How Program Evaluation Creates Effective Change and Promotes Quality Management
• Discussion Post
Identify the Hart City program you selected for your Final Project in the subject line of your post.
• Explain at least two insights or key takeaways you gained about how program evaluation creates effective change and promotes quality management/continuous improvement.
• Explain how you would apply what you learned about program evaluation to a specific human services role. Use one example to illustrate your explanation.
References:
• Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2011, January 10). InBrief: Early childhood program effectivenessLinks to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=_BgtFYEC1Yk
Note: The approximate length of this video is 5 minutes.
• The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2020, October 22). What drives program evaluation costs?Links to an external site. https://www(dot)pewtrusts(dot)org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2020/10/what-drives-program-evaluation-costs
• Child Information Welfare Gateway. (n.d.). Continuous quality improvementLinks to an external site.. https://www(dot)childwelfare(dot)gov/topics/management/reform/soc/communicate/initiative/ntaec/soctoolkits/continuous-quality-improvement/#phase=cqi
• Walden University, LLC. (2021). Hart CityLinks to an external site. [Interactive media]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu(dot)instructure(dot)com
Measuring Effectiveness of Human Services
Student’s Name
College/University
Course
Professor’s Name
Due Date
One of the key insights derived from the Hart City Women’s Shelter program is that program evaluation creates effective change by improving the outcomes of the target population. For example, the satisfaction survey indicated that 40 percent of the program users identified some form of shelter after signing out of the shelter (Walden University, 2021). Although the program provided safe housing for women and their dependent children in the short term, it failed to produce effective change, as indicated in the satisfaction survey outcome. Secondly, program evaluation promotes continuous improvement by comparing outcome and process outcomes. For example, program outcomes, as enshrined in the annual report, indicated that 32 percent of the users sought to return to the shelter and were denied readmission due to long waiting lists (Walden University, 2021). This points to a lack of sustainability and continuous improvement challenges in the program as it fails to meet the rising demand for services. In thi...