CYFAR for Resilient and Healthy Youth: Program Evaluation Tool Validation and Outcome Analysis

Abstract Information: The Community, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) program aims to improve young people's life skills, resilience, and knowledge of nutrition and physical health and promotes increased access to healthy food and physical activities in their communities. Delivered at selected school sites in low-income communities in California and Nevada through 4-H Student Nutrition Advisory Council Clubs (4-H SNAC), youth engage in healthy living projects designed to help them develop as health advocates.
The evaluation study adopted a comprehensive evaluation framework involving multiple stakeholders to measure program outcomes. We employed CYFAR-approved common measures to assess everyday living skills, 17 item youth resilience and program quality. Youth reported their nutrition intake and their participation in physical activities by responding to a CalFresh Eating and Activity Tool for students. The everyday living survey consisted of five sections, such as decision-making (5 items), analytical thinking (5 items), communication (6 items), goal setting (4 items), and problem-solving (6 items) skills. Another set of 17 Likert-type scales was used to measure youth resilience.
Results showed that CYFAR has helped youth improve their everyday life skills and resilience, including nutrition intake and participation in physical activities. The CalFresh Eating Tool data was analyzed to explore the healthy eating habits of the program participants. We also documented the effect of straightlining, zig-zag pattern, and missing data on the evaluation outcomes. This ignite-presentation will demonstrate the evaluation framework, measures to validate evaluation instruments, and the findings of surveys completed by project staff and SNAC club youth members.
We will also share how the survey validation process supports the idea of breaking down of a single set of youth resilience statements into relatively smaller sections such as sense of belonging, social competence, personal aspirations, and emotional support. The four factors extracted from the set of 17-item questions are: 1) Sense of Belonging; 2) Social Competence; 3) Personal Aspirations; and 4) Emotional Support. The grouping of youth resilience statements might be useful for new evaluators to better understand where more programmatic intervention is needed.
The study employed a comprehensive evaluation framework to collect evidence to test hypotheses linked to a positive impact on youth. The data collected over the years from the youth participants shows the CYFAR program has helped youth improve their resilience and everyday life skills, including healthy practices. The presentation will focus on the key findings from the evaluation, including the results from the test of the statistical significance of the change. At the same time, the study allowed the research team to further validate evaluation instruments with a higher percentage of underrepresented Hispanic youth serving programs. The evaluation findings helped the program plan identify areas where significant improvements have been noticed in addition to areas with little or no improvement. Our evaluation showed how to use evidence-based methods to develop programmatic interventions that enhance the program's impact. At the same time, we assessed the reliability and validity of evaluation instruments for a diverse demographics.