The Facts about FACT: An Evaluability Assessment of a Fatherhood Prison Program

• In Event: Roundtable: Incarceration Programs

Abstract

In order for an organization to provide services that are effective and efficient, it is of the utmost importance to determine whether best practices are being enacted through an evaluability assessment. An evaluability assessment improves a program by articulating the program’s measurable actions, clearly defining the program’s stated goals and determining whether they are being met by the particular processes in place, and ultimately producing a logic model that bounds the program, roots the program in theory, and can be used in later evaluations and grant proposals. Fathers and Children Together, a fatherhood program created at SCI Graterford with the objectives of reconnecting incarcerated fathers with their children in order to prevent delinquency and later criminality of the children, was initially established in 2012; however the organization has never been evaluated. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct this study in order to ensure that goals are being met, provided services are grounded in theory, and outcomes are measurable. The process of the evaluability assessment, including thorough document analysis and semi-structured interviews will be discussed, as well as the preliminary findings, difficulties and challenges encountered during the study, and recommendations for program improvement.

Author

• Abigail R. Henson, Temple University