EVALCORP has been collaborating with First 5 San Bernardino (F5SB) since 2021. Our services began with early childhood program evaluation and data consulting and has expanded to incorporate all three of our pillar services. We have collaborated with F5SB on the following projects:
- Program Evaluation: Providing evaluation services and consultation through a multi-year contract that supports data, evaluation, planning, and capacity-building efforts. Our work includes a comprehensive evaluation infrastructure assessment, managing a family survey panel, preparing annual reports, conducting individual program evaluations, GIS mapping of resources to identify community gaps, and delivering capacity-building trainings for F5SB staff.
- Needs Assessment: Designing a comprehensive needs assessment aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect in San Bernadino County. The assessment included a review of local child abuse trends, evidence-based prevention practices, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and surveys.
- Strategic Planning: Developing First 5 San Bernardino’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, which involved four phases: project planning, data collection, plan development, and Commission approvals. The project included forming a workgroup, analyzing county trends, conducting stakeholder listening sessions, and creating an implementation plan and evaluation framework for the strategic plan.
Our long-term partnership with F5SB has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the early childhood system landscape and to support San Bernadino in moving toward an evaluation forward approach that incorporates data-informed decision-making and planning. Through this collaboration we have assisted F5SB in optimizing their resources and monitoring their progress toward their strategic goals. The sections below detail three key components that we are especially proud of in our work with F5SB.
Documenting Yearly Growth Through Annual Reports
As part of our collaboration with San Bernadino, each year we have developed a Local Outcomes Report in which we first review the data from their funded programs in the database and then compile and organize that data so that it can be presented to the larger community and system partners. This has allowed F5SB to demonstrate the impact they are making with their partners in their community each year.
This year, we have expanded this initiative and are currently developing a F5SB internal-facing Local Outcomes Report for staff. In this report, we will provide a comprehensive data assessment to documents their progress in meeting their Strategic Plan goals. This report will enable staff to understand their successes and take any additional steps necessary to achieve their goals and make informed decisions that maximize their impact. In addition, it plays a role in contributing to a culture that prioritizes evaluation. This process will facilitate further discussions about enhancing their data collection processes, allowing staff to refine their data tracking process. Doing so will allow F5SB to take steps to align on data priorities and consistencies, allowing their team to evaluate their impact across the entire early childhood support system.
Mapping the Network of Family Resource Centers
As part of our evaluation support, EVALCORP developed a GIS map of all the Family Resource Centers (FRCs) in San Bernardino County. This map categorizes the FRCs based on the types of services they provide to families, such as parenting support, mental health services, and wellness groups. The GIS map helps F5SB and other county government partners identify gaps by showing areas where there may be a shortage in service type, or where some geographical regions are underserved.
This information is crucial for F5SB as they make funding decisions to ensure that their investments are filling in the gaps. It also helps them explore and make the case for new funding opportunities to ensure that services reach all families in need across the county. This tool empowers F5SB to make informed decisions about where and how to invest their resources, ultimately leading to better outcomes for families.
Enhancing Survey Participation through Collaboration and a Culturally Responsive Approach
As part of our work with F5SB, we administer surveys to families with children 0-5 in the county. This survey allows us to learn about families’ perspectives about various topics including their knowledge of the social determinants of health, their perception of social support for parents, and the utility of family resource centers and other resources in the county. As is often the case with surveys, recruitment and participation rates have been low. To address this, we have incorporated a culturally responsive approach in order to increase survey participation.
Our culturally responsive approach includes several key components. We offer survey administration in the format that participants prefer, providing both online and paper copies, and in multiple preferred languages. We take the time to make sure that the questions on these surveys are relevant to the communities’ cultural context. For example, when we asked about social determinants of health on a survey, we used a validated tool and adapted the wording so that they would be relevant and understandable with the parents in San Bernardino County. In support of this, we have included examples in survey questions that are specific to what the communities in the County would recognize. This involves including names, locations, and agencies that exist in San Bernadino county so people recognize and understand what we are referring to when we say clinics, or family resource centers, for example. Meeting participants where they are allows us to collect more accurate data that truly reflects the needs and experiences of the community.
Partnering with F5SB for Early Childhood System Growth
EVALCORP’s ongoing partnership with First 5 San Bernardino is a prime example of how data, evaluation, and strategic planning can work hand-in-hand to enhance early childhood services. By combining data-driven insights with a commitment to improving services for families, F5SB is creating a more effective and efficient system that addresses local needs in their community. We are proud to play a role in shaping a brighter future for San Bernardino’s children and families.