Enhancing program review for evaluation and management

Program review has not received the attention it warrants as a program evaluation tool despite its wide use for evaluation and management purposes. The use of the program review will probably endure on the strength of its face validity and irrespective of other developments in the field of program evaluation. Evaluators should realize this and, accordingly, attempt to improve its effectiveness. This paper presents one organization's approach to achieving this objective through the explication of development principles, implementation guidelines and review items. This paper also discusses benefits that can be expected from a systematic development of this tool and presents various research directions and potentials in this area.     

Book Review: The Ultimate Resource 2. Julian L. Simon. Princeton,NJ: University Press. 1996. pp. 734

Population and Environment -     

House-sharing

Eighty-five older homeowners living in Los Angeles County were interviewed to assess their interest in a house-sharing arrangement as a means of acquiring companionship. Social exchange theory is used to conceptualize house-sharing as a social context which is conducive to intimacy. The results are interpreted with reference to the social isolation and friendship network literature in social gerontology.     

Selection,context, or both? The English fluency of Mexican immigrants in the American Midwest and Southwest

Population Research and Policy Review -     

The Hispanic population: 1990–2000 growth and change

Data sources indicate that there were significant changes in the Hispanic populationbetween 1990 and 2000. Using short-form data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses,we explore changes in the size and distribution of the Latino population. The mostimportant shifts in the Hispanic population are the continued increase of the Latinopopulation in the United States, the significant growth of Hispanic population whoidentify as `other' Latino, and the growing importance of the Midwest and South aspopular receiving areas for Latinos. Additionally, our comparison of householdcomposition over the ten-year period shows little change. We offer potentialexplanations, both substantive and methodological, for these important transitionsin the Latino population over the decade.     

Context-contingent decision-making in child protection practice

Research on child protection practice has been concerned mainly with the problem of the maltreating parent. System philosophies and processes and the influences on these, while addressed by some authors, have not received the attention they deserve. Understanding the ways in which child protection practices are constructed offers insights into the equitable or otherwise application of these processes to different groups of parents within our communities. In the study reported here we examine how child protection workers make decisions about removing children and subsequently initiating court proceedings. By focusing our analysis on a particularly vulnerable group of parents, those with intellectual disability, we highlight the ways in which child protection workers carry out their legislative mandate to keep children safe.