HomeMy WebLinkAbout990264.tiff T�ATE F COLORADO
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
of oo
Vim \�to\
1575 Sherman Street U tol 29 r.1 9: 24 y� R1�$
Denver,Colorado 80203-1714 J
Phone(303)866-5700 *f4•,,,,;)
TDD(303)866-6293 CLERK •/a76
FAX(303)866-4214 TO THE F is+.I i
Bill Owens
Governor
January 25, 1999
Connie Harbert, Chair
Weld County Board of Commissioners
PO Box 758
Greeley CO 80632-0758
Dear Commissioner Harbert:
I am writing to inform you about the statewide Colorado Works Evaluation that will be taking place
over the next few years. The evaluation will examine the effects of Colorado Works on a host of
program outcomes, including participants' employment and earnings, participants' self-sufficiency,
and measures of family and child well being. The evaluation will provide important information to
the Colorado State Legislature, the Governor, the Department of Human Services, the County
Departments of Social Services, County Commissioners, and advocacy groups, as well as inform
the national debate on effective strategies for welfare reform.
Through a competitive procurement process, the Office of the Colorado State Auditor selected
Berkeley Planning Associates (BPA), located in Oakland, California, to conduct the evaluation.
BPA will be working with faculty and students from the University of Denver Graduate School of
Social Work (DU) to complete the evaluation. Furthermore, throughout the evaluation BPA will
meet with an Evaluation Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from County
Departments of Social Services, Colorado Counties, Inc., the Department of Human Services,
various advocacy groups, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Auditor's Office.
The evaluation will make use of three main types of data: administrative records from a host of
state-maintained systems, participant surveys, and in-person interviews and focus groups. The
administrative and survey data collections will include Colorado Works participants from all
counties in the state. The in-person data collection, however, will take place in only 15 of
Colorado's 63 counties. Four of these 15 counties were intentionally selected by BPA, in
�1L �, �.
as J a- �� },Ai CM) F i 990264
PAGE 2
conjunction with the Colorado Works Evaluation Advisory Committee, to ensure that some of the
largest and most innovative counties in the state were included. The remaining 11 counties were
selected randomly based on their caseload size, unemployment rate, and geographic location.
The following counties were selected to participate in the field study: Adams, Arapahoe, Archuleta,
Conejos, Denver, El Paso, Larimer, La Plata, Las Animas, Logan, Mesa, Moffat, Park, Rio Grande,
and Weld.
If your county is not among those that were selected, please be assured that the evaluation will
include analyses that contain statewide participant data, which will incorporate data from all
counties. Many of the important evaluation research questions will be addressed through analyses
of the statewide administrative data files and the participant surveys, which will not be targeted to
specific counties.
If your county was selected to participate in the field study, you will receive another letter from me
shortly that provides more information about what this will entail. I hope you will cooperate with the
evaluators to ensure an unbiased and fair evaluation of the Colorado Works program.
I have enclosed an evaluation summary sheet for your information. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact BPA the project director or the Office of the Colorado State Auditor.
Contact information for both groups is provided on the attached summary.
Thank you for your cooperation in conducting this important evaluation.
Sincerely,
WG?,E•e---)-r9
(/Karen Beye
Managing Director
ENCLOSURE
Cc: Judy Griego
Vincent Valvano, Colorado Works Evaluation Project Director
Cindy Stetson, Office of the Colorado State Auditor
rI
EVALUATION OF THE COLORADO WORKS PROGRAM
WHAT IS THE COLORADO WORKS PROGRAM EVALUATION?
The Colorado Works evaluation is a five-year project to analyze the recently implemented
welfare reform program in Colorado. The evaluation is examining the extent to which
Colorado Works participants are obtaining employment and achieving self-sufficiency; the
impact of Colorado Works on the well-being of children and families of participants; the
effectiveness of program services in preparing participants for employment; the availability of
adequate child care for program participants; the impact of Colorado Works on other state and
local assistance programs; and the economic costs and benefits of the program.
WHO IS CONDUCTING THE COLORADO WORKS PROGRAM EVALUATION?
Berkeley Planning Associates, located in Oakland, California, is conducting the evaluation.
The Office of the Colorado State Auditor entered into a contract with this firm through a
competitive procurement process. BPA was chosen based on its experience in welfare reform
evaluation and its proposed evaluation design.
WHY EVALUATE COLORADO WORKS?
In its 1998 session, the General Assembly directed the State Auditor's Office to oversee a
multi-year evaluation of Colorado Works (SB 98-185). State welfare programs are undergoing
tremendous change in the aftermath of federal welfare reform and Colorado has further
devolved responsibility for program design to each county. The General Assembly, the
Department of Human Services, counties, advocates, and other stakeholders are interested in
determining if welfare reform is having its intended effects.
How WILL THE EVALUATION BE CONDUCTED?
The findings of the evaluation will be based on three principal data collection activities. First,
monthly data from 12 state administrative program databases are being merged to allow the
evaluators to measure a range of outcomes of participants during and after their participation
in Colorado Works. In addition, telephone surveys are being conducted of samples of current
program participants and participants whose cases closed during the initial implementation of
Colorado Works. Finally, evaluators are conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with
a variety of stakeholders, including county staff, program participants, service providers,
employers and advocacy groups during six rounds of on-site visits to 15 Colorado counties.
Counties were selected for site visits to insure a representative sample in terms of population,
geographic location, and economic conditions.
WHEN WILL REPORTS BE ISSUED?
BPA will produce an annual report for the State Auditor at the end of each calendar year, as
well as a final report in 2004.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cindi Stetson Dr. Vincent Valvano, Project Director
Office of the Colorado State Auditor Berkeley Planning Associates
200 East 14th Avenue 440 Grand Ave., Suite 500
Denver, CO 80203-2211 Oakland, CA, 94610-5085
(303) 866-2051 (510) 465-7884
E-mail: vincent@bpacal.com
Hello