Sample Projects

A selection of recent projects includes the following examples:

Needs Assessment

CREEHS has worked with several municipalities and agencies in New Jersey (e.g., in Bloomfield, Madison, Montclair, Orange, Passaic County, Paterson, Ridgewood, West Orange) to conduct needs assessments with focuses on community health, education, and aging. For several of these assessments, a collaborative approach was used to engage stakeholders in the process and ensure that the assessment addressed topics of importance. CREEHS has designed assessments, collected data, and reported on findings with and to stakeholders using a variety of methods.

CREEHS conducted a needs assessment to identify nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention needs, as well as barriers to accessing healthy foods and physical activity among New Jersey (NJ) residents eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This assessment collected and analyzed primary and secondary data to identify these needs and barriers. The needs assessment findings were used to inform the state’s plan for ongoing implementation of the NJ SNAP Education program (NJ SNAP-Ed).

Program Evaluation

Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency (NMUTR) Evaluation

The Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency (NMUTR) aims to develop and support effective urban educators through a rigorous model teaching residency program. CREEHS has designed and implemented a mixed methods evaluation study, capturing data to meet programmatic and federal reporting requirements as well as inform the program’s design and implementation. Data have been collected from a wide range of participants through mixed methods. Regular updates and reports are provided to program staff and stakeholders to document progress and offer actionable recommendations toward ongoing improvement.

School Improvement Grant (SIG) Evaluation

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) retained CREEHS to conduct an evaluation study of the implementation and outcomes of its School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. CREEHS’s evaluation study assessed the implementation and fidelity to specified school reform models in 20 schools statewide, using mixed methods to collect data about the program. The study also examined impacts of these school reform efforts on student achievement. The CREEHS team made recommendations about critical success factors that emerged from the evaluation.

Healthy U Evaluation

CREEHS is currently contracted by the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance to assess the process and outcomes of a multi-year grant-funded obesity prevention program. Healthy U serves preschool, afterschool, and school day programs, promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools. CREEHS has collected and analyzed data to assess the Healthy U program and inform ongoing improvement.

Capital City Diabetes Collaborative Evaluation

The Trenton Health Team has contracted with CREEHS to conduct a multi-year grant-funded evaluation of the Capital City Diabetes Collaborative. The study assesses the development, implementation, and outcomes of a program designed to unify the delivery of diabetes care and provide diabetes support and education services to patients in the city of Trenton, NJ. The information is being used to better understand how programs are developed as well as provide recommendations for program improvement.

Evaluation Capacity Building

Performance Measurement and Evaluation Capacity Building

The New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service (NJCNCS) of the New Jersey Department of State (NJDOS) hired CREEHS to provide technical assistance to grantees of the AmeriCorps program throughout the state of New Jersey. For several years, CREEHS has provided technical assistance to grantees in the form of training and capacity building in program theory and logic models, data collection, performance measurement, evaluation and reporting. Technical assistance is provided via workshops, group conference calls, and as one-on-one support to grantees.

Really solid and objective evaluation work. Gave a good perspective on things we thought we already knew.