Blyly-Strauss-Pe Assessment Project 3

~Table of Contents~
Topic
Introduction.
Page #
4
Program Overview..
Desired Outcomes.
Objectives.
Delivery Format
Role of Parent Educator
Outreach Methods
Funding & Resources...
Stakeholders & Utilization..
Stakeholders.
Program Staff......
Parent Advisory Councils...
Participants.......... 9
CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012
Partnering Programs and Organizations.
10
Funders................ 10
Director of Early Childhood Education Department..
11
School Board....... 11
Superintendent..... 12
Community Members.
12
Policy Makers...... 12
Community Programs and Organizations...
13
Results Usage
13
Audience.............. 13
Presentation.......... 13
Usage................... 14
Formative Evaluation..
15
Tier One Assessment
15
Important Questions
15
Methods of Evaluation
16
Tier Two Assessment
17
Important Questions
18
19
Tier Three Assessment..
20
Important Questions
20
21
Summative Evaluation. 22
Methods & Measures
22
Rationale & Reporting..
25
Summary Reflection....
26
References 27
Introduction
This paper outlines an evaluation plan for Baby and Me, a hypothetical parent education program. To begin, the reader is
oriented to the goals and format of the Baby and Me program. Following the program overview, areas of inquiry for conduction of
tier one, two, and three evaluation of the Baby and Me program is overviewed. With formative evaluative outlined, the author then
moves on to discussion of summative methods of evaluation for the Baby and Me program. This paper concludes with a brief
reflection on the process of program evaluation design.
Program Overview
Baby and Me is a parent education program for direct caregivers (birth-parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and custodial
relatives) of infants, birth through seventeen-months of age, who live within the boundaries of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It
features a range of weekly classes in convenient neighborhood locations as well as an optional home-visiting component. Classes are
offered three times a year and feature a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for parents of both typically-developing infants
and infants with special needs. At select locations throughout the city, there are classes offered that focus more directly on the unique
needs related to parenting an infant with specific kinds of developmental considerations, such as sensory impairments or medically
fragile status. All program activities are offered on a sliding-fee scaleno one is turned away for an inability to pay.
Desired Outcomes
Ultimately, the Baby and Me program seeks to develop confident and knowledgeable caregivers with a sense of social and
physical support for their important roles in the lives of developing children. Baby and Me seeks to promote the development of
secure infant-caregiver attachments through sensitive and developmentally appropriate responses to young childrens behavioral cues.
Through participation and reflective practice, primary caregivers will gain an enhanced sense of identity and intentionality in their
caregiver role.
Specific Objectives
To achieve our desired outcomes, the Baby and Me program holds at its core the following five program objectives:
1. Parents will develop community-based support structures to celebrate parenting successes and address family needs.
2. Parents will develop a working knowledge of the sequence and typical range of development for infants milestones in the
physical, cognitive, motor, communication, and social-emotional domains.
3. Parents will learn about and be able to apply strategies to address common parenting challenges related to feeding, sleep,
communication, and health status.
4. Parents will be able to identify key elements of their infants personalities and learn ways to interpret and respond to their
infants signals in sensitive and responsive ways that promote secure parent-infant attachments.
5. Parents will reflect on their own personalities, development, and shifting roles as caregivers of infants.
Delivery Format
Baby and Me features a mixed-delivery format with both two-hour long weekly non-separating group classes and optional
individual home visits by parent educators and cooperating professionals, which take place both during the daytime and evening
hours. Classroom experiences combine both whole group and differentiated small group instruction and discussion, depending on the
topic of focus and age-range mix of a specific class. For example, for a topic such as feeding the parent-child and parent education
times may be staggered after an initial introduction and parents self-select which instructional periods are of most interest to them
breast- and bottle-feeding, introducing solid foods, and/or keeping a balanced diet of solid foods. Class enrollment caps at fifteen
parents and onsite-childcare is available for older siblings. Depending on the needs of the families being served, collaboration and
joint home visits may take place between Baby and Me program staff, Early Intervention staff, Early Head Start staff, public health
nurses, and/or other Hennepin county social service and support staff. In instances in which the parent educators and parents being
served speak different languages, interpreter and translation services are provided to assist in successful interpersonal and educational
communication in home and classroom settings.
Role of Parent Educator
The role of the parent educator in the Baby and Me program is a balanced one of educator and discussion facilitator. On the
education end, the parent educator teaches parents about infant development and explains and models strategies for supporting infant
development and addressing common challenges of parenting infants. In the facilitator role, the parent educator ensures regular time
during classes for parents to share their joys and discoveries in their parenting role, supports sensitive and responsive parent-infant
interactions, and facilitates discussions among parents about how they can apply developmental concepts and strategies to their
parenting roles at home.
Outreach Methods
Awareness about the program is built through public awareness campaigns, hospital outreach and referrals, and collaboration
with the districts Early Intervention (EI) program. The public awareness campaign includes taking out advertisements in the local
neighborhood and ethnic papers and placing program flyers and/or brochures in local libraries and park buildings. The hospital
outreach includes educating medical staff about the program and providing local maternity wards and pediatric and family practice
offices with informational materials to provide to parents of infants as well as postage-paid referral cards that can be filled out in the
office for a Baby and Me staff to directly contact the family. Collaboration with the districts EI staff includes educating them about
what the program has to offer to families, helping to coordinate needed services that meet both infant and parents needs, and
contributing to a shared resource library.
Funding & Resources
Funding and material resources for the Baby and Me program principally come through the Minneapolis school district, under
the umbrella of Early Childhood Family Education programming. Additional resources and supports are secured through targeted
grants and on an as-need basis for parents and infants through inter-agency collaborations.
Stakeholders & Utilization
Owing to its focus on early development and the importance of early development on later child outcomes, the Baby and Me
program has a diverse stakeholder base inclusive of district staff, community members, policy makers, and other organizations. As
described in this section, these stakeholders should have a role in the process of program evaluation and results usage.
Stakeholders
As described below, the Baby and Me program has a wide range of stakeholders representing program and school district
interests, program participants, community members, policy makers, and community organizations and programs.
Program staff. Baby and Me staffincluding parent educators, early childhood educators, paraprofessionals, and program
site leadsplay a critical role in the programs development and implementation. They should, therefore, play a key role in
the process of evaluation design, implementation, and findings review processes. The program staff are likely to be interested
in analysis of the characteristics of those participating in the program, the reasons why caregivers choose to participate or not
participate in the program, the awareness level in the general community of the programs existence, the strengths and
weaknesses of the programs curriculum and implementation, and the progress being made towards achievement of program
outcomes and short-term objectives, among other things.
Program staff, as stakeholders intimately involved in program operation, are in a unique and valuable position to
contribute insight into the programs functioning while also being able to track specific indicators and gather participant
feedback as part of classroom assessment processes. These stakeholders may be reaffirmed for their work through the
evaluation process as well as gaining insight and ideas for improvement of practice through consultation of evaluation results
at both site and district-wide levels.
Parent advisory councils. Being a part of ECFE, Baby and Me has caregiver representatives at both site- and district-level
program advisory councils. These primary caregivers, who have already stepped into leadership roles within the program, play
a unique role in helping program staff understand the needs and experiences of participants and working for program
improvement and securing of additional resources (such as through fundraisers). Because of their involvement in participant
leadership roles, advisory council members are important stakeholders to involve in the planning and implementation
processes of program evaluation. They may be interested in learning more about the participants served at different sites, the
ways that the program staff are working to adjust programming to meet current caregiver and community needs, and ways that
the early childhood experience may be beneficial to their young childrenamong other things.
As peers, advisory councils may be able to help collect evaluation information from current participants and/or nonparticipant parents in the community that program staff may not have ready access to. They are likely to feel satisfied if they
feel that their own voices and those of other caregivers are being taken seriously in the evaluation process and then see that the
results are being used to improve the programs design and implementation within the own home program site and/or the
district as a whole.
Participants. The primary caregivers who participate in the program are a crucial stakeholder in evaluation of the Baby and
Me program and should be involved in the evaluation process. Program participants may be interested in learning more about
who participates in the program, the quality of curriculum and program activities that are presented, the value of program
participation to their infants, and the outcomes that parents and infants experience from participating in the program. These
stakeholders can offer important insight into the programs methods for attracting and retaining participants, perceptions of the
programs relevance to stated objectives and delivery, and suggestions of strengths and areas for improvement in the program.
