Organizational Capacity Assessment of 2000-2001 VAWA-Funded Agencies: Summary of Preliminary Finding
Prepared for the Criminal Justice Services Division of the Oregon State Police by Program Design and Evaluation Services
Oregon Health Division and Multnomah County Health Department
August 2001 This report presents the preliminary findings of the Organizational Capacity Assessment conducted with Oregon 2000-2001 STOP Violence Against Women (VAWA) formula grant funded agencies. The purpose of the Organizational Capacity Assessment was to examine the organizational characteristics and resources of VAWA-funded agencies to determine the feasibility of and general directions for program evaluation activities. The assessment collected information on three main areas: (1) general organizational and operational characteristics, (2) program evaluation practices, and (3) information systems.
Information was gathered through mailed surveys of all 66 VAWA-funded agencies; 43 of which were victim service agencies, 16 were prosecution services, and seven were law enforcement units. Since each agency type differed in their scope of domestic violence victim related services, three versions of the survey were used. Victim service surveys captured agency-wide information, whereas prosecution and law enforcement surveys captured information regarding only the VAWA-funded program within the agency.
The findings of the assessment indicated that most VAWA-funded agencies were operating with constrained resources. Victim service agencies were mostly small organizations which sought multiple revenue sources and relied heavily on volunteers. In prosecution services and law enforcement units, an average of two to three full-time employees worked directly on projects focused on domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Although VAWA-funded agencies were operating with limited resources, most reported the ability to provide timely and a variety of services for victims.
About two-thirds of all VAWA-funded agencies reported having ever conducted any type of program evaluation activities. The most common approach was evaluation through project goals and achievement. Less common approaches were implementation and impact evaluations. Slightly less than half of all VAWA-funded agencies reported having a person (project evaluator, data entry person, or data analysis person) who could potentially facilitate program evaluation in the future.
Most VAWA-funded agencies reported using paper forms or tools to facilitate program activities, but only a small proportion of the agencies reported storing collected data in a computer(s). Nonetheless, all agencies were either using a computer for the VAWA project or would have access to one, if needed
Survey respondents´ self-ratings of their agency capacity indicated similar results. Respondents rated the capacity of their agency relatively weak in the areas of financial resources, number of program staff, client tracking system, information system, and program evaluation: whereas, they rated the agency´s capacity more strongly in the areas of service delivery and inter-agency collaboration. 1 Data were analyzed for 62 agencies (42 victim service agencies, 14 prosecution agencies, and 6 law enforcement units). Four agencies were removed from analysis for the following reasons: an unidentifiable single service-providing agency, duplication, non-acceptance of funding, and no identifiable victim service program (training grant).
This preliminary assessment of organization capacity revealed that VAWA-funded agencies have the capacity to improve evaluation activities for further enhancement of program services. Most agencies reported that they were able to provide timely and a variety of program services, had access to computer resources, and had experience writing reports. Some agencies also reported having a person to facilitate program evaluation activities. Additional findings, however, indicated that VAWA-funded agencies would need to improve their current data collection, management, and reporting systems. Building upon their existing resources, technical assistance needs to be provided to enhance their data collection and management capacity and to provide the infrastructure for evaluating the impacts of their programs in the future.
- General Organizational and Operational Characteristics
- Program Evaluation Practices
- Information Systems
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