Considerations for Planning and Conducting an Evaluation

Upon embarking upon integrated early childhood behavioral health programming, consideration of evaluation processes and specification of expected and desired outcomes are essential. Needs for evaluative data are quite diverse, depending on the varied expectations of stakeholders. Just as there are numerous reasons why one needs to evaluate, there are many different methods that can be used. Designing an evaluation involves a number of important considerations (e.g., deciding when to start and when to finish, what information to collect, and what data collection methods might work best for the population being studied) and there is no one approach that works best in all instances. A key question to ask when deciding on an approach is whether the evaluation design is strong enough to produce trustworthy evidence that the program or intervention works. In sum, the value of evaluation is frequently minimized. Because of this it is often overlooked and many times is the last component of planning, but it should be a key component from the start of any process, project, or program. This chapter discusses reasons why evaluations can and should be done, some considerations for developing an evaluation focus, and elements of evaluation, including measures. It concludes with an evaluation example from the field of integrated early childhood behavioral health programs, which describes the design and results of a parent experiences and satisfaction survey used to assess the effectiveness of Healthy Steps at Montefiore.