Case Study: Evaluation of a program or an analysis of policy by a particular state or local government public administration case.

Case Study: Evaluation of a Program
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Case Study: Evaluation of a Program
California CalWORKs is a public program aimed at offering financial aid and services to eligible families with a child or children living in the home. It operated in all of California’s 58 counties and is managed through the county welfare departments (CA.gov, 2020). Families with little or no finances or require housing, clothing, food, medical care, or utilities can qualify for immediate short-term support. If the family is eligible, they receive monthly financial assistance to support the essential needs identified above. The amount of monthly financial assistance provided depends on various factors, including the number of people in the family eligible and members who have special needs (CA.gov, 2020). The report “California Families on the Road to Self-Sufficiency: Annual Summary January 2016” is an evaluation of the California CalWORKs program (California Department, 2016). It follows the achievements and strides made through the California CalWORKs program to support the needy and improve the lives of many families.
One type of program evaluation used in “California Families on the Road to Self-Sufficiency: Annual Summary January 2016” is formative evaluation. Nelson and Stenberg (2018) note that formative evaluation is used to collect information that can be used to improve the implementation of a program. Often, formative evaluation occurs early in the program implementation. In the California CalWORKs program, the state welfare department conducted a formative evaluation to determine who and what type of support the families need. For example, the department conducts early data on the demographics of the population in need of CalWORKs assistance, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, education level, employment status, and marital status (California Department, 2016). The whole process is conducted to ensure that the county government of California understands the status and nature of the population that would need support. Formative evaluation can be explained through biblical interpretation because proper planning is supported in the Bible. In Proverbs 21:5, the Bible says that planning carefully leads to success, but hasty decision-making leads to poverty (New, 2020). The verse shows that planning before the implementation of any actions leads to success, while poor planning results in failure. The Bible encourages people, institutions, and governments to plan ahead to make the right decisions as it is with formative evaluation. The whole process works when thoughtful plans are infused.
Process evaluation is an important policy analysis used in “California Families on the Road to Self-Sufficiency: Annual Summary January 2016.” The use of process analysis involves collecting data in the early and mid-phases of the implementation, similar to formative evaluation (McGinnis, 2018). However, with process evaluation, the main goal is to find data that helps understand what is actually going on in a program. Basically, it strives to explore what the program actually is or does and determin...