Agency Description and Program Evaluation Capacity Analysis for the Veterans Affairs HUD/VASH program

Describe the history, organization, and functions of an agency that you will use for Assignment 2 (Logic Models) and Assignment 3 (Program Evaluation Plan). This description should additionally explain the context within which the agency operates including, but not limited to: the administrative, physical, financial, and human resource dimensions of the agency. Describe the size of the agency, in terms of total budget, staffing, and service recipients.

Next, describe the line(s) of business and/or services and programs operated by the agency. For each major program area (line of business), briefly also describe the programmatic and client level information that is collected throughout program participation, including assessments, status reports, critical incident reports, and discharge reports, and how program client level information is stored (paper versus digital), how it is used, and who has access to it. For each major program area, also briefly describe how program staff performance information is collected and stored (paper versus digital), how it is used, and who has access to it.

Then, summarize major organizational internal reporting processes and external reporting requirements with regard to frequency of reports, information contained on the reports, and utility of the reports for program monitoring and evaluation.

Finally, and most importantly, provide a critical analysis, informed by discussions with agency staff/management of the agency's utility of program/client information for monitoring and evaluation purposes. What do you/they identify to be the high priority information needs of the agency?