Evaluation and Reporting Outcomes A Guide for Respite and Crisis Care Program Managers Revised Edition, December, 2002

Over the past several years, the ARCH National Respite Network has worked with Dr. Ray Kirk of the University of North Carolina, to develop a guide for evaluating and reporting outcomes. The guide includes instruments that local respite and crisis care programs can use to gather data on the outcomes of their services. A second, revised edition, was done by Casandra Wade, ARCH Outcome Evaluation Specialist. The revised manual is available for purchase now: send check or purchase order for $45 + $6 shipping and handling to ARCH, 800 Eastowne Drive, Suite 105, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514.

The guide explains what outcomes are and shows why programs need to be able to demonstrate their outcomes. It also provides instructions and examples of how to identify, evaluate and report outcomes. The instruments in the guide include published scales that can be purchased, scales that can be photocopied, and instructions for creating customized scales.

In addition, the Revised Edition includes a CD-ROM disk which includes electronic versions of the new data collection instruments created for this project, as well as two Microsoft Access databases (for planned and crisis respite programs, respectively) which can be used to collect outcomes data.

This guide emphasizes the gathering and reporting of data that make the strongest possible case for the effectiveness of respite and crisis care programs. This guide will help local programs demonstrate and report on outcomes such as

• Lowered stress
• Improved relationships between caregivers and dependent children/adults
• Reductions in the likelihood of abuse and neglect, divorce and out-of-home placement
• Improved parenting skills
• Cost effectiveness
• Cost/benefit

Data gathering is primarily done through interviews and/or surveys completed by parents and direct care staff. There is no attempt to set up control groups or to make random assignment to groups. Data analysis is no more complicated than sums and averages and the creation of graphs. Some of the comparison data may be “with and without,” “before and during,” or “pre and post” service, and some of the pre-test information may be gathered retrospectively. This type of comparison eliminates the necessity of asking families very personal questions when they first approach an agency for help, and makes it possible to make comparisons that include families who have already been receiving services when the evaluation begins.

If you have questions about the ARCH outcome evaluation project, please contact Casandra Wade at (360) 769-7167, or casandrawade@charter.net.

ARCH is a service of the Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project