| Sumario: | Well-conducted evaluations highlight human services programs strengths and weaknesses and may lead to improvements in individual programs and to