Evaluation

Human service organizations are responsible for making a difference in people's lives. As a result, they need to know if programs and services they provide are achieving intended outcomes. Their funders want to know if they are investing in programs that work. Flint Springs Associates partners with our clients to design and conduct evaluation research intended to address these questions.

Recent research has evaluated:

• The impact of implementing a model program for pregnant and parenting teens across 16 Parent Child Centers on preventing subsequent pregnancies, building positive parenting skills, and achievement of educational and employment goals (Vermont Department for Children and Families)
• The program performance and client outcomes for three economic development programs operated by five Vermont Community Action Agencies (Central Vermont Community Action Council)
• The degree to which a federally funded initiative to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in the Vermont State Hospital and the Brattleboro Retreat achieved its goals.
• Whether older adults and persons with disabilities received better information and improved access to services through a federally funded systems change grant (ADRC)
• Why a Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) supported effort to integrate Medicaid and Medicare funding and services for older adults and persons with disabilities did not achieve its goals (My Care Vermont)
• How well the Vermont Department of Mental Health implements the Vermont law that governs the administration of involuntary psychiatric medication to patients at the Vermont State Hospital. (Act 114 Annual Assessment Report to the Legislature)
• The degree to which federal funds earmarked for senior centers strengthened Vermont's senior center and meal site delivery system; and, promoted successful aging and independent living (Senior Center Earmark)
• Whether a program to promote best practices in nursing homes improved recruitment and retention of direct care workers (Gold Star Nursing Home Employer Program - COVE)
• The degree to which National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects at the University of Vermont increase undergraduate, graduate and faculty participants' interest in science and research, research activities, and the development of a competitive and collaborative research community (Vermont Genetics Network (VGN), Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Undergraduate Biology and Math and Environmental Biology Mentoring Programs - UVM Department of Biology)
• What impact school-based programs targeting teens and their parents have had on community norms for drug and alcohol use, students' attitudes toward high risk behaviors, and teens' connections with adults and other social assets (Connecting Youth, Chittenden South Supervisory Union)
• Whether a street outreach program for persons with psychiatric disabilities increases access to resources and perceived safety in a downtown business district (Community Outreach Team, Howard Center for Human Services)