Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
Youth Program Quality Assessment Training
Application
The Youth Program Quality Assessment (PQA) is a validated instrument designed to evaluate the quality of
youth programs and identify staff training needs. It has been used in community organizations, schools, camps,
and other places where youth have fun, work, and learn with adults. For staff, the Youth PQA process is a great
way to see what is really happening in their programs and to build professional competencies.
What does the Youth PQA assess?
The Youth PQA represents widely shared ideas about how programs can best promote youth development and
learning. It provides information in seven domains:
 Safe environment
 Supportive environment
 Interaction
 Engagement
 Youth-centered policies and practices
 High expectations for youth and staff
 Access
Each domain contains items that focus on specific elements of best practice.
How does the Youth PQA work?
The Youth PQA is an evidence-based assessment tool. Evidence is gathered through observation and interview.
Program staff or an outside specialist observe program activities, take notes, and then conduct an interview with
a program administrator. Notes, observations, and interview data are used as evidence to score items. Item
scores are combined to create an overall program quality profile. Ready By 21 is currently seeking organizations
and individuals who would like to participate in the YPQA self-assessment and external assessment process for
our community.
Self-assessment produces a single rating of a program and is most valuable for program improvement. The selfassessment process involves a meaningful conversation about a program’s strengths and areas for improvement in the
context of best practice standards. A self-assessment team typically begins the process by attending the one-day
Youth PQA Basics workshop. The team members then designate a two-week period during which they will collect
observational data. After collecting the data, the team scores one of two separate forms (Form A.)
External assessment produces more scientifically precise scores. A rater (or team of raters) is chosen to complete the
assessment — frequently the rater is a person from outside of the organization, such as a consultant, a researcher, a
local program evaluator, or an agency administrator. The rater observes several program offerings and scores a Form
A for each offering. These forms can then be combined to provide an overall assessment of the quality of program
offerings within an organization.
It takes about two hours for an experienced user to complete Form A, from evidence gathering to scoring.
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
Why participate in the Youth PQA process?
One of the many benefits of participation is that the Youth PQA process provides organizations with the opportunity to
identify ways to better serve youth and to more effectively achieve organizational missions to support youth in being
Ready By 21 for college, work, and life. This tool provides a comprehensive scores report which will allow
organizations to identify program strengths and challenges, which will begin the process of professional development
by fostering a conversation about program improvement with quantitative data to support it. A High Scope workshop
series, with 10 modules which correlate to seven domains listed above, will be provided free of charge to programs that
participate in the Youth PQA so your organization will have access to solutions and support for the areas identified as
being weakness immediately. Additionally, because this assessment is validated and will be conducted before and
after the trainings, the results can be used to show grantors your organization’s improvement over the course of the
year and it's commitment to use evidenced-based assessment and training tools to support the positive development of
youth.
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
YPQA Application
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309
Organization Name
About The Organization:
1. Is the organization currently a member of the Central Texas Afterschool Network (CTAN)? Yes
2. Is the organization currently a member of the Ready by 21 (RB21) Coalition? Yes
No
No
3. How many youth do you currently serve? __________ How many programs do you currently serve? _____
4. How many employees do you have? ___________
5. Briefly describe the nature of the services you provide:
6. Ages of youth served
7. County or cities served
8. Please describe any previous history with self- assessment or peer/external assessment.
9. As an organization, how did you use the information gathered through the assessment process?
10. Are you willing to have your program assessed by a YPQA external assessor? Yes
No
11. Are you willing to participate in Youth Professional Development (YPD) trainings to address needs?
specifically identified by assessments of your organization? Yes No
12. As an organization, how do you foresee using the YPQA and YPD process to align your programs with the
broader community outcomes of learning, working thriving, connecting, and leading?
