Draft of Introduction

Overview: For this program evaluation, you will identify a community or school-based program in your geographical area or an area of your choice.

You will determine the targeted age group of this program, and this will be your focus of study. (If the program targets more than one age group, simply choose one of the groups.)

Using this group and the program, you will determine how the interventions provided either address or do not address the developmental needs, risk factors, and resiliency factors of the involved children.

After identifying gaps in services, you will research and select an intervention plan to address these gaps, providing justification around the selection.

Prompt: For this assignment, you will complete the introduction.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

1. Provide an introduction by describing the purpose of the evaluation and how it will be completed. Do this by stating the purpose and describing the process of the evaluation (generally, the sections of your report).

2. Identify one community or school-based program from your geographical area or the area of your choice. Examples include, but are not limited to, YWCA/YMCA programs, Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Early Head Start, Head Start, mental health services, child development services, and after-school programs. Be sure to indicate whether the program is community or school-based.

3. Identify the age group served by the program. Typical age groups include infancy (0-3), early childhood (3-5), middle childhood (5-12), and adolescence (13-18). If the program serves multiple age groups, select and identify one group you will address.

4. Identify the major developmental needs, risk factors, and resiliency factors of your selected age group.

Refer to the Definitions document for an explanation of developmental needs, risk factors, and resiliency factors; refer to the text for age-specific developmental needs and risks, and to the assigned web resources for the resiliency factors. This section may be presented in paragraph or bulleted list format.

• Developmental needs include, but are not limited to, learning to walk and run, reading and writing, gaining independence, and making friends.

• Risk factors include poor parenting skills, drug use in the household, social isolation, living in a high-crime neighborhood, and others.

• Resiliency factors include appropriate parenting, good schools, reading and writing supported in the home, healthy meals, appropriate
developmental supports, high self-esteem, and others.

5. Describe the service or services provided by the program. Your description should provide some detail without overwhelming the reader.

Briefly describe the specific activities provided by the program and their stated purpose, if provided.

Guidelines for Submission: Your introduction must be submitted as a 2- to 3-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited in APA format on a separate references page.