OVERVIEW:

The Center of Urban Research and Learning at Loyola University Chicago is collaborating with the Ounce of Prevention to evaluate its efforts in various communities as they seek to leverage change for children through their community assessment projects. This community assessment project allows for strategic decisions to be made at the Ounce and its delegate agencies. The community assessment reports, which are created every 3 years and updated annually, allow the centers to remain in compliance with HeadStart performance standards. The community assessment reports will be updated for the 2008-2009 year. The findings from these assessments can be used to guide program designs and external partnerships while ensuring that the centers are meeting the needs of the community. The Community Assessment project requires the evaluation team to collect and triangulate various pieces of information from families, participating centers, and public databases. The Center has a tremendous amount of experience on the community assessment process, particularly as it relates to the early childhood education context. The evaluation partnership between the Ounce and CURL staff would harness the data and allow for Ounce-led dialogue on strategic directions for the overall organization and each of its sites.