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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

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Program Description

Overview The Save the Children Web of Support Initiative promotes quality out-of-school time programs for children ages 5–18 by focusing on three desired outcomes: constructive activities, caring adults, and safe places. Save the Children provides resources and assistance to community-based organizations, including school districts, to operate both school-site and community-site after school programs.
Start Date 1997
Scope national
Type after school, summer/vacation
Location urban, rural
Setting public schools, community-based organizations
Participants kindergarten through high school students
Number of Sites/Grantees over 100 Rural Community Partners and six Urban Collaboratives
Number Served approximately 7,000–9,000 youth
Components The Web of Support Initiative provides support in three areas: funding and resources, leadership training and development to improve program practices and program quality, and technical assistance and training in how to implement and use outcome evaluation as a framework for program improvement. Rural Community Partners are typically single local nonprofit agencies serving youth in rural areas. These Partners are located in rural areas in the Southwestern, Appalachian, and Eastern regions of the United States. Urban Collaboratives typically consist of two or more nonprofit organizations working together to serve at-risk youth in low-income urban environments. Each Urban Collaborative has a Facilitator who assists with the coordination of the Collaborative. Collaboratives are located in or near large metropolitan areas.

As part of the Web of Support initiative, Save the Children sought to develop the leadership capabilities of youth involved in the programs. Save the Children provided three different types of leadership development experiences for youth: the Save the Children Youth Summit, youth internships sponsored by Save the Children through Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives (e.g., youth working as interns for the youth-serving nonprofit organizations), and other leadership opportunities offered in their communities by Partners and Collaboratives.
Funding Level $32 million (over three years)
Funding Sources Save the Children ($26 million over three years), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ($3 million over three years), Denny's Family Restaurants (up to $1 million per year), and Irvine Foundation (Central Valley, California, expansion efforts)
Other The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) provides training and technical assistance to Rural Community Partners, Urban Collaboratives, and Save the Children regional office staff to improve the quality of out-of-school time programs. Aguirre International provides evaluation training and technical assistance to Save the Children regional and home office staff, Rural Community Partners, and Urban Collaboratives on how to evaluate programs and activities. The evaluation training uses an empowerment evaluation approach. Professional consultants (coaches) provide Train-the-Trainer workshops, on-site assistance, and phone assistance to staff. Annual evaluation trainings are also held in each region.


Evaluation

Overview The Web of Support evaluation has two parts: (1) individual outcomes-based evaluations at the site level and (2) an initiative-wide evaluation.

In the first part of the evaluation, each Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative conducts individual outcomes-based evaluations annually, with technical assistance from Aguirre International. They are required to examine the three components of a comprehensive out-of-school time program of the Web of Support Initiative: constructive activities, caring adults, and safe places. In keeping with the empowerment model of evaluation, the data collection methods used by Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives vary.

The purpose of the second part of the evaluation, the initiative-wide evaluation, is to examine three types of outcomes: child/youth outcomes, Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative outcomes, and Save the Children–U.S. programs outcomes. These evaluations are conducted annually, and the third-year evaluation looked at findings across the first three years in addition to that year's findings.
Evaluator Aguirre International
Evaluations Profiled 1997–98 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report.
1998–99 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report.
1999–2000 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report.
2000–2001 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report.
Evaluations Planned N/A
Report Availability Terao, K. L., Morell, L. C., Stevenson, C. L., & Sloane, K. J. (1999). 1997–98 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report. San Mateo, CA: The Aguirre Group.

Terao, K. L., Morell, L., & Stevenson, C. (2000). 1998–99 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report. San Mateo, CA: The Aguirre Group.

Terao, K. L., Morell, L., & Stevenson, C. (2001). 1999–2000 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report. San Mateo, CA: The Aguirre Group.

Terao, K. L., Morell, L., Stevenson, C., & Moulton, J. (2002). 2000–2001 Web of Support Initiative wide evaluation. Annual report. San Mateo, CA: The Aguirre Group.

