Evaluating for the Future

Meeting the needs of children in a changing world requires ongoing evaluation. Community data and program information, reported quarterly to WCSS, drive investments to where the most impact will be made. Within our Smart Start system, the North Carolina Partnership for Children establishes measurable, statewide goals used by us at WCSS. Statewide results have been promising, including:

More children in higher quality care
More children receiving early intervention for developmental needs
More children receiving well-child exams and routine healthcare
Better educated teachers and child care center directors

This helps us provide accountability and results to our local Wake families and combine our efforts with partnerships across the state.

What programs does WCSS fund?

How can we use information we collect to improve the early childhood system?

There are many ways we connect the data we gather to real impacts in our community! This includes:

Connecting program outcomes to community-wide indicators
Sharing information (outcomes and results) with our stakeholders
Identifying system gaps and needs
Coordinating system-wide efforts to address gaps and needs

What can we learn from collecting program information about how we make a difference?

Evaluation is not only data collection, it relies on us to apply it to the real-world programs that help our families. Some potential assessments we can make are to:

Determine if some strategies are more effective than others and prioritize funding
Identify if some participants are helped more than others
Determine how programs can be strengthened to have a greater impact

How do we know WCSS is making a difference? Program evaluation can help us understand how programs we fund are impacting families, children, and quality child care here in Wake County. It can allow us to identify specific, positive impacts through reporting measures of child care quality, family support, and child well-being for program participants. It also helps us capture success stories which put a personal face on the individual impact of programs.

See below for a specific example of evaluation at work!

Evaluation in Action:

Expanding Services & Relieving a Wait List

So what does evaluation look like? Wake Connections, WCSS's one-stop coordinated intake and referral system that connects families with high quality home-based and group programs, had a long waiting list last year. The Wake Connections partners saw the need, yet they had limited capacity to take on more families. WCSS backed up these observations with data that showed families on the waiting list often had need for multiple services.

How was this issue of the long wait list approached?

New Board Member Announcement

We are excited to announce our newest board member, Katie King! Katie is a family law attorney at Wake Family Law Group, and she brings great experience to the WCSS Board of Directors.

"As a family law attorney, mediator, and Parent Coordinator, I see every day the consequences of parental conflict, economic instability, family violence, and psychological turmoil on children. I'm honored and excited to serve with the Wake County Smart Start Board of Directors to make sure all families in our community have the resources and support they need to help their children have a peaceful, happy, and healthy childhood, regardless of family circumstances."

-- Katie King

Full Board Roster

Your Support Matters!

Your support of WCSS makes sure our programs continue to provide high quality care and services to Wake County families. Children are able to feel safe and loved again after experiencing trauma, gardens in child care centers are brought to life to provide fresh food directly from the source, and new mothers can count on support before, during, and after their child is born. Most importantly, you can make sure each child, in every community, is ready for school and life.

Visit our website today to make a difference.

P.S. Save the date for Giving Tuesday on December 3rd this year!

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