Program participants are likely to feel satisfied if they feel that their own voices and those of other caregivers are being taken
seriously in the evaluation process and then see that the results are being used to improve the programs design and
implementation within their site and/or the district.
Partnering programs and organizations. Partnering programsboth inside and outside the districtas well as other
agencies and organizations that partner with Baby and Me in the community are important stakeholders to consider in the
evaluation design, implementation, and results review processes. These stakeholders may be able to help delineate elements of
partnership between the Baby and Me program and their own worksuch as communication methods, degree of interagency
partnership, working styles of collaboration, perceived benefits for participants, division of resource responsibilities, etc.
Partnering programs and organizations may feel satisfied with the evaluation process if they have a meaningful role that is
acknowledged, if they feel that their input is being heard and considered, and if the results are provided in a format that may
help with future fundraising efforts.
Funders. Funders of the Baby and Me program may include the state legislature and various private and public grant-making
foundations and agencies. Because this is the source of financial resources on which the program depends, it is crucial to keep
these stakeholders in mind when planning program evaluation. Program funders are likely to have their own specific reporting
guidelines as outlined in their grant guidelines. A body such as the state legislature may appreciate seeing evidence of the
quality indicators for ECFE programs (Minnesota Department of Education, 2001). Some information that these stakeholders
may find important in an evaluation of the Baby and Me program include the overall cost of the program, the way that
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resources are being utilized, the number and demographics of participants, participants perception of the program, and
program outcomes.
Director of Early Childhood Education department. Since, unlike other districts, Minneapolis has moved ECFE out of the
community education department and into a new department of Early Childhood Education, it is important for the director of
this new department be involved in the program evaluation process. The director may be interested in the number of caregiver
and infant participants, the level of participant satisfaction, and how Baby and Me collaborates with the Early Intervention
program and transitions infants and their families into other ECFE classes or district early childhood program. The department
director may also be interested in the sources of funding currently and historically used, the contingencies related to these
funding sources, the level of efficiency of resource utilization, how the program is advertised and what populations it draws in,
and whether upon preschool or kindergarten entrance children who participated in Baby and Me display any differences in
behavior or achievement from non-participants. Such findings could be used when determining fundraising and allocation
priorities, as well as making staffing recommendations.
School board. As the elected governing body of the school district, the school board is an important stakeholder to consider in
the program evaluation process. The school board is likely to be interested in the constituency served by the program, the cost
of the program to the district, the funding sources to pay for the program, the perceptions and outcomes for program
participants, and the qualifications of the program staff.
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Superintendent. As the hired head of the school district, the superintendent is an important stakeholder to consider in the
program evaluation process. Since the superintendent delegates many detail things to the director of the Early Childhood
Education department, the superintendent is likely to be interested most in the broad factors that the school board isthe
constituency served by the program, the cost of the program to the district, the funding sources to pay for the program, the
perceptions and outcomes for program participants, and the qualifications of the program staff.
Community members. A variety of community memberscaregivers of infants who are not participating in the program,
expectant and potential parents, family members and friends of program participants, neighbors, and other individualsmay
be valuable stakeholders in the program evaluation process and/or desirable recipients for evaluation findings. Information
that may be solicited from these stakeholders include awareness level of the program, any reasons for not participating in the
program, perceived benefits or desirability of the program, suggestions for making the program more welcoming or accessible,
etc. Community members may be interested in finding out information from the evaluation, such as how many people the
program serves, who those people are, how much the program costs, and what the program outcomes are.
Policy makers. Policy makers at a local city, county, state, and possibly national level are stakeholders who may be interested
in the results and a cost-benefit analysis of the Baby and Me program. These stakeholder may be trying to make sense of what
they hear about the importance of the early childhood period and learn about the ways that programs that effect this young
demographic may be able to save money in the long-run.
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Community programs and organizations. Social service, youth-focused, and pediatric programs and organizations in the
