Title Page

2001
Exemplary
Program
Evaluations




State:	Montana
Project name:	Educating Families to Achieve Independence (EDUFAIM)
Participants:	Low income adults
Number involved:		Over 4 years more than 1,000 have participated in two communities (encompasses 7 geographic counties including 1 Native American reservation)

		172 matched pre- and posttests
Program:	Education is provided in the following areas:
		nutrition
		parenting
		money management
		job readiness skills
		housing improvements
Where:	Programs delivered in a variety of places
When:	Series of 6 to 10 classes depending on the topic area
Who:	Extension agents and paraprofessional staff provide the educational programs




		To increase the knowledge, skills, behaviors and health orientation that promote self-sufficient living in a cost effective manner
			Client empowerment for obtaining employment
			Mental health/well-being
			Knowledge and behaviors in specific area classes taught
			Client perceptions of growth (transformative learning)
			Impact of programming on cost associated with welfare programming

Methods & Tools

Objectives 1&2:

EDUFAIM survey given to clients as they entered the program and again 3 months later—client demographics, personal variables, measure on empowerment to seek employment (Objective 1) and constructs associated with mental health (Objective 2).

11 measures to evaluate motivational, cognitive, locus of control and self-efficacy aspects of individual empowerment (Objective 1)

5 psychometric measures which included self-esteem, global life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, anxiety, and depression (Objective 2)

Objective 3:

Surveys were developed by the program originators for each class so relevant outcomes could be assessed for each of the following classes: being a parent, self and relationship, job readiness, money management, eating right, housing, getting hired.

Surveys were given prior to and after completing the class

Objective 4:

Interviews were conducted on a sample of EDUFAIM clients to understand the clients' perceptions of the EDUFAIM program and the impact it had on them.

Open-ended questions designed to gather information related to transformational learning as a result of EDUFAIM programming

Identify aspects of programming that were significant from the client's perspective

In-depth interviews with 74 randomly selected EDUFAIM clients

Objective 5:

Analysis of state welfare data supplied by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and the impact of EDUFAIM affiliation on cost related measures.

Analysis

Objective 1:

Used SPSS to conduct t-tests to compare pre- and 3 month follow-up data

Objective 2:

Used SPSS to conduct t-tests to compare pre- and 3 month follow up data

Objective 3:

Used SPSS to compute percentages for pretest and posttest

Objective 4:

Used NUD*IST for qualitative analysis of all interview data—7 themes identified

Objective 5:

Logistic regression was employed to determine the impact of EDUFAIM affiliation on cost related measures

Results

Statistically significant improvement in the following areas were found at some point over the 4-year evaluation results: job seeking efficacy and perceived job seeking efforts.

Global measure of life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, anxiety, and depression measures all showed a statistically significant improvement.

In 85% of the areas measured, more clients responded correctly in the posttest than in the pretest Although this was not noted in all classes, the overall trend indicated positive changes in reported behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes across the vast majority of classes evaluated.

Seven themes were identified that crosscut the interview questions. The themes were labeled life skills, empowerment, social benefits, program value, facilitating learning, program weakness, and "just do it." Based on inductive analyses of client responses, it was concluded that EDUFAIM was fostering transformative learning. Narratives from clients demonstrated an empowered sense of self, fundamental changes in self-perception, adoption of more functional approaches to life, and growth in other ways.

EDUFAIM clients had almost two times the probability of obtaining any employment and more than two times the probability of generating any earnings.




		To assess program effectiveness
		Program planning
		Program modification
		Documentation in grant proposal writing
		Reports to collaborators and funders
		Marketing to potential funders
		Marketing to the community
		For support to replicate program in other places




		Tim Dunnagan Email: uhdtd@montana.edu




		EDUFAIM survey
		Pre- and posttests for each topical program
		Interview questions related to transformational learning