Performance Measurement in the Tribal Home Visiting Program
What Is Performance Measurement?
Performance measurement is the regular collection and reporting of information about program processes and outcomes in order to monitor and improve the quality of the program.
Why Measure Performance?
Many federal grant programs require performance measurement to understand how programs are operating and progressing. Performance measurement can be useful for local communities as well. Tribal Home Visiting Program grantees use performance measurement data to understand how well programs are meeting their families’ needs; track improvement over time; and communicate program successes and challenges to partner agencies, advisory groups, and tribal leadership.
“The program learned a lot from the performance measurement process…[and] will continue looking at the data in real time to identify gaps.”
— Tribal home visiting grantee
How Do Tribal Home Visiting Grantees Measure Performance?
Legislation requires Tribal Home Visiting Program grantees to establish performance measures so they can track, measure, and report improvement across six areas:
- Maternal, newborn and child health
- Child injuries, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment, and reduction of emergency room visits
- School readiness and child academic achievement
- Crime or domestic violence
- Family economic self-sufficiency
- Coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports
Grantees funded between 2010 and 2015 developed and implemented individualized performance measurement plans for monitoring program performance in these areas. Each of these 6 areas included multiple items, totaling 36 constructs or indicators across the 6 measurement domains. As part of this process, grantees developed data collection and management protocols, analysis plans, and data systems capable of housing and linking data across programs.
Grantees funded from 2016 to present use a standardized set of 12 core performance measures and select from a set of 11 additional measures. The standardized measures were developed by the Administration for Children and Families with the input of tribal grantees and technical assistance providers. Learn more about the redesign of the Tribal Home Visiting Program Performance Measurement System.
How Does TEI Help?
The Tribal Evaluation Institute provides technical assistance on performance measurement to all Tribal Home Visiting Program grantees. TEI works with grantees on developing site-specific performance measurement plans, defining quantifiable and measurable indicators, supporting home visitors in collecting data, developing data collection policies and procedures, establishing data systems, monitoring data quality, conducting analysis, reporting, using the data to drive improvement, and sharing lessons learned about performance measurement.
Grantees have built their capacity to collect data, track performance and improve programs. Learn more about their experiences in the Tribal Home Visiting Program Report to Congress (PDF, 1.84mb).