Evaluating Family Programs

Evaluating Family Programs PDF

Author: Francine H. Jacobs

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-24

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 1351311069

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The diverse composition of American families and changing ways of raising our children have become subjects of intense scrutiny by researchers and policymakers in recent years. Shifting demographics and work patterns, growing numbers of women in the work force, teenage pregnancy, single-parent families, and the deinstitutionalization of the elderly, disabled, and mentally ill--all these trends have significantly affected family life. Evaluating Family Programs effectively bridges the gap between researchers and practitioners in order to bring practical, understandable advice to providers of family programs and to program funders and policymakers. Heather B. Weiss and Francine H. Jacobs have collected in this volume works which move outside the traditional approaches of their disciplines to create new models for delivering and evaluating services. This sets a mood of genuine inquiry and excitement about successful aspects of programs while maintaining openness about the limitations of both research and practice. By expanding the research model, this work is an attempt to understand reciprocal influences of extended family, culture, community, and social institutions. It urges those who advocate program accountability to understand that not all types of evaluations are appropriate for all programs, and it notes that limitations in current evaluation technologies make it difficult to evaluate outcomes. Evaluating Family Programs reminds the reader that in order to develop sound family policy we must look at children and families in context. Beacuse policymakers, program administrators, and informed citizens have come to rely more upon the results of evaluation research, we must improve our methods while not losing sight of its limitations. It is a thought-provoking contribution to the efforts of those who seek to support the American family with compassion, understanding, and realism.

Family Evaluation

Family Evaluation PDF

Author: Murray Bowen

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2009-08-01

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0393075559

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The concepts of Murray Bowen, one of the founders of family therapy and the originator of family systems theory, are brought together here in an integrative fashion. Michael Kerr (who worked with Bowen for many years) and Bowen propose that the enormously complex task of evaluating a clinical family can be orderly when it is grounded in family systems theory. Using family diagrams and case studies, the book is devoted to an elegant explication of Bowen theory, which analyzes multigenerational family relationships and conceptualizes the family as an emotional unit or as a network of interlocking relationships, not only among the family members, but also among biological, psychological, and sociological processes. Bowen’s persistent inquiry and devotion to family observation, in spite of obstacles and frustrations, have resulted in a theory that has radically changed our ways of looking at all behavior.

Evaluating Family-based Services

Evaluating Family-based Services PDF

Author: Peter J. Pecora

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 9780202360942

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"Family-based service (FBS) programs have been developing rapidly across the country at a time of increasingly scarce human resources and in a politically volatile climate. Such a context has made evaluation of such programs imperative. The present volume reviews basic elements of evaluation in the light of current knowledge and then highlights the most useful research instruments for measuring changes in child and family functioning. Chapters focus on evaluation methods that can be employed to determine the success of existing policy and to influence the development of new policy." "A companion volume to Families in Crisis, this book will serve as a practical manual on FBS evaluation and a guide to current debates on research and policy for programs to support and strengthen families."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Keeping Families Together

Keeping Families Together PDF

Author: Charlotte Booth

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-12

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1351510274

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When a family's problems become so severe that traditional community resources are unable to help them effectively, caseworkers are usually advised to place children outside the home. Family preservation services such as Homebuilders are designed to give caseworkers and families another option: services that are more intensive, accessible, flexible, and goal-oriented than conventional supports. Instead of relieving family pressure by removing a child, the approach described here adds resources to alleviate pressure and to facilitate the development of a nurturing environment for children within the context of the family. Whereas crisis intervention attempts to resolve immediate problems their approach enables the family to function better after the crisis than before. In addition to their obvious social benefits, family preservation services are cost effective. Straightforward and practice-oriented, Keeping Families Together profiles the kinds of families that are assisted by prevention services such as this, tracing the salient features of its innovative approach to crisis intervention, its organizational features, and its knowledge and research base. Rich in actual examples drawn from family practice, this book will be of great interest to beginning students as well as practitioners in family and children's services. The book is also intended for those who are considering beginning their own Family Preservation Services to evaluate whether or not the approach will be a good fit for them, to become aware of some of the complexities of program design and training so that they can make informed decisions. When the book first appeared, Contemporary Psychology said that it "speaks for itself as a wonderful description of how to be of help to families in crisis."

Learning from Experience

Learning from Experience PDF

Author: Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1982-02-01

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0309032326

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Prepared by the Panel on Outcome Measurement in Early Childhood Demonstration Programs, this report attempts (1) to characterize recent developments in programs and policies for children and families that challenge traditional approaches to evaluation, and (2) to trace the implications of these developments for outcome measurement and for the broader conduct of evaluation studies. The report is divided into two parts. Part I begins by tracing the historical evolution of demonstration programs and their evaluations from 1960 to the mid-1970s. Next, the policy issues and programs that have evolved in recent years and that appear to be salient for the 1980s are examined in detail. Some important implications of these programs and policy developments for outcome measurement and evaluation design are then identified. Finally, implications of the evaluation process for the dissemination and utilization of results, for the organization and conduct of applied research, and for the articulation between applied research and basic social science are pointed out. Part II includes six background papers which were prepared by the panel members together with outside consultants to facilitate the panel's discussion of the evaluation of children's programs. Each paper covers a specific type of program: health, day care, family service, preschool compensatory education programs, and programs for the handicapped. In addition, a paper on the communication and dissemination of the results of evaluations is included. (MP)

School, Family, and Community Partnerships

School, Family, and Community Partnerships PDF

Author: Joyce L. Epstein

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2018-07-19

Total Pages: 518

ISBN-13: 1483320014

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Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

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