Increasingly, organizations are being asked by funders and stakeholders to “prove their successes” using formal evaluation methods and data. This information helps ensure that programs are effective and that the donor dollar is being used wisely and efficiently.

There are numerous ways of evaluating programs and Covenant House uses a variety. At the core of evaluation, however, you are looking for either quantitative data –things that can be counted—or qualitative data—using words to explain things in more detail. A successful evaluation process, especially in a transitional housing program such as this, will use a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data to gain a full understanding of successes and challenges.

Entire toolkits can, and have, been written about evaluation so we will take a minimalistic approach and describe a few of the key methods and resources used at the two Covenant Houses and then provide links to resources where you can gain more detailed information.

Two of the most common evaluation methods at Covenant House are surveys and focus groups. Used for both youth and staff, these two methods allow a large number of data points to be collected and evaluated (through a survey) and then for more in-depth discussion and analysis to occur through a focus group.

Bruce Rivers, Executive Director of Covenant House Toronto says that anonymously surveying youth has allowed the agency to “ask them very critical questions about how we’re doing, what we need to be doing differently.” He says that these surveys range from food taste to quality of programming. There are currently over 20 different research and evaluation programs going on at Covenant House Toronto to allow them to test and apply different areas of the work. 

“If it weren’t for the youth working with us around each of those initiatives, we’d be nowhere. They’re the ones who can testify as to whether or not it’s effective and helpful.” — Bruce Rivers, Executive Director, Covenant House Toronto

Covenant House also uses evaluation methods to monitor growth and progress of youth – the Youth Engagement Scale (YES in Toronto and the Outcomes Star in Vancouver). These tools allow for easily understandable and visual measurement of a youth’s progress within the system. Use of these tools is done both individually between staff and the specific youth, but also collectively as part of Case Management Team (CMT) meetings. 

“How do I know that when a youth comes in the front door and leaves out the back door that they’re in better shape than [when] we found them and how do we measure that?” — John Harvey, Director of Program Services, Covenant House Vancouver

All Covenant Houses also use the Efforts to Outcomes database developed by Social Solutions. It is an adaptable data management system that has a specific module for working with a transitional housing program for homeless youth. There are a variety of data management systems and we are not prioritizing or recommending this over any other, but it is a system that is mandated for all Covenant Houses and the transitional housing component was piloted in part by Covenant House Vancouver.

Of upmost importance however, is that consideration is given to evaluation even before you get up and running. Oftentimes, evaluation is considered to be an add-on, but conducting research about your programs is critical to their success and sustainability.