white paper on performance management for community ... - FACA

NASCSP 2013
that old age does not begin until age 72, according to a 2009 Pew Research survey.”
(Pew Research Center 2011)
Provision of services for vulnerable senior citizens will not produce an increase in income or
economic status. It may prevent a more costly intervention (for instance, community or homebased
services can prevent institutionalization and support continued independence). Is it
valuable to ensure that only those services to the vulnerable portion of the elderly population
are included here when looking at services that are provided to all seniors regardless of income,
such as congregate meals, senior center activities, resource and referral services, etc.?
This discussion could also apply to individuals with disabilities. There is a difference between
providing "emergency" services in a crisis or disaster situation, and providing those services to
individuals and families who use the service to maintain or improve their normal circumstance.
Research is not needed to support the obvious benefit of providing assistance to families and
communities in the face of emergency and disasters. There is usually no follow-up associated
with these services as none is warranted. Follow up is needed to find out the benefit, impact or
change that is produced by the other kind of service (once a month food box, seasonal heat or
utility assistance, one-month housing payment, etc.), but this is not captured in the NPIs. The
fact is the receipt of the service is considered a proxy for the actual accomplishment of an
outcome. In either case, the provision of these kinds of service will not produce an increase in
income or economic status.
Some of the family development and family support outcomes in Goal Six are the same as those
in Goal One. The difference currently rests on the determination of the family's ability to be
employed. Perhaps a better determination would be to identify the level of need using family
development scale/matrix -- have a continuum of service which is reported either as Goal One
(self-sufficiency -- movement above the prevention line) or Goal Six (stability -- moved from
below the prevention line to above or managed in a crisis or disaster situation).
Of note, these three indicators speak to the "strengthen family and other support systems"
portion of Goal Six:
Parents and other adults learn and exhibit improved parenting skills
Parents and other adults learn and exhibit improved family functioning skills
Children and Youth Development
It is difficult to determine how the Network is using the CSBG IS Survey items that are
associated with services for vulnerable children and youth but it is clear that many Head Start
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