There are eight objectives that my work meets. The first objective is to effectively conduct a program evaluation. First, to conduct an evaluation I met with the stakeholders. Before I conducted the evaluation, I scheduled a meeting with the director of the juvenile services. I discussed the purpose of my evaluation and how I will gather my information. Once I did that, I set up the date and time for my interviews and observation. The second and third objective is to understand the role of research in the evaluation process and understand the use of evaluation in program planning. I understand that for my research I was able to have many options to gather information. I chose to conduct interviews with the participants and observe them doing their daily activities. The fourth objective is to recognize the components of an evaluation which includes research methods, agency description, understanding population, stakeholders, and research. To meet this objective, I researched the program and then scheduled a meeting with the director of Juvenile Services. In this meeting we discussed the stakeholders, the description of the agency, and the population that the program serves.

            The fifth objective is to understand similarities and differences in the evaluator’s role and stakeholder’s role in the evaluation process. I understand that my role was to conduct an evaluation and evaluate if the program was effective at serving its population. The stakeholders played a role in helping me gather information and determine if the program is effective. The stakeholder and I were similar in getting information about each other. The next objective is to learn to recognize the stakeholders. I was able to recognize the stakeholder on the website and then learn who the other stakeholders were. I also recognized the stakeholders when I performed my observation. The seventh objective is to utilize stakeholders in the evaluation process. I utilized the stakeholders in the evaluation by setting up meetings and interviews with the stakeholders. In the last objective, the evaluator understands the role of evaluation in the field of Human Services. I understand that role of evaluation in the field of Human services is to understand how a program works, establish its goals, and how it services its population. The role of an evaluation is to also determine if a program or agency is worth keeping in the community and determining if it’s worth funding the program. This evaluation provided me a lot of insight into the field of work that I want to go into. I was able to gather a lot of information about working with the youth. I commend the staff and supervisor for having patience to help the youth stay out of trouble.

            I learned that I could take on a big project and that I am able to conduct myself professionally. This evaluation was stressful. There were many times when I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it. I had to reschedule meetings a few times and that raised my anxiety. I learned what it was like to work with other professionals who have my career interest. One of the staff members graduate with the degree that I will be graduating with.

             The workload in this course was manageable but, I enjoyed writing the papers more than I liked doing the discussion post. I didn’t want my classmates to judge me because I didn’t have everything I was supposed to. I didn’t want to seem like I didn’t know what I was doing. I found it difficult to respond to two classmates because we were all reading the same information. I tried not repeat what my classmates said in their initial post.

            I would say that my learning was demonstrated is in task 2. I didn’t know what questions to have when doing an evaluation. I decided in the beginning to come up with 10 questions for my evaluation. My professor provided me with feedback and let me know that my initial questions were interview questions, not evaluation questions. After that I decide to only have two evaluation questions that were broad and could be answered throughout the evaluation.

            I felt most successful when I was conducting my evaluation. The meetings, observation, and interviews went well. I gathered plenty of information from my interviews and observation. I feel most improved in knowing how to deal with other professionals. This was my first time having to meet with other professionals to do an evaluation. I was nervous and my anxiety was high, but I managed to build a rapport with them to allow me to do my evaluation.

            At first, I didn’t think this course’s content would intersect with my career, but now I realize that it does. I want to have a career in child protective services. I know that in my career I may have to conduct evaluations in a child’s home. I will be observing everything and assessing if the environment is right for the child. During my observation I will be checking things off and looking for signs of abuse in the home. I will also be examining the child, looking for any bruises. This course made me do a lot of thinking and analysis within myself. I was able to get a glimpse of the type of population I will be working with in the future.