Welcome to the FVPSA Outcomes Project Information Center

The purpose of this Outcomes Evaluation Project is to help states develop and implement outcome evaluation strategies that will accurately capture the impact of Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) funding on survivors' safety and wellbeing. Pilot testing of the training and survey tools was designed to ensure that the outcome evaluation process is meaningful to FVPSA grantees without being overly burdensome to program staff or to survivors.

At this FVPSA Outcomes Project Information Center - which is only open to domestic violence programs, state domestic violence coalitions and FVPSA State Administrators involved in the FVPSA Outcomes project - you will find key documents and tools to support participating domestic violence program participants. As more resources and tools are developed, including additional translated versions of the Documenting Our Work tools, they will also be posted.

If you have other ideas for ways that we can support your participation in the pilot, please let us know through your state coalition or contact us via Email.

Table of Contents:


FVPSA OUTCOMES EVALUATION MANUAL AND APPENDICES

This manual is divided into three sections. The first focuses on conceptual issues to consider before conducting an outcome evaluation, and ends with the description of Documenting Our Work (DOW). The second section provides practical information about data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of findings. The third section (the Appendix) includes the actual DOW tools you might want to use, modify or shorten for your evaluation work, as well as other background and supplemental material we hope you find helpful. The Appendices are separated from the main body of the handbook below.

Outcome Evaluation Strategies for Domestic Violence Programs Receiving FVPSA Funds: A Practical Guide by Eleanor Lyon, Ph.D. & Cris M. Sullivan, Ph.D. for the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (11/07)


DVD OUTCOME EVALUATION TRAINING

How to obtain the Training DVD
Although we originally intended to make the DVD available for download through this webpage, we found that the size of the files themeselves would create unreasonably long download times (up to an hour per chapter!) for users. To keep the information accessible, DVDs are available by request via regular mail. DVDs will be distributed to all programs during May and June (2008) by the FVPSA Administration. If you did not receive yours, please send a request with your complete mailing address to Pauletta Vaughn at the NRCDV (plv@pcadv.org).

Using the DVD

Powerpoints that accompany the DVD
This PowerPoint presentation provides an overview of the Documenting Our Work Project, the types of information that the DOW tools are able to collect from survivors and how they might be useful to domestic violence programs, and the scope and design of the FVPSA Outcomes Evaluation Project.   

Handouts that acompany the DVD

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FORMS USEFUL IN OUTCOME EVALUATION

These handouts were developed to assist in local implementation of the FVPSA Outcomes Evaluation Project.

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SURVIVOR FEEDBACK SURVEYS (WHICH CAN BE MODIFIED)

Attached are copies of the Documenting Our Work (DOW) Project survivor feedback surveys if you would like to use them to collect the FVPSA outcomes  (provided below). These forms are NOT mandatory -- you can use them in their entirety or you can view them as a menu of items from which to create your own surveys.  It is only mandatory that you collect the information for the two FVPSA outcomes below.

Specifically, the wording could be in the form of statements that survivors can either agree or disagree with:

These statements appear on each of the forms included below.

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ACCESS DATABASE FORMS

There are five separate sets of Access files. Each one is used with each of the individual forms we are using: Shelter 1, Shelter 2, Counseling, Support Group, & Support Services. Each one also has different versions, depending on the version of Access you have. For these files to work correctly, you will need to create a different folder on your computer for each form. Each folder must have both a Data Entry file (for your version of Access) and a Storage file to work properly.

For complete instructions, see Access Instructions [PDF] from Appendix D of the manual.

*If you were part of the pilot, please see below for special instructions on merging your database files.

Shelter 1

Shelter 2

Support Group

Counseling

Support Services

To see the summary figures:

  1. [Right Click] on any answer section of the form. For example, question #4 on page two is "Have you completed THIS form before, during the past year?" To see the results for this question, [right click] on any of the four answer buttons "Yes", "No", "I don't remember" or "(blank)".
  2. Click on the (only) choice View Summary
  3. The program will allow you to specify the dates you want included.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PILOT PARTICIPANTS (Programs in Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin):

There are special merged files and instructions for pilot participants who want to keep they data they've already entered for the pilot and have it all in the same file. Those instructions involve the merged files and the new dataentry file only. See Updating the Data Entry Application [PDF]. Merged files are provided below for each set of files.

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EXCEL DATABASE FORMS

The process for downloading the Excel files is the same as for the Access files.  There is only one file for each form in Excel, however, and it is not necessary to create separate folders for each one.  We recommend that you do it, however, because the databases will be easier for you to find.

For complete instructions, see Excel Instructions [PDF] from Appendix D of the manual.

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The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) is funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
6041 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg PA 17112
800.537.2238 Fax 717-545-9456
www.nrcdv.org | www.VAWnet.org