| This dissertation is a formative program evaluation of Bridgepointe Goodwill's Career Services Division's Great Expectations (GE). GE is an annual week-long summer youth camp begun in the year 2002, which is geared towards exposing youth in the Southern Indiana area ages fourteen to eighteen to the world of work. The program originally targeted disadvantaged or impoverished youth, in order to help stop the cycle of welfare by giving youth the skills they need to find employment in young adulthood; however, GE is now open to all high school students and tries to target a diverse population. This program evaluation focused on developing a comprehensive description of GE, including the creation of a logic model, and developing tools which the program can use to measure outcomes for continued evaluation. The methodology included collecting archival data from the Director of Career Services and the Director of GE at Bridgepointe Goodwill, conducting interviews with the staff involved with planning and implementing GE, as well as ongoing meetings with the Director of Career Services and the Director of GE to ensure accuracy. This program evaluation resulted in a logic model of the program, which is a comprehensive outline of the basic assumptions, the primary activities, and the short and long-term goals of GE. From this model four methods of outcome measurement were formed: Staff-Rated Participant Progress Form, Participant Exit Survey, Guardian Exit Survey, and Six Month/One Year Follow-Up Survey. These outcome measures may be used by GE to track how well the program is meeting its short and long-term goals, in order to help the program ensure quality and identify specific areas which need improvement. |
