When COVID-19 roared into the United States in early 2020, its effects were felt not only by those who became ill but also by the nonprofit organizations who are dedicated to serving those who are vulnerable. In order... Read more
Siemer Institute for Family Stability, Program Impact Evaluation
The Context
Each year, more than 1 million school-age children become homeless. As one may expect, such a traumatic experience can lead to severe social and academic disruption. The Siemer Institute works to prevent family homelessness and to decrease school mobility, giving children from disadvantaged families a better chance to achieve academic success.
The Critical Questions
In 2023, more than 19,500 families received services from Siemer Institute-affiliated programs to help them maintain housing, stabilize their children in school, and boost their incomes to a more sustainable level. To what extent do these programs help families obtain or maintain stable housing, increase their income, and avoid disrupting a child’s education via an unplanned school move?
Our Solution
From 2016 through 2023, Illuminology employed a variety of research methods to conduct several comprehensive evaluations of program impact. For example, we generated easy-to-understand descriptive statistics of program impacts and also conducted more advanced statistical data analyses (i.e., ordinary least squares regression models) that allowed us to identify statistically significant predictors of programmatic impact. Furthermore, we conducted many one-on-one interviews with representatives of Siemer Institute-affiliated programs throughout the country and analyzed the qualitative data gathered from those structured conversations. By designing research approaches that employ multiple, complementary methods, we were able to deliver a robust, accurate, and useful understanding of why certain programs experience high success rates on key outcome measures and how such successes could be replicated elsewhere.
Illumination
Illuminology’s reports clearly communicated the many ways in which Siemer Institute-supported programs accomplish their objectives and identified opportunities to improve future programming (and evaluation) efforts.
Resolution
The various program evaluation reports were well received by the Siemer Institute’s staff, Board, and broader network of programs. These successful engagements led to the Siemer Institute contracting with Illuminology to research and write multiple issue briefs (i.e., white papers written for a broad audience) on topics of importance to those working to prevent family homelessness. These issue briefs can be accessed via the links below:
