Residential Program for Women and Children

Background

The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (PPC) serves as an independent, third party evaluator of the Heartland Family Service’s Residential Program for Women and Children. This joint effort with Nebraska Health and Human Services and the Juvenile Courts of Douglas and Sarpy Counties involves development of a residential substance abuse treatment center in Omaha, Nebraska for pregnant women and women who are parenting young children. The main goal of the Program is to promote stable sobriety, economic self-sufficiency, and protective mother-child relationships. The Program is designed to meet the needs of low income and minority women, and is built on principles of nurturing, supportive, therapeutic treatment community.

Evaluation

The process evaluation conducted by PPC will assess the degree to which the Program was implemented as designed and describe the clientele served. The evaluation will include semi-annual focus groups with staff members, managers, and project partners; assessments of consumer satisfaction with services through surveys; individual interviews conducted with children in the Program and women who have been discharged from the Program. Additional measures will be used to assess criminal activity and child welfare. Through a repeated-measures design, the evaluation will assess the effect of the Program on violence and crime over time. Summary reports will be provided to Heartland Family Service to enhance ongoing project implementation.

Project Staff

Mark DeKraai, JD, Ph.D.
Project Director
(402) 472-1496
mdekraai@nebraska.edu

Juan Paulo Ramírez, Ph.D.
Research Specialist
(402) 472-0195
jramirez2@nebraska.edu