13. Can you provide an employee from your organization the time necessary to complete YPQA training and
perform assessments? Yes
No
Assessor Candidate Name: _____________________________________________________________
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
About The Candidate:
1. Are you currently a member of CTAN? Yes
No
2. Are you currently a member of the RB21 Coalition? Yes
No
3. What is your current position or title? _________________________________________________
4. How many years have you been employed in this field? ______________
5. Briefly describe your current duties and responsibilities:
6. What would you hope to gain from participating in YPQA?
7. Briefly describe other relevant work experience that has prepared you for becoming an assessor?
8. Can you commit 3 hours to completing a single-assessment? Yes
No
9. Can you commit to performing several -assessments per year? Yes
No
10. Can you attend the 8 hour YPQA Basics Training on October 14, 2008? Yes
No
11. Can you attend the 1.5 day YPQA Basics Intermediate Training on October 15-16, 2008? Yes No
12. Can you attend a 2 hour assessor debriefing session in the Fall?
Yes
No
13. Can you attend a 2 hour assessor debriefing session in the Spring?
Yes
No
(To nominate more than one individual, please complete and attach additional pages)
Timeline/Calendar of Events for Quality Counts YPQA
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
June 12th
Distribute applications
August 22nd
Applications due
(can be turned in at RB21 Meeting or emailed to:)
youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
August 25th
Review applications
August 29th
Notifications/Send MOUs
September 12th
MOUs Due
September 26th
Reminder notices/Assignments
October 14th
Self-Assessor Workshop
October 15th-16th
External Assessor Workshop
November 21st
Assessors Debriefing/Deadline for 1st
Internal/External Assessment
February 20th
Assessors Debriefing/Deadline for 2nd External
Assessment
March 27th
Deadline for 3rd External Assessment
Data Reporting Expectations
Data should be submitted shortly after collection to (a) High Scope and (b) Ready by 21 to ensure that organizations
capitalize on available resources at High Scope and within the Ready by 21 structure. Assessment information
collected via self-assessment can be submitted online to High Scope and via paper documents to Ready by 21. The
information should be submitted promptly (within 5 business days of collection) to assure timely analysis and feedback.
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
Self-report data submitted to High Scope will allow you to generate quick reports, allow you to talk internally amongst
staff to build consensus and allow you take steps toward program improvement. Data submitted to Ready by 21 also
has the potential for the above, but it also has the potential to help evaluate Ready by 21’s overall effort toward
program improvement within the region and facilitate more nuanced research questions about program quality and
youth development strategies.
DATA HOME
Aside from collected data held by each program individually and data held by High Scope, Ready by 21 will also be a
recipient of program data to examine the impact of their program improvement strategies. Researchers from Texas
State University and the Texas Network of Youth Services will keep the data secure and develop an evaluation plan in
partnership with the broader Ready by 21 coalition.
1. Texas State University – School of Social Work (Raphael Travis)
Within the School of Social Work, Dr. Travis focuses his research on positive youth development strategies
with adolescents. Two ongoing studies by Dr. Travis are (a) the Hip-Hop and youth development study and (b)
the positive youth development and prisoner reentry study for adolescents. Contact: Raphael Travis, DrPH,
LCSW at: rtravis@txstate.edu
2. Texas Network of Youth Services (Grace L. Fleming)
The Texas Network of Youth Services is a nonprofit membership association of youth serving agencies and
advocates, dedicated to enhancing the professionalism and effectiveness of community-based agencies
serving youth and families in Texas. Contact: Grace L. Fleming, Associate Director
TRAINING
Ready by 21 aims to facilitate training opportunities that can increase knowledge of youth development principles,
improve attitudes about program’s quality and strengthen the quality of service delivery. To determine the effectiveness
of such efforts it is necessary to follow the progress of participating programs. The data reported to High Scope will
help examine the status and growth of individual programs, while data reported to Ready by 21 will track individual
program quality and also help evaluate the impact of Ready by 21’s improvement efforts across programs.
EVALUATION PLAN/FEEDBACK
1. High Scope
High Scope offers a structured quality improvement sequence designed to use information collected in self and
external assessment to help enact improvements in program functioning. Data will be used early to select
improvement strategies and again after implementation of change strategies to measure change.
