Evaluation is a critical element of child abuse prevention program sustainability, as funders and policymakers increasingly ask for evidence of the effectiveness of the programs they fund. It is also necessary for child abuse and neglect prevention and family support programs to conduct evaluation activities as part of their ongoing quality assurance efforts. Use the following resources to identify evaluation strategies, make an economic case for child abuse prevention, and find results of prevention program evaluations.
Checklist to Monitor Progress
National Child Abuse and Neglect Technical Assistance and Strategic Dissemination Center, Children’s Bureau (2015)
View Abstract and Document
Presents a five-step process for monitoring the creation and implementation of child abuse and neglect prevention programs.
Evaluation & Evidence;
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Explores evaluation and analysis in many forms including program evaluation, capacity building initiatives, quantitative and qualitative analysis, pilots and demonstrations, and statistical analysis.
Evaluation Planning
FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP)
Provides a toolkit as a resource for developing an individualized outcome evaluation plan from the ground up along with an online compendium of information and resources related to evaluation.
Menu of Outcomes and Indicators
FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP)
Explains various aspects of outcome evaluation and provides tools to assist child welfare professionals in evaluating program outcomes.
Program Assessment: Identifying What Works in Your State or Locality
Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, Pew Charitable Trusts, & John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2015)
Describes a framework of evaluating State and local government programs with components of program assessment, budget development, implementation oversight, outcomes monitoring, and targeted evaluation.
Tips for Maximizing Participation in Surveys or Focus Groups
National Child Abuse and Neglect Technical Assistance and Strategic Dissemination Center, Children’s Bureau (2018)
View Abstract and Document
Guides child welfare professionals in recruiting participants in qualitative and quantitative data collection.
What Is Implementation Research?
MDRC (2018)
Explains implementation research as an integral component of most studies. The work of implementation research is to investigate how the program produces impacts by understanding the services that are delivered to enrollees and the factors that influence their implementation.