FAST TRAC national and local evaluation efforts continue to move full speed ahead into 2013. Happily, recruitment for the National Evaluation has been on the upswing with 95 youth and caregivers now having completed baseline interviews. We have a new system for compensating participants for their time which is resulting in most families receiving more than $20 for baseline, six-, twelve-, and eighteen-month interviews. This is an especially important year for the National Evaluation, as we will soon have to close the study to new participants. Of course, we will continue to follow up with existing participants for six-, twelve-, and eighteen-month interviews (so please listen for our phone call!).
Over the past several months, the Local Evaluation has focused on gathering, organizing, and analyzing preliminary data from the Wraparound, Peer Support Partner, and Transition to Independence (TIP) programs. The first in our series of quarterly “Evaluation Briefs” focusing on Wraparound will be distributed to the community in January 2013. Without giving away too many details at this point, data are suggesting that the Clermont County Wraparound program is extremely effective on a number of levels including increasing caregivers’ strengths and decreasing youths’ behavioral and emotional needs. The April 2013 Evaluation Brief will focus on the Peer Support Partner program and the July 2013 Brief will focus on TIP. Stay tuned!
