Evaluation of Implementation and Outcomes

Organizations in the human services field are increasingly interested not only in what programs and practices to implement but also in how to implement them and whether implementation is effective.

The Children’s Bureau expanded and reoriented its network of training and technical assistance centers in 2009 to support jurisdictions’ implementation of system reform efforts. This brief focuses on how evaluations of those efforts assessed implementation, fidelity, and system and organizational outcomes.

Evaluation lessons, drawn from a synthesis of implementation project evaluations, are applicable to organizations in child welfare and other human services fields that undertake major change efforts.