community (who are not current program partners) represent a final stakeholder demographic in relation to the Baby and Me
program. These stakeholders may be interested in the evaluation findings, specifically the programs funding sources, the
demographics being served, and program outcomes.
Results Usage
When considering the usage of evaluation results, it is important to consider who will see the results, how the results will be
presented, and how the results will be used. These three areas are outlined below:
Audience. The audience for evaluation results from the Baby and Me program include all of the stakeholders described above.
While some of these stakeholders currently have direct involvement and investment in the program, others currently have more
indirect involvement, and some currently have no involvement but are important to communicate results to because they offer
the potential for future participation and/or program support (important if you want an ongoing and growing program).
Presentation. Multiple formats of results presentation will be necessary to address the various interests of different
stakeholders, as described above. For example, while many program staff may be interested in a report of detailed findings
related to the day-to-day operations of the program to be utilized for recruitment and instructional improvement, the school
board and superintendent may be more interested in a brief PowerPoint summary of key demographics and outcomes data, as
well as accountability for resources and staff qualifications. Another consideration for dispersal of evaluation results is the
language usedminimizing jargon for general audiences and making versions available in different home languages (for
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example, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and Oromo). A third consideration is the method of results delivery, which may include a
published written report, a summary brochure, a radio interview, a documentary video or talk show on cable access, a
community-forum public presentation with question/answer session, small group presentations to the advisory councils or a
meeting of collaborative partners, etc.
Usage. Evaluation results from the Baby and Me program may be put to a number of purposes. The first purpose is direct
program improvement by program stafffor example, there may be areas of undesirable inconsistency identified between
different program sites or educators, there may be indication for specific kinds of training or resource dedication, or there may
be new ways offered to attract more program participants. A second use for evaluation results involves marketing or
promoting any positive findings to both current supporters and a more general audience, potentially building credibility and
acceptance for the program among diverse constituencies. A third use for program evaluation data is demonstrate
accountability and transparency to current funders and program partners in effort to solidify supportive relationships that will
allow the program to continue with some stability of support. A fourth, though possibly not final, use for the evaluation results
is to secure further funding through incorporation of current findings into grant proposals seeking to maintain and build on
existing programmatic successes.
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Formative Evaluation
Jacobs (2003) presents a five-tiered model for evaluation of family life education programs. The first three tiersneeds
assessment, monitoring and accountability, and quality review and program clarification fall into the category of formative evaluation
methods. Formative evaluation is very important for helping program staff and other immediate stakeholders keep abreast of the
current functioning of the program as well as to alert them to ongoing strengths and areas of need for improvement. Below are
outlined key questions and methods for tiers one, two, and three evaluation.
Tier One Assessment
Tier one of Jacobs (2003) five-tier model is the needs assessment. The purpose of this tier is to determine the scope of unmet
problem and service needs in a community, to propose programming to address the unmet need, to establish baseline data on needs
that the proposed programming seeks to address, and to build interest and support for the proposed program. At this tier, there are
specific questions and methods for evaluation that may be appropriate, as outlined below.
Important questions. Due to its focus on a very specific geographical area and the district department (Early Childhood
Education) that would be initiating the needs assessment, a number of questions become apparent, such as:
What programs and services are currently available for young children and their caregivers in the city of Minneapolis?
How many young children and caregivers are currently being served by these programs and services?
What are the age, racial, SES, and other demographics currently being served?
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How many families with young children are residing in the city but not participating actively in the available programs and
services?
What are barriers and supports for program participation?
What are pediatricians, country workers, social workers, clergy, etc. seeing as unmet needs for families of young children
in the community?
What are families of young childrens perceived needs?
What are potential funding sources and/or other supportsboth in the district as well as outside itfor a new program
serving the families of young children?
What are the legal requirements as far as staffing, physical environment, etc. for programs serving young children and their
families?
Methods of evaluation. Evaluation at the first tier level of needs assessment may take the form of reviewing existing records
