Page 59 - ROMA Supplemental Materials

Examples of Standardized Program Goals and Achievement Levels

For some Federal, State, or local programs, both public and private, program goals and
performance levels are defined by program authorities and are contained in funding agreements
with the CAA. For example:

o Childhood immunization programs define age-appropriate guidelines for inoculating
children to prevent a variety of diseases. Similarly, school systems often require certain
immunizations as a condition for enrollment. As such, there is an expectation that all
children meeting the guidelines for immunization should be served. If a CAA receives
funds to conduct childhood health screens, including inoculation of all eligible children
served, the public health expectation is universal inoculation, and the performance of the
agency can be measured by the degree to which it achieves that end.

o Head Start has established a number of child health, developmental, and school readiness
objectives and outcome expectations for participating children. CAAs with Head Start
programs are asked to report the number of children that are deemed to have achieved
health, developmental, and school readiness objectives as defined by the program. For
more information on Head Start Domains of Child Development, please visit:
http://www.eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/ecdh/eecd/Domains%20of%20Child%20Develop
ment.

o It is understood that the numbers of children reported as achieving program goals in Head
Start, or any other child or youth development program, may have to be comprised of
qualitative assessments of each child’s physical growth and health indicators,
developmental skill measurements, and/or educational readiness scores.

Examples of Agency and Program-Specific Goals and Performance Levels

For most child, youth, and family development programs within CAAs, program goals, expected
outcomes, and the definition of what constitutes success, or achievement of program goals, will
be determined by that program.
Contracts, service agreements, or grant documents are good sources for identifying what
constitutes achieving program goals for particular programs or activities.
These documents most often describe what the funding is intended to accomplish. They also
identify the size of the program or activity being funded, usually expressed as an anticipated
number of services or resources to be provided, or individuals or families to be served. Some of
these elements are considered outputs and include the benchmarks used to track the process of
providing the service. Examples of these elements are: the number of children enrolled in a
program, the number who attend, and the number who are screened.
However, more funding documents now speak to both anticipated outcomes, or results, and a
projected or target level of program performance.

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