Interdisciplinary Center for Program Evaluation
Program evaluation strengthens local and statewide initiatives for education, health and family engagement. It also leads to continuous improvements that maximize programs’ impact on individuals, families and organizations.
Change starts with an evaluation. MMI's Department of Education and Child Development offers the following services.
- Consultation on research or evaluation design.
- Development and implementation of evaluation projects.
- Development of data management systems.
- Implementation of community needs assessments.
- Identification or development of tools.
Early Childhood
The goal of an Early Childhood evaluation is to narrow the student achievement gap in high-risk communities. Projects in this area focus on evaluating initiatives that enhance the quality of early education for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families.
The critical elements of Early Childhood evaluations include:
- Observations of the classroom or home environments.
- Analysis of the child outcomes including development, language, literacy and school readiness skills.
- Evaluation of parenting skills.
Current programs that apply early childhood evaluation include:
- Educare of Omaha is part of a national network providing equitable access to high quality early childhood care centers and education for children birth to age five.
- Office of Early Childhood provides leadership, guidance and support to: develop high quality environments for young children; promote equitable access to inclusive programs and services for all children from birth to age eight; facilitates state and community partnerships that address the needs of young children and their families; and, provides professional development, technical assistance and resources for personnel in childhood care and education settings.
- Results Matter of Nebraska measures child, program, and family outcomes to improve programs and supports for all young children birth to age five served by community early childhood programs.
- Rooted in Relationships partners with communities to implement evidence-based practices using the Pyramid Model to enhance the social, emotional and behavioral development and competence of children, birth through eight.
- Sixpence Early Learning Fund promotes opportunities for Nebraska’s most vulnerable children for success in school and life through high quality early learning in the first three years to meet specific needs of communities.
Family Support
The goal of a family support evaluation is to improve the health and well-being of children and families of all cultural backgrounds. Projects in this areas focus on evaluating engagement and support within families as well as preventing child abuse and neglect.
The critical elements of family engagement and support evaluations include:
- Qualitative analysis of the collaborative process.
- Evaluation of a child’s social-emotional competence.
- Evaluation of parent-child interaction.
- Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale, a sample assessment tool that measures 12 key facets of parenting, can be used in partnership with families to promote parent-child relationships, promote learning and support confidence.
- Evaluation of child and family protective factors.
Current programs that promote family engagement and support include:
- Nebraska Children and Families Foundation supports Nebraska children, young adults and families using a collective impact effort approach and a parent-child interaction strategy with emphasis on prevention, opportunity and collaboration.
Health Care
The goal of a health care evaluation is to improve health care services for children and families.
The critical elements of health care evaluations include:
- Qualitative analysis of the collaborative process.
- Qualitative analysis of projects’ impact.
- Tracking the implementation of courses.
- Tracking short and long-term employment impact on students and practitioners.
K-12 Education
The goal of a K-12 education evaluation is to increase student achievement through in and out-of-school programs.
The critical elements of K-12 education and youth development evaluations include:
- Analysis of length of participation effects on behaviors linked to short and long-term student achievement.
- Qualitative interviews of leaders.
- Case study analysis of stakeholders within schools.
- Study of success stories.
Current programs that promote K-12 education and youth development include:
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program supports the establishment of community learning centers in Nebraska offering expanded learning opportunities in K-12 afterschool and summer programs.