Conducting a Program Assessment

Outcome: By the end of this lesson, you will have used various tools to identify which parts of your organization could be improved to better support and welcome the inclusion of children and families of children with disabilities.

Lesson Length : 20 minutes

Instructions:

  1. Read Importance of Conducting a Program Assessment 
  2. Activity 1: Work through the Inclusion Readiness Checklist and “How did you do?” questions.
  3. Activity 2: Plan for change using the template provided. 
  4. Set a time to conduct the program assessment for a second time to help you measure progress on your goals. 

Introduction

Importance of Conducting a Program Assessment: 

One of the best ways for an organization to become a more inclusive, diverse and equitable is to conduct a program or organizational assessment.  An assessment is not a test and there is no reason to feel nervous to conduct one. Think of it instead as a starting off point, a way to learn your baseline. 

Page 1 of the Organizational Readiness Checklist, Source: Kids Included Together Inc.
The Organizational Readiness Checklist (pg. 1), Source: Kids Included Together Inc.

Activity I: Inclusion Readiness Checklist

Conducting a program assessment is a direct way to measure progress towards your goals and a way to identify potential blind spots, or in the case of inclusion, inadvertent barriers to participation embedded in things like marketing materials, registration forms and program requirements.  A program assessment is also an excellent tool for building a more reflective, learning organization.  

The following resource Organizational Readiness Checklist can be used as an initial tool. It does not include every piece of inclusion that you need to think about when considering how to serve more children with disabilities in your program, but it will give you a range of ideas for places to start.

Instructions

  1. Download Inclusion Checklist for Programs (2 pages)
  2. Working on your own or with a small team of co-workers, work through the checklist created by Kids Included Together (KIT). 
  3. Answer “How did you do questions?” at the end of the checklist. 

Activity II: Plan for a Change

Use your responses from the Inclusion Readiness Checklist to help you make a plan.

Instructions: 

  1. After completing the checklist, debrief the results with other co-workers.
  2. Using the template provided, make a plan for what areas of your organization you will focus on first, what areas you will approach in a few months, and what areas will take more time to change.
    1. Download: Plan for organizational change 
    2. Schedule a time to conduct the program assessment for a second time to help you measure progress on your goals. 
  3. When are you planning to conduct your next program assessment?  Write it down.