2002 Old St Augustine Rd, Building A, Suite 50, Tallahassee, FL 32301
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info@cscleon.org

QQ Research completes Assets & Needs Assessment Research

Now available: 2022 Gap Analysis Report

CSC Leon contracted with Q-Q Research Consultants (Q-Q Research) in November 2021 to conduct a comprehensive asset and needs assessment that identifies:

  • children’s services currently available,
  • barriers preventing these programs from fully meeting the needs of children in Leon County,
  • gaps that exist within current programming, and
  • outcomes that should be tracked by programs and services.

Q-Q Research utilized a comprehensive approach that incorporates a variety of data sources to identify the difference between the current and desired community conditions. Several quantitative and qualitative data sources were used for the gap analysis, including a “Community Needs Assessment Survey” (CNAS), secondary data sources (publicly available data from local, state and national sources), a provider survey, multiple interviews with providers, and a series of “Community Focus Groups.” All data points were triangulated to inform strengths and areas of need for the children, youth, and families of Leon County. Where available, secondary data was disaggregated by zip-code to understand areas of need for specific regions of Leon County, Florida. This information can be found in the Zip Code Profile tables in Appendix A of the full report.

Q-Q Research also developed a Key Outcomes and Measures (KOM) tool that defines the domains of interest to CSC Leon’s work and proposes measures related to each of these domains. The goal of the KOM tool is to provide a comprehensive guide to reliable and valid measures of interest in the evaluation of programs aimed at improving outcomes for children, youth, and families. Evaluation staff at funded organizations and other stakeholders will be able to consult this tool to enrich their evaluation efforts.

The final KOM tool contains a comprehensive set of measures to evaluate the effectiveness of CSC Leon activities. For each of the three domains, the tool delineates relevant subdomains and lists measures used in various aspects of program evaluation. CSC Leon and service providers alike will be able to consult this tool to locate sound measurement tools and expand their thinking related to evaluating the impact of their work. For each subdomain, the tool also lists publicly available benchmark impact measures anticipated to move over time as a function of successful program implementation and which CSC Leon and their partners may wish to track over time.

Ultimately, the following opportunities for impact were developed to address the gaps that emerged in the analyses.

  • Focus on closing gaps through afterschool and summer programming
  • Foster collaboration among providers, funders, and the community
  • Provide strategic capacity building to providers
  • Target inequity through access
  • Bring awareness to current resources
  • Prioritize prevention and early intervention
  • Leverage experts to address systemic issues impacting children, youth, and families in Leon County
  • Create a CSC Leon Youth Advisory Council to elevate youth voices
  • Bring awareness to CSC Leon’s presence in the community

Please note, the order of these opportunities does not indicate prioritization. Rather, the order follows the layout of the discussed findings throughout the duration of the report.

CSC Leon will use this information to develop its first strategic plan to guide community investments moving forward.

QQ Research Consultants presented the findings of the report to the CSC Leon Governing Council on June 16, 2022, during a Council workshop. In July 2022, the members of the Council held a strategic planning session facilitated by Michele Watson with the Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trusts (FACCT) to determine its preliminary targets for funding priorities. CSC Leon then hosted an open forum with service providers and potential community investment partners in late July 2022 to share the findings and invite feedback.

CSC Leon is scheduled to publish the draft strategic plan in October 2022.

Members of the public can access the final Gap Analysis Report and related materials below. Questions should be directed to info@cscleon.org.