The Council’s approach to program evaluation is comprehensive, multi-tiered and includes the following key elements:

How Much Did We Do and How Well Did We Do It?

Programmatic Monitoring, conducted by Council staff and outsourced professionals with experience unique to their fields of practice, reviews a range of service elements including fidelity to the intervention model, client/family engagement, program effectiveness, cultural sensitivity, funding utilization and analysis of overall service delivery and documentation.

Administrative Monitoring, conducted by experienced Council staff accountants, reviews the fiscal aspects of the contract, including budget-to-actual, inventory verification, background screening compliance, insurance, audit compliance and invoice accuracy and back-up documentation.

Client Satisfaction, conducted by Council staff, is determined through individual, random client surveys in person and/or by phone.

Is Anybody Better Off?

Performance measurement, conducted by experienced Council research analysts, begins with establishing appropriate targets based on national studies and baseline data collected over time. Performance measurement is evaluated using a variety of designs including validated pre/post-test measurement tools, single-point administration and surveys to determine program effectiveness and provide data for comparison with local, state and national indicators.

Monitoring and ongoing reviews verify that these Council-funded programs provide high-quality services to at-risk and high-risk youth and families, with effective service interventions and sound fiscal management. As summarized in the report, Council-funded programs continue to perform exceedingly well.