Contacts

Evaluation Ken Terao
Evaluation Specialist
480 East 4th Avenue, Unit A
San Mateo, CA 94401-3349
Tel: 650-373-4900
Fax: 650-348-0260
Email: kterao@aiweb.com
Program Leigh Higgins
Save the Children Federation Inc. U.S.
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
Tel: 203-221-4000
Fax: 203-221-4082
Email: lhiggins@savechildren.org
Profile Updated August 19, 2004

Evaluation 1: 1997–98 Web of Support Initiative Wide Evaluation: Annual Report


Evaluation Description

Evaluation Purpose To examine Year 1 of the initiative and the three types of outcomes related to the initiative: child and youth outcomes, Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative outcomes, and Save the Children–U.S. programs outcomes.
Evaluation Design Non-Experimental: Information about child and youth outcomes was obtained through reviews of evaluation reports produced by each Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative. Evaluators conducted additional data collection to examine Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative outcomes and Save the Children–U.S. Programs outcomes.

Over 3,000 rural youth and 500 urban youth participated in programs that were evaluated to determine children's perceptions of the caring adults involved in the programs and activities; of these youth, 1,319 rural youth and 171 urban youth were part of the evaluation.
Data Collection Methods Document Review: Data on child and youth outcomes were gathered through content analysis of Rural Community Partner and Urban Collaborative outcome evaluation reports. These evaluations were conducted between October 1997 and December 1998. Sites were given some latitude in terms of the content of these reports, but most looked at students' academic and developmental growth.

Surveys/Questionnaires: Youth involved in the youth leadership activities were asked to complete a survey to gather demographic data, information about their leadership skills, and information about their internship experiences and expectations.

Those participating in the National Leadership Collaborative Conference Training were also asked to complete a survey that measured participants' understanding of the conference's goals and the training presented, the roles of the training and technical assistance providers, and new ideas and strategies to help youth.

Surveys were administered to Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaborative members to gather information about the degree to which Rural Community Partners were collaborating, their skills in developing quality out-of-school time programming and internal evaluations, and the degree to which Partners and Collaborative members were communicating with community members and Save the Children.

Telephone surveys of Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaborative members collected information about the implementation of the Web of Support questions focused on demographics, the level, acquisition, and sharing of skills in developing and maintaining quality out-of-school time programming and evaluation, and the way in which Web of Support had affected their agency.

A telephone survey of Save the Children home and regional office staff measured the staff's impressions of the Leadership Conference (if they attended), the degree to which they and their staff understand how to provide training and technical assistance to Rural Partners and Urban Collaboratives, the effectiveness of National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) and Aguirre International's training methods, and their impressions of the Web of Support.
Data Collection Timeframe Data were collected between October 1997 and December 1998.


Findings:
Formative/Process Findings

Activity Implementation Partners provided tutoring, reading programs and activities, computer clubs, sports, recreation, creative arts, drama, cultural programs and activities, art programs and activities, other academic improvement programs, and mentoring programs.

Caring adults available for youth included program staff, adults and teen volunteers, tutors, youth interns, teachers, and seniors within communities being served by Save the Children.

Both urban and rural youth participated in the following programs and activities to enhance their leadership skills: the National Leadership Collaborative Conference II, internships sponsored by Save the Children through Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives, and other leadership opportunities offered by these organizations.

Outside of Save the Children's national internship program, at least four Rural Community Partners and at least three Urban Collaboratives provided leadership programs and activities for youth that included youth councils/boards, community service opportunities, and community outreach programs.

Ninety-one percent of urban and rural youth interns helped plan or implement a project or activity.
Program Context/Infrastructure Eighteen Rural Community Partners reported that they made modifications or enhanced the maintenance of their facilities to improve the environment for youth participants. These included maintenance of adequate safety standards, improvement of facilities, modifications of activity areas to provide adequate space for activities, and enhancement or maintenance of outside environments.

Two Urban Collaboratives reported enhancing their facilities to provide youth participants with a safe place after school. Both reported recruiting or training volunteers or staff to provide supervision in programs and activities. Other changes included acquiring more space, developing a security system, and setting up more signs.
Systemic Infrastructure Fifty-four percent of pilot year Rural Community Partners and 47% of Year 1 Rural Community Partners stated that they felt comfortable or very comfortable with their evaluation skills, from developing evaluation plans to using the results to improve their programs.

Sixty-three percent of the Urban Collaboratives stated that they felt comfortable developing evaluation plans and conducting evaluations of their activities. One hundred percent of the Urban Collaboratives stated that they felt comfortable using evaluation results to enhance existing programs, while 88% felt comfortable using the results to develop new programs.

