Assignment: Designing a Plan for Outcome Evaluation

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Social workers can apply knowledge and skills
learned from conducting one type of evaluation to others. Moreover,
evaluations themselves can inform and com`plement each other throughout
the life of a program. This week, you apply all that you have learned
about program evaluation throughout this course to aid you in program
evaluation.

To prepare for this Assignment,
review “Basic Guide to Program Evaluation (Including Outcomes
Evaluation)” from this week’s resources, Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S.,
& Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year.
Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com , especially the sections
titled “Outcomes-Based Evaluation” and “Contents of an Evaluation Plan.”
Then, select a program that you would like to evaluate. You should
build on work that you have done in previous assignments, but be sure to
self-cite any written work that you have already submitted. Complete as
many areas of the “Contents of an Evaluation Plan” as possible, leaving
out items that assume you have already collected and analyzed the data.

By Day 7

Submit a 4- to 5-page paper
that outlines a plan for a program evaluation focused on outcomes. Be
specific and elaborate. Include the following information:

• The purpose of the evaluation, including specific questions to be answered
• The outcomes to be evaluated
• The indicators or instruments to be used to measure those outcomes,
  including the strengths and limitations of those measures to be used to
  evaluate the outcomes
• A rationale for selecting among the six group research designs
• The methods for collecting, organizing and analyzing data
  

  Required Readings

  Dudley, J. R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do. (2nd ed.) Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.

  • Chapters 9, “Is the Intervention Effective?” (pp. 213–250)
  • Chapter 10, “Analyzing Evaluation Data” (pp. 255–275)

  
  

  
  McNamara, C. (2006a). Contents of an evaluation plan. In Basic guide to program evaluation (including outcomes evaluation). Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/evaluation/program-evalu…

  
  

  
  McNamara, C. (2006b). Reasons for priority on implementing outcomes-based evaluation.In Basic guide to outcomes-based evaluation for nonprofit organizations with very limited resources. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/evaluation/outcomes-eval…

  Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].Read the following section:

  • “Social Work Research: Planning a Program Evaluation”

  Optional Resources

  Nash, J., & Flynn, R. J. (2009). Foster-parent training and foster-child outcomes: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis. Vulnerable Children & Youth Studies, 4(2), 128–134.Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

  Rork, K. E., & McNeil. C. B. (2011). Evaluation of foster parent training programs: A critical review. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 33(2), 139–170.Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.