practice. Subjects include: Monitoring and gathering outcome data Assessing student risk Assessing program implementation and customer satisfaction Assessing program results using qualitative and quantitative data ... as well as specific surveys for elementary, middle, and high schools, surveys for parents at different levels, examples of data collection formats, and much more. It's the comprehensive resource you need ... ready for you to use right now!

Table of Contents:
List of Tables List of Figures and Displays Foreword - Joy Dryfoos Preface About the Authors 1. Introduction 2. Monitoring and Gathering Outcome Data for Collaborative Services Programs 3. Assessing Student Risk and Other Critical Customer Characteristics 4. Process Evaluation: Assessing Program Implementation and Customer Satisfaction 5. Outcomes Evaluation I: Evaluating Program Results Using Quantitative Data 6. Outcomes Evaluation II: Evaluating Program Results Using Qualitative Data 7. Local Utilization of Evaluation 8. Challenges and Keys to Sustainability in Assessment and Evaluation 9. Putting It All Together Resource A: Elementary School Student Survey Resource B: Middle School Student Survey Resource C: High School Student Survey Resource D: Survey for Parent of Elementary School Student Resource E: Survey for Parent of Middle School Student Resource F: Survey for Parent of High School Student Resource G: Self-Review Format Resource H: Examples of Data Collection Formats Resource I: Summary of Development Logging in Iowa References Index