Of the Rural Community Partners participating in the Web of Support, 84% stated that they used Web of Support techniques or skills in other activities in their organization, 63% stated that they shared Web of Support techniques or skills with other Save the Children-affiliated organizations.

Of the Urban Collaboratives participating in the Web of Support, 82% stated that they used Web of Support techniques or skills with other activities in their organization; 47% stated they shared Web of Support techniques or skills with other Save the Children organizations; 88% shared Web of Support techniques or skills with organizations not affiliated with Save the Children.

Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives were offered both formal and informal training and technical support (T/TA) from NIOST, Aguirre International, and the Save the Children regional and home office staff. Formal T/TA included participation in workshops, usually lasting one to three days, and site visits. Informal T/TA included phone assistance and sending material to the Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives. The content areas T/TA provided consisted of program improvement, evaluation, leadership development, community development, collaboration, and mobilizing resources. During their end-of-year interviews, both the Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives described the T/TA they received as very helpful.


Summative/Outcome Findings

Academic Of the 1,421 rural youth evaluated by Partners in academic programs or activities, 75% demonstrated positive academic outcomes, such as increased test scores, grades, or grade point averages, or improvements on pre/post surveys.

Of the 707 urban youth evaluated by Partners in academic programs and activities, 62% demonstrated positive academic outcomes such as improved school grades or attitude toward school, increased reading skills, or increased communication and decision-making skills.
Community Development Seventy percent of Rural Community Partner respondents reported that their local communities were more aware and supportive of Save the Children's efforts than they were at the beginning of the evaluation period.

Ninety-four percent of the Urban Collaborative respondents stated that their local communities were more aware and supportive of Save the Children's efforts than they were at the beginning of the evaluation period.
Systemic Sixty-four percent of Rural Community Partners reported collaborating with other Partners “somewhat” or more often by the end of Year 1.

Ninety-two percent of Urban Collaborative members reported that they were collaborating “quite a bit” or “a lot” with other members of their Collaborative by the end of Year 1, as compared to 62% reporting that they were collaborating “quite a bit” or “a lot” during the first three months of joining the Web of Support. Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives both reported sharing ideas and resources.

All of the pilot year Rural Community Partners stated that they increased their skills in using the evaluation results to develop new programs or enhance existing programs.

Of the Rural Community Partners, 89% reported an increase in materials, 86% reported an increase in technical assistance, and 82% reported an increase in volunteers since they began participating in the Web of Support.

All of the Urban Collaboratives reported an increase in volunteers and materials, and 88% reported an increase in funding or technical assistance since they began participating in the Web of Support.

Eighty-nine percent of Rural Community Partner staff stated that being a part of the Web of Support helped them improve the quality of service they provide to youth.

Ninety-four percent of the Urban Collaboratives stated that the Web of Support helped them to improve services.

Eighty percent of the Save the Children regional and home office staff indicated that communication improved between Rural Community Partners, Urban Collaboratives, regional offices, and the home office.

All of the Save the Children regional and home office staff reported that there was an increase in awareness of national opportunities on behalf of children.

Fifty percent of the Save the Children regional office staff stated that they had “to a great extent” gained the skills to provide technical assistance in program improvement to Rural Community Partners.

Seventy percent of the Save the Children regional and home office staff stated that they had “to a great extent” gained the skills to provide technical assistance in evaluation to Rural Community Partners and Urban Collaboratives.
Workforce Development Of the 75 youth evaluated in the vocational/craft skills training program, 76% developed knowledge of arts and skills in the use of craft tools and techniques.
Youth Development Of the 1,319 rural youth evaluated, 78% indicated they had a caring adult in their life as a result of participating in a Rural Community Partner program or activity. Of the 171 urban youth evaluated, 84% indicated that they had a caring adult in their life as a result of their participation in an Urban Collaborative activity.

Of the 2,244 rural youth evaluated in social skills enhancement programs or activities, 70% showed positive behavior or an improvement in behavior with other children or adults.

Both urban and rural youth reported that they learned new skills at the Leadership Conference such as leadership, communication, planning and organizing, prioritizing and time management, and teamwork skills.

Both urban and rural youth reported that they learned skills through their internship experiences that included responsibility, teamwork, communication, how to work with children, and job skills.

The results of a pre/post survey indicated that leadership skills increased in 29%–35% of the urban and rural youth interns in one or more areas, including ability to motivate others, communication, general leadership, conflict resolution, and organizing/planning.

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project