Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250072
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA T. CARROLL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In an increasingly competitive fund-raising environment, however, we are finding that these head counts no longer suffice to describe our value to our funding sources and donors, users of our services or the community at large. We are being asked to go beyond counting sticks and show the quantifiable value of our services to these stakeholders, to answer the frequently asked question, ``What difference do your services make?''
United Way of Roanoke Valley recently began an evaluation process for its partner agencies to measure program outcomes and community change resulting from campaign funding of specific programs. At this time, fewer than a dozen United Ways across the country are engaging in this type of outcome-based evaluation, and United Way leaders asked Greenvale School to participate in the initial group of agencies for this evaluation.
Our board of directors and staff had some initial concerns and trepidation about undertaking this new procedure. While we had participated, as all United Way partner agencies do, in previous evaluation studies, this outcome-based evaluation was intended to review and analyze our program objectives and results and to make a judgment about whether our objectives produce a positive, meaningful difference in the lives of our children and families.
We were concerned that this process could affect our United Way funding, which this year will total $221,239. The funding we receive from United Way enables us to provide sliding-scale fees for our services based on family income and financial obligations.
Our impact study committee was composed of community volunteers and assisted by Council of Community Services staff. They began meeting with our board and staff to guide us through the process. Perhaps our most formidable task was the definition of the community problem we were attempting to address, and a statement of our response to the problem.
We defined the community problem as follows: Today's changing work force and family and community structures have produced a large number of single-parent households, households where both parents work at full-time jobs, and ``empty'' homes and neighborhoods during the day. The result of these trends is that, in the absence of affordable child care, children are being left in the home unsupervised or in other undesirable environments, and are not receiving the proper support, training and skill development they need. At Greenvale, 63 percent of our children are from single-parent families.
Our response to this problem is a valleywide, sliding-fee-scale child-care program for low-income working families and parents or those seeking high school diplomas, vocational or college education.
Our next tasks were to develop clear, measurable objectives addressing the behavior our programs sought to achieve, maintain or change between our children and families, and to install data collection systems to measure our actual achievement. Since we were already collecting significant data on enrollment, the health of our children, performance and developmental testing, speech and language skills and nutrition, it was relatively easy for our agency to incorporate recommendations made by the study committee to expand and summarize this data.
When we received United Way's final report and recommendations, we were extremely pleased to have undertaken this review. I perceived a new sense of pride and improved morale among our staff and volunteers that United Way had selected us as one of the first study candidates, and had informed us that we had come through with flying colors.
This study process will make us more responsive to changing community needs, will help us in our fund-raising and marketing efforts, and will motivate our staff and volunteers to continue the excellent service they give. The process already has helped us build a stronger case for financial support from United Way and other sources.
Child-care needs will continue to change in our Roanoke Valley. We are seeing an increased need for services for special needs children, for sick child care, and for extended hours to fit changing work patterns in our community. In addition, the need for scholarship funds to subsidize child care for low-income families remains an ongoing need.
Welfare reform, federal budget reductions and tax reform proposals will all have an effect on health and human services in our community. At the very least, any expectation that welfare recipients will be required to work will increase the need for child-care services such as Greenvale School provides.
We are now prepared to do a better job of demonstrating and communicating our value to our community, by producing positive and meaningful differences in the lives of our children and their families and by measuring these outcomes and benchmarking our success.
Sandra T. Carroll is executive director of Greenvale School, a nonprofit day-care center and United Way of Roanoke Valley partner agency.
by CNB