2. Ready By 21
Ready by 21 seeks to assess change as well as nuanced relationships among developmental experiences.
Areas being tracked include:
 Staff knowledge acquisition
 Staff attitude development
 Program practice/quality
 Improvement in knowledge, attitudes and/or practice over time
 Participation levels of programs
Expectations for Participation - Youth Program Quality Assessment
Thank you for your interest in working with the Ready by 21 Coalition through the Quality Counts Grant to participate in
self/external assessments. This memorandum of agreement serves to detail the expectations for Ready by 21 and
community members and organizations interested in becoming qualified assessors and assessment sites. The
candidate should initial each statement he/she is committing to. An organizational representative should initial each
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
statement the organization is committing to.
A. I agree to attend the full-day Youth PQA Basics Live training on October 14, 2008 and upon successful completion
will (Pre-Requisite for External Assessor Workshop):
____Assess my organization within 3 months of completion of training,
____complete assessment Forms A,
____submit the completed forms to RB21, and
____submit the data online to High Scope.
B. I agree to attend the one and a half day External Assessor Workshop October 15-16, 2008 and upon successful
completion will:
____Observe a minimum of three program offerings of the sites/organizations as assigned,
____complete assessment Forms A on each offering,
____submit the completed forms to RB21,
____submit the data online to High Scope, and
____if I change employers, I will negotiate to include YPQA responsibilities as part of my new assignment.
C. My organization will support YPQA by:
____Becoming a YPQA assessment site,
____allowing me time to attend training,
____allowing me time to complete the assessments assigned,
____allowing me time to complete the assessment instruments, and
____complete training modules as indicated by assessment.
Ready by 21 Committee for Professional Development and Quality Assessment agrees to the following expectations:
 Host the High Scope YPQA trainings October 14-16, 2008,
 secure and distribute all extraneous materials,
 facilitate YPD trainings, and
 be available for questions, concerns and troubleshooting related to the YPQA and YPD process.
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08
Youth Program Quality Assessment
Application Due Date: 8/22/08
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
Do I have to be an active member of CTAN or Ready by 21 to participate?
Anyone may apply to participate as an assessor. You do not have to be a member of CTAN or Ready by 21 to apply.
Will I be compensated for my efforts?
A series of symposiums will be held periodically for all program assessors. These symposiums are held to reacquaint
assessors with the overall goals of the Quality Improvement Effort, to help answer any questions assessors may
have about their work, and to help assessors strengthen their networks within the quality improvement area. There is
no additional monetary reward for assessors.
Do I have to attend all workshops in October?
Self-assessors will attend the first day workshop. Selected external assessors will attend all three days of the
workshop. External assessors must attend the first day workshop
If I am selected, how often will I have do assessments?
As a selected self-assessor, you are expected to perform at least 2 self-assessments (pre and post training) for your
program. Each assessment will take approximately 2 hours. The first assessment will allow you to have an
understanding of your current level of functioning (often called a “baseline” measure). You can use that information to
select areas for program improvement and seek staff training. The second assessment can occur after the training is
received and there is the chance to implement change strategies. But, we also hope that you conduct periodic
assessments afterwards to determine progress and opportunities for improvement.
External assessors have more responsibility, because of different levels of assessor reliability. The overall effort to
measure improvements in the quality of programs is dependent on external assessors. External assessors will work
in teams to assess programs in the region. It is expected that external assessors will conduct pre and post
assessments, with another external assessor, for at least 4 programs over the course of a year. These assessments
will cluster in the November to January months of 2008 and 2009.
Will I be the only one assessing my program?
The training that you receive to be a self-assessor will allow you to conduct an assessment of your program. If you
apply and are selected to also be an external assessor you will get training to reliably assess any program. Your
program leadership (which may or may not be you) can also decide to request an external assessment by another
person trained in the YPQA methodology.
Fax completed application to Laura G. Garcia at 512.482.8309 or
email to youthpqa@unitedwaycapitalarea.org
Revised 8.08.08