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Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands a quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM), with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation. This session is the 2nd session of the series.

This workshop on Evaluation Basics will provide key information on what evaluation is and how participants can begin evaluating their programs. Presenters will discuss the purpose of evaluation, how it helps organizations in reaching goals, and why it’s important. The workshop will outline the two basic types of evaluation, what questions they answer, and what considerations should be made as organizations begin to evaluate. Presenters will review the core steps in conducting evaluation so participants will walk away with clear next steps for how to integrate evaluation into practice.

This session is part of the 2023 Data and Evaluation Training Series. To view or register for the other sessions, click on the title below.

Session 1: Data Basics
This session – Session 2: Program Evaluation Basics
Session 3: Theory of Change
Session 4: Program Evaluation Planning

CE Total: 1 continuing education credit available
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the purpose of program evaluation and why to evaluate.
2. List the two types of program evaluation (process and outcome).
3. Identify the 5 core steps of implementing evaluation (ask, plan, act, reflect, improve).

Speaker Bio:

Laura Landry, PhD is the Director of Evaluation and Research at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. She has 15 years experience evaluating community-based programs and large-scale prevention initiatives, as well as building the capacity of organizations to utilize data to drive decisions. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Laura oversees the Evaluation and Research Department. Her work focuses on evaluating Judi’s House services, building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field, and disseminating the prevalence of childhood bereavement to inform advocates and practitioners working in the field.

Madeline (Maddy) Verheyden works as a Research Associate at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. In her role, she helps lead the Childhood Bereavement Changemaker expansion, collaborating with organizations across the country to support implementation of data-informed strategies in decision-making, program implementation, and evaluation. Maddy holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology with concentrations in Evaluation Research and Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She can be reached at maddyv@judishouse.org.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 contact hours.

National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.0 continuing education credits.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.

To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Attendance policy:To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event. 

Grievance policy: To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.