as well as gathering new information. For example, existing ECFE records from the district could be reviewed to analyze
present usage and characteristics of the demographics served. Existing parent survey data from ECFE may contain
information on parents perceived needs. Additionally, census data could be examined online to determine how many young
children and households with young children are residing in the city. A brief survey could be mailed or conducted on the
phone, contacting social service and other likely providers of services to the families of young children to identify existing
programs and demographics served. Focus groups could be held with professionals from the districts existing ECFE and
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Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs to examine what un-met or under-met needs they find with the families
they work with. Focus groups could also be held with parents of young children to examine factors that may motivate or
dissuade them from participating in programs with their young children. Surveys or focus groups could also be arranged for
those working in social service agencies, clergy, pediatrics, etc. to learn about what un-met or under-met needs they observed
in families of young children.
Once the specifics of a need are defined, additional information reviews will be required to begin building a foundation
for the program. For example, searches could be conducted online for requests for proposals (RFPs) to determine what funds
may be available, through governmental and private sources, to support a program targeted at families of young children.
Minnesota law should be consulted to determine the appropriate qualifications for staff of a district program and any other
legal guidelines (such as staff-participant ratios, physical space, amenities, etc.). Professional organizations may be consulted
to examine curricular frameworks that may be appropriate, such as the Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework
(Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education, 2011). District facilities should also be looked into to identify
possible locations throughout the city that would be able to meet the needs of the program.
Tier Two Assessment
Tier two of Jacobs (2003) five-tier model is monitoring and accountability. The purpose of this tier is to monitor the
programs performance, to demonstrate accountability to funders, to build constituency base, and to provide information useful for
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current planning and decision making as well as higher-tier evaluation efforts. At this tier, there are specific questions and methods
for evaluation that may be appropriate, as outlined below.
Important questions. Because this program serves primary caregivers of infants and infants and has a broad stakeholder base,
it would be important to keep track of a variety of information for basic monitoring and accountability purposes. Some
questions that would get at this monitoring and accountability information include:
How many staff are working in the program and what are their qualifications?
What are the programs expenditures (where does the budget go)?
Since it is a sliding-scale fee program, how much money is being brought in by fees and what percentage of the
expenditures does this cover?
How many primary caregivers and infants are participating in the program and what are their demographics (age, ethnicity,
SES, developmental status of infant, etc.)?
What is the average class attendance for different program sites?
How many participants leave the program after participation in three or fewer sessions?
What is the class schedule for each site and how many classes are being offered in the program as a whole?
How many home visits are being scheduled?
How many home visits are being attended?
Who is taking advantage of the home visit option and how frequently is it being used by these participants?
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How many collaborative partnerships are taking place and with what other programs or organizations?
How many referrals to outside agencies are being made and by whom?
Methods of evaluation. Evaluation of the second tier of evaluation may be accomplished through careful planning of the
forms and procedures put in place during the program development processthen reviewing the collected information at
regular intervals to monitor any changes that may occur. For example, care should be taken when designing participant
registration forms to include relevant demographic information in addition to contact information. Copies of class schedules
for every term should be retained and compiled. There should be a logging process in place for home visits, noting who the
visit was with and whether the visit was scheduled or scheduled and completed. Formal contracts or agreements should be put
together for inter-program and inter-agency partnerships. There should be a process for logging staff referrals that were made,
noting (minimally) the date of referral, the referring staff, and the agency referred to. An exit survey may be designed and
mailed (or emailed or administered over the phone by an interpreter) to those individuals who do not return to the program
after participation in three or fewer sessions. Also, the district should ensure oversight of the budget, maintaining accurate
records of accounts receivable and accounts payable. By building monitoring systems into the program from the beginning
as well as carefully training staff in on these systems so that they are implementedthe Baby and Me program should be able
to meet its program monitoring and accountability needs.
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Tier Three Assessment

