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We at The Children's Zone are very proud of our approach to evaluation. While some community-based organizations may shy away from internal and external scrutiny of program implementation and results, we understand that we have much to gain from well-considered assessments of program functioning and results.
To facilitate evaluation, we have developed a database that includes all program participants and established a system for collecting participation information on those participants. Because we maintain a record of the frequency with which individuals use each of our services, we are able to consider a number of important issues. Process and outcome evaluations have permitted us or will permit us to:
- Determine whether we are meeting the goals established in our growth plan.
Review of the number of regular program participants indicates that, for the majority of programs, we have reached or exceeded the number of children and families we were required to serve in order to reach scale. For most programs, we have also met our targets for the percentage of participants who live in the Harlem Children's Zone.
- Assure excellence in programming.
We are ever mindful that any rise in the number of participants must be matched by a continued high level of excellence in the quality of our programs.
- Consider the effects of different amounts of participation in HCZ programs.
Clearly, not every individual or family in the HCZ Project has had the same amount of experience with HCZ programs; some participants have had an extensive amount and some have not. We currently have a database that contains all registration and attendance information for all of our programs from 1999 onward (where applicable). As a result of this resource, we can now begin to consider the impact of different "doses" of our services.
- Consider the effects of serial participation in our programs.
Ideally, we would like the children who participate in our programs to remain connected to the HCZ for years, progressing from one program to another when appropriate. We would like to track students for the long term, determining the effects of a lifetime of participation in HCZ activities on children's outcomes.
- Share the story of HCZ successes with others.
We are eager to share our experience and knowledge with a variety of audiences, including: other community-based organizations, potential funders, policy makers, academic audiences, and the general public.
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Download a copy of our evaluation:
* 2006 Evaluation Highlights (PDF)
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