Do Federal Social Programs Work?

Do Federal Social Programs Work?
Author: David B. Muhlhausen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2013-04-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Addressing an issue of burning interest to every taxpayer, a Heritage Foundation scholar brings objective analysis to bear as he responds to the important—and provocative—question posed by his book's title. Of course, the answer to that question will also help determine whether the American public should fear budget cuts to federal social programs. Readers, says author David B. Muhlhausen, can rest easy. As his book decisively demonstrates, scientifically rigorous national studies almost unanimously find that the federal government fails to solve social problems. To prove his point, Muhlhausen reports on large-scale evaluations of social programs for children, families, and workers, some advocated by Democrats, some by Republicans. But it isn't just the results that matter. It's the lesson to readers on how Americans can—and should—accurately assess government programs that cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year. At the book's core is an insistence that we move beyond anecdotal reasoning and often-partisan opinion to measure the effectiveness of social programs using objective analysis and scientific methods. At the very least, the results of such analysis will, like this book, provide a sound basis for much-needed public debate.

Multisite Evaluations

Multisite Evaluations
Author: Robin S. Turpin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 124
Release: 1991
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Multisite evaluations are conducted for many reasons -- to increase the option to generalize findings, to maximize sample size, and to respond to political and social demands. However, the conduct of these evaluations requires careful consideration. The papers in this volume are intended to provide information to evaluators on some of the advantages and limitations and on the organizational, methodological and statistical issues implicit in this type of evaluation.

Experimental Evaluation Design for Program Improvement

Experimental Evaluation Design for Program Improvement
Author: Laura R. Peck
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 105
Release: 2019-09-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1506390064

The concepts of cause and effect are critical to the field of program evaluation. Experimentally-designed evaluations—those that randomize to treatment and control groups—offer a convincing means for establishing a causal connection between a program and its effects. Experimental Evaluation Design for Program Improvement considers a range of impact evaluation questions, particularly those questions that focus on the impact of specific aspects of a program. Laura R. Peck shows how a variety of experimental evaluation design options can provide answers to these questions, and she suggests opportunities for experiments to be applied in more varied settings and focused on program improvement efforts.

Multisite Evaluation Practice: Lessons and Reflections From Four Cases

Multisite Evaluation Practice: Lessons and Reflections From Four Cases
Author: Frances Lawrenz
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2011-04-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1118044495

Multisite evaluation settings differ from the single settings common to research on evaluation use. In addition to the primary intended users, there is another important group of potential evaluation users in settings where government agencies or large national or international foundations fund multisite projects: project leaders and local evaluators. If each project site is expected to take part in or support the overall program evaluation, then these individuals frequently serve as links between their projects and the larger cross-project evaluation of the funded program. The field has not, until now, address the topic of how being asked or required to participate in such evaluations affects these people who play a critical role in multisite evaluations. These issue does so in two ways. The first six chapters present data and related analyses from research on four multisite evaluations, documenting the patterns of invovlement in these evaluation projects and the extent to which different levels of involvment in program evluations resulted in different patterns of evaluation use and influence. The remaining chapters offer reflections on the results of the cases or their implications, some by people who were part of the original research and some by those who were not. The goal is to encourage readers to think actively about ways to improve multisite evaluation practice. This is the 129th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Social Experimentation, Program Evaluation, and Public Policy

Social Experimentation, Program Evaluation, and Public Policy
Author: Maureen A. Pirog
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 539
Release: 2009-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1444307401

This volume provides a single collection some of the best articles on social experimentation and program evaluation that have appeared in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM). Provides exposure to a variety of well-executed social experiments and evaluations for evidence-based public policy Examines the theory and conduct of evaluations and social experiments as they relate to their practical implementation in evidence-based policy making Provides exposure to the fundamental issues surrounding the conduct of evaluations as well as to the relative merits of social experiments and the ethics and use of evaluations

Research Handbook on Program Evaluation

Research Handbook on Program Evaluation
Author: Kathryn E. Newcomer
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 729
Release: 2024-06-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 180392828X

In the Research Handbook on Program Evaluation, an impressive range of authors take stock of the history and current standing of key issues and debates in the evaluation field. Examining current literature of program evaluation, the Research Handbook assesses the field's status in a post-pandemic and social justice-oriented world, examining today’s theoretical and practical concerns and proposing how they might be resolved by future innovations. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Poor Women, Poor Children

Poor Women, Poor Children
Author: Harrell R. Rodgers
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 220
Release: 1996
Genre: Poor women
ISBN: 9780765619389

In this new edition of his acclaimed study of American poverty, Harrell Rodgers carefully analyzes the most recent data on the profile of poor families and the underlying causes of the dramatic increase in chronically poor, mother-only households. After evaluating the record of past anti-poverty efforts, Rodgers examines the many new and proposed approaches to welfare reform, their prospects of success, and the consequences of failure - both for the children of poverty and for a nation that leaves such a high proportion of its citizenry, its future, at risk.