Tier three of Jacobs (2003) five-tier model is quality review and program clarification. The purpose of this tier is to develop a
more accurate and holistic picture of how the program is being implemented, to determine the consistency and quality of program
implementation, and to provide useful information for program improvement. At this tier, there are specific questions and methods for
evaluation that may be appropriate, as outlined below.
Important questions. Because this program serves primary caregivers of infants and infants and has a broad stakeholder base,
it would be important to keep track of a variety of information for understanding the programs day-to-day functioning, degree
of fidelity in implementation, and overall quality. Some questions that would get at information important in quality review
and program clarification include:
Is the demographic served at each program site representative of the surrounding community?
If the demographic does not appear representative, why might this be so?
Is the program working to capacity or could it serve more caregivers and infants than are currently participating?
Once a primary caregiver starts in the program are they likely to continue, or is there a pattern of showing up once or
twice and then not coming back?
How frequently and intensely are parent educator and early childhood educator collaborating in planning to meet the
needs of the participating caregivers and infants?
How much of the information presented in classes comes from verified sources?
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How relevant do the parents feel that the curriculum topics and activities are to their needs?
How are partnerships between Baby and Me and Early Intervention (EI) program staff working? Are they satisfying to
the staff and meeting the caregivers and infants needs?
How are partnerships with other agencies working? Are they satisfying to the program and agency staff and meeting
caregiver and infant needs?
What topics are discussed in home-visit sessions and how much are these discussions followed up on either in the class
or in future home-visit sessions?
How are the monitoring systems being implemented? Are they working well, is more training needed on the, and/or are
program staff noticing things that are not currently in place that may be beneficial?
Methods of evaluation. One major source of information for this third tier of evaluation comes from review of the data
gathered in an ongoing manner through the monitoring system described above. Additionally, formative evaluation
instruments such as surveys and structured interviews may be generally formed around questions such as those described
above, or in more detail by incorporating specific indicators from the quality indicators for Early Childhood Family Education
programs (Minnesota Department of Education, 2001), for specific stakeholder groups inclusive of participating primary
caregivers, program staff, and representatives from partnering programs and organizations. Additionally, it may prove
beneficial to revisit the focus group format utilized in the tier one needs assessment to gather input from caregivers of infants
who are not enrolled in the Baby and Me program, finding out their perceptions of the program and any blocks (logistical
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and/or mental) they may have against program participation. Other methods that may be helpful at this tier of evaluation
include gathering observation data (either in person or using video tape) to facilitate reflection and critique of classroom
practice and to review of lesson plans and handouts to check for alignment with program goals and quality of source content.
Summative Evaluation
Jacobs (2003) tier four outcomes evaluation is concerned with determining what progress toward program outcomes has been
made, if any, that can be linked to program participation and to suggest information for program improvement. What follows is
discussion of Baby and Mes program objectives and how they may be assessed at tier four, as well as a rationale for the
acceptableness of the suggested measures in the context of results reporting.
Methods and Measures
Because each of the five short-term program objectives touches on a separate set of skills, information on the methods and
measures to be used for each is discussed separately below.
1. Parents will develop community-based support structures to celebrate parenting successes and address family needs.
This first program objective can be assessed through multiple methods. Looking through the curriculum and lesson plans for
classes can indicate whether or not the importance of developing social supports can indicate the exposure that this concept has
been given in classes and home visiting sessions. Consideration of the data on referrals (collected as part of tier two) and
follow-up on referral outcomes can provide information on development of community supports to address family needs.
Additionally, reflective surveys and interviews with participating caregivers can add additional insight into the subjective
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feeling of support that may be being experienced and parents perceptions of whether or not the program had an influence on
their sense of community support.
2. Parents will develop a working knowledge of the sequence and typical range of development for infants milestones in the
physical, cognitive, motor, communication, and social-emotional domains.
This second program objective can be assessed through multiple methods. One method of assessment can be observation
during parenting discussions, making anecdotal notes of when parents make comments understanding the developmental
appropriateness for their child and/or accurate assessments of what skills may be coming next for their infants. A second method of
gathering information for this Baby and Me program objective is through use of a modified version of the Knowledge of Infant
Development Inventory (KIDI; MacPhee, 2002), to assess caregivers knowledge of (among other things) developmental norms and
milestones and developmental processes during the infant period (birth through seventeen months of age). A third method of
assessment for this objective would be to create and administer a program-specific survey or structured interview to gain
understanding of caregivers level of accuracy and confidence in knowledge of developmental progression across domains.
3. Parents will learn about and be able to apply strategies to address common parenting challenges related to feeding, sleep,
communication, and health status.
This third program objective can be assessed through multiple methods. One method for assessment of this Baby and Me
objective is to review the curriculum, lesson plans, and handouts to determine the extent to which this information was presented on
during program activities. A second method of assessment is to observe caregivers interactions with their infants during class time,
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noting anecdotally any differences of interactions across time as well as any instances where it appeared that a parent was trying a
strategy discussed in class but not previously observed. A third method of gathering information for this Baby and Me program
objective is through use of a modified version of the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI; MacPhee, 2002), to assess
caregivers knowledge of (among other things) parental beliefs and knowledge of health and safety practices. A fourth method of
assessment for this objective would be to create and administer a program-specific survey or structured interview to gain
understanding of caregivers level of knowledge and confidence in parenting strategies to use with their infant and whether and/or
how they feel that participation in the program impacted their parenting skills.
4. Parents will be able to identify key elements of their infants personalities and learn ways to interpret and respond to their infants
signals in sensitive and responsive ways that promote secure parent-infant attachments.
This fourth program objective can be assessed through multiple methods. One method to assess this objective is through
observation of caregivers interactions with their infants during program activities, making anecdotal notes on the relative
sensitiveness and immediacy of response to infant cues. A second method to consider this objective is review of lesson plans and
handouts to determine the types of information and activities addressing infants personalities and parenting practices that can lead to
secure attachments. A third method of assessment for this objective would be to create and administer a program-specific survey or
structured interview to gain understanding of caregivers level of understanding of what personality is, how their infant can be
described personality-wise, and ways they would respond to specific sounds or actions by their infant. A fourth method of
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assessment, more intrusive and less likely to be used at this tier, would be to go through procedures (such as the strange situation) that
demonstrate attachment style differences.
5. Parents will reflect on their own personalities, development, and shifting roles as caregivers of infants.
This fifth program objective can be assessed through multiple methods. A first method to consider this program objective is
review of lesson plans to determine the quantity and type of reflection and self-understanding activities that were presented to
caregivers. A second method of assessment relating to this Baby and Me objective is to observe during program activities and make
anecdotal notes of caregiver comments and suggestions that demonstrate self-knowledge and reflection. A third method of assessment
for this objective would be to create and administer a program-specific pre-post or reflective survey or structured interview to gain
understanding of caregivers perceptions of the relative importance of reflection and how they wish their own infants experiences to
be similar or different from what they experienced growing up.
Rationale and Reporting
When presenting evaluation findings I would want to emphasize the value of using multiple methods of assessment to be able
to locate areas of convergence. The areas of convergenceespecially when present across multiple program sitesare likely to
indicate strong findings (either in a positive or negative direction) and so deserve to be taken more seriously than any single measure
alone. It is especially powerful to combine data that has been observed by multiple program staff members with self-report data from
participants and find areas of agreementthis practice minimizes the likelihood that findings have been unduly swayed by the
motivations or confidence levels of any one individual.
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Summary Reflection
When designing a program it is important to design and program implement evaluation methods right along with it. Even
before a single class has been held, gathering of important formative assessment data can begin taking place. Unlike delivery of a
specific lesson, program evaluation is not something that you might introduce once every year or twoinstead, it is a critical program
component to be implementing at varying levels on a continual basis, refining program practices as current needs and contexts
indicate. While all assessment data does not need to be shared with Baby and Mes broad stakeholder base, using intentionality in
design of results presentations targeted to specific stakeholders can be an effective way to build a strong and loyal constituency base.
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References
Jacobs, F. H. (2003). Child and family program evaluation: Learning to enjoy complexity. Applied Developmental Science, 7(2), 6275. doi: 10.1207/S1532480XADS0702_3
MacPhee, D. (2002). Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI) (infant and preschool versions). Fort Collins, CO: Colorado
State University.
Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education (2011). Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework.
Minnesota Department of Education (2001). Quality indicators for Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) programs.
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Blyly-Strauss-Pe Assessment Project 3

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~Table of Contents~

Role of Parent Educator

Funding & Resources...

Stakeholders & Utilization..

Parent Advisory Councils...

Partnering Programs and Organizations.

Tier One Assessment

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

Tier Two Assessment

Tier Three Assessment..

Rationale & Reporting..

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

What are barriers and supports for program participation?

What are families of young childrens perceived needs?

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

What is the average class attendance for different program sites?

How many home visits are being scheduled?

How many home visits are being attended?

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

Tier Three Assessment

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

CI 5946 Assessment & Evaluation Assignment 3 ~ Mina Blyly-Strauss ~ Spring 2012

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