Autism CARES Act Initiative Evaluation

The purpose of this project is to design and implement a comprehensive evaluation of the MCHB Autism CARES Act Initiative programs. The data will be used as follows: • Conduct performance monitoring of the programs. • Provide credible and rigorous evidence of program effectiveness. • Meet program needs for accountability, decision making, and quality assurance. • Strengthen the evidence base for best practices. Data collection instruments will include (1) surveys with the Research and State Systems grantees and (2) interview guides with all grantees (Research, State Systems, Training, and Resource Centers). Through the surveys, we will collect quantitative data on program activities and publications. Through the interviews, we will collect detailed qualitative data about the program activities and perceptions of successes, challenges, and barriers. The evaluation team will conduct individual or group semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the program directors and other grantee team members (if the program directors select additional team members for interviews). The data collection activities are summarized in table A.1. Information collected in the surveys will include quantitative data not included in available secondary sources. Through the interviews, the team will draw on the survey data and collect new, unique qualitative data about the programs.

The latest form for Autism CARES Act Initiative Evaluation expires 2026-08-31 and can be found here.

Research Survey

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Health - Health Care Services

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