How Youth-Serving Programs Can Use Evaluation to Strengthen Implementation, Tell a Clearer Impact Story, and Prepare for Future Funding. Youth relationship education programs are changing lives every day, but many organizations struggle to clearly demonstrate what youth are learning, how programs are making a difference, and how to use data to strengthen implementation and future funding opportunities. In this interactive webinar, participants will explore practical, approachable ways to use evaluation as a tool for learning, improvement, and impact storytelling. Through real-world examples and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to develop meaningful evaluation questions, identify useful indicators and evidence, and translate findings into a compelling story about what youth are learning, experiencing, and applying. Whether you are new to evaluation or looking to strengthen your current efforts, this session will help you move beyond funder compliance and use data more strategically to support youth, programs, and communities. Objectives: Participants will…
Program Evaluators
Relationship education (RE) has been effective for youth, especially in contexts of adversity (i.e., high rates of STDs, teen pregnancy). Resilience theory suggests that youth under more adversity benefit more from resource-based interventions. However, most evaluations of RE programs focus on majority youth or take a deficit approach. Our mixed method study evaluated the effectiveness of the Love Notes curriculum, comparing improvement in program outcomes for youth from various backgrounds of potential disadvantage (urban high schools, alternative education, and behavioral health contexts). We found that youth from behavioral health contexts had greater gains from participating in Love Notes than other groups on some outcomes, indicating resilience. Participants found relationship skills, recognizing risks, and sex education most useful. Our study emphasized the importance and effectiveness of youth relationship education, highlighting unique experiences based on context. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Learn about relationship education among youth and its main goals…