Evaluation of our programs is essential to our work in order to demonstrate impact and to continually improve our programs to reflect the needs of the community. We look at outcomes from the Ripple Program through our own internal evaluation and through a continuing external research study with NYU Metro Center’s Center for Policy, Research and Evaluation.
Research on the Ripple Program
In 2023, Families First partnered with the NYU Metro Center’s Center for Policy, Research, and Evaluation to conduct a research study on the impact of the Ripple Program, particularly the Community Impact Projects (CIPs). During the first phase of the study, NYU completed 10 interviews with seven parent leaders and three staff members affiliated with CIPs across three agencies. The full study can be found here.
Impact on Parent Leaders
The researchers found that parents who participated in CIPs experienced meaningful personal growth. Parents reported:
- Improved mental health
- Increased sense of purpose and meaning
- Expanding their leadership in the community and in their families
- Career growth through new job opportunities and skill building
Community Impact
The interviews also demonstrated positive outcomes for communities, including:
- Increased agency responsiveness to communities
- More connections among families in the community
- Beginning stages of informing decision-makers beyond the agency
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Agency Impact
Key outcomes for agencies whose staff participated in interviews included:
- Staff found working with parent leaders enjoyable, fulfilling, and energizing
- Increased opportunities for families to shape the agency
- More connections and partnerships with other community agencies
Ripple Program Evaluation
Families First collects and analyzes data for internal evaluation to guide continuous quality improvement and assess program outcomes. Evaluation findings from 2022-2023 complement findings from the first phase of the NYU Ripple Program study.
Community Impact
Parent leaders
- ensures organizations are responsive to their communities.
- helps other families become more connected.
- are informing decision-makers beyond the agency
Research that Informs the Ripple Program
The Ripple Program was designed to increase the capacity of both parents and agencies so they can improve systems and make communities stronger. By looking at the challenges, essential conditions, and policy program goals stated in the Dual Capacity-Building Framework, the Ripple Programs developed training for parents and staff and a framework for them to work on projects collaboratively.
- The Ripple Program offers training for parents and staff so they can gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement Community Impact Projects
- The Ripple Program offers opportunities for agencies and parents to co-create and implement projects and learning communities among agencies. Dual Capacity-Building Framework
The Ripple Effect Theory inspired the Ripple program name and evaluation strategy. Effective parent leadership strategies have a wave of positive impact effects that start with the parents themselves and continue with agencies and them in the communities.
- Since its inception, the Ripple Program has utilized the Parent Leader Outcome Survey from the NYU Metro Center Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
- The Ripple Program has a Partnership with NYU Metro Center under Dr. Joanna Geller’s leadership to evaluate the Ripple Program’s multi-level impact.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are at the core of the Ripple Program. The Manifesto for Race, Equity, and Parent Leadership in Early Childhood informed the foundational principles of the Ripple Program Elements: Parents are at the Center, Parents participate at all levels, Parents are valued as experts, and Parents are influential leaders.
- The Ripple Program Parent Leadership Series and the Parent Leadership Staff Series embedded DEIB principles in each session to ensure parents and agencies learn best practices to work in a culturally respectful environment.
- The Parent Leadership Staff Series emphasizes parents’ role as experts and encourages staff to allocate resources and become champions for parents’ critical role in education.
Families First’s programs started in Massachusetts and were inspired by the different initiatives that have taken place in the state. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the Family Engagement Framework after collecting feedback from parents and agencies statewide for several years. The framework’s elements offer concrete strategies for the Ripple Program participants to develop inclusive family engagement practices and work collaboratively to improve current practices.
