To promote prenatal health and improve birth outcomes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns initiative. The Strong Start initiative is assessing several enhanced prenatal care approaches, including home visiting. As part of the Strong Start initiative, CMS, in partnership with the…

Purpose/Objectives: The US Department of Agriculture created its Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) to address poor nutrition and rising obesity among children. The FFVP allocates funding for selected elementary schools with at least 50% free/reduced price school meal enrollments to provide free fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students.…

Disparities in academic achievement between students who are under-represented minorities, the first in their families to go to college, and/or low income and their more privileged peers affects students from kindergarten through college. Inequities throughout their education, as well as other causes affect the ability of high school graduates to…

The purpose of this study was two-fold. It was first to find out what the educational materials needs were for children living in poverty, and second, to learn of the challenges, obstacles, and strengths by the programs already in place that were supplying educational materials to these children. This study used interviews and surveys as data…

In 2008, the Digital Initiatives Coordinating Committee (DICC) requested a comprehensive assessment of the UW Digital Collections (UWDC). The goal of this assessment was to better understand faculty awareness of and expectations for digital library resources, services and tools; obtain faculty feedback on digital resource and service needs that…

Interviews with state legislators from Wisconsin (D. Bezruki), Massachusetts (T. P. Kennedy), and Virginia (P. Leone) illustrate the roles that evaluation is playing in the current state budget crisis. The influence of evaluation data appears largely specific to individual programs rather than systematically applied to the budgeting process. (SLD)

The Shawano County Evaluation Project examines the results of programing efforts by Extension personnel, county and statewide, over a 15-year period. It attempts to deal with results of all 13 Extension program areas, which range from 4-H to programs for doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. The paper describes the four major variables being…

This document contains the final evaluation report of the Wisconsin Emerging Scholars Program 1993-94 and the script for the audio program. The evaluation report includes an executive summary; a discussion of the parameters of the evaluation including research questions and methods; implementation processes and outcomes for faculty and…

Evaluation procedures for the systematic measurement of Extension's total impact or effectiveness in rural Shawano County, Wisconsin, involved developing comprehensive descriptions of Extension programs from 1960 to 1975 to list types of activities and offerings, topics, attendances, and overviews of efforts in program areas like agriculture, home…

Two-thirds of the 33,000 residents of Shawano County, Wisconsin, live in rural areas; agricultural interests comprise 30% of the employment economy. Inventories of Extension programs from 1960 to 1975 and telephone interviews with county and community leaders and a random sample of 1192 county residents yielded data for this survey. Most adults…

Perceptions of the 4-H club agent's role were studied from the viewpoint of club agents, county coworkers, supervisors, and officers of county leader's organizations. Data were obtained through personal or group interviews with 189 respondents. Forty job activities were classified into the four categories of (1) planning and evaluating club…

In order to focus on important contributions of elementary school instructional media centers (IMC's) to the educational program, a study was conducted to determine the presence of conditions of positive self-concept--cooperation, independence, success, positive atmosphere, challenge, feeling of value or acceptance--in such centers. A descriptive,…

A Wisconsin study examined the perceptions of participants in a state-mandated mentoring program for beginning teachers. A researcher obtained names and addresses of beginning teachers, counselors, and librarians as well as personnel serving as mentors to beginners. A total of 14 mentors and 15 beginning teachers, counselors, and librarians agreed…

To assess the relationship between the competencies taught in ten Wisconsin two-year Associate Degree Electronic Technology programs and the competencies needed on the job, a study surveyed program graduates and employers of graduates regarding the effectiveness of the curriculum. The survey instruments were based on the 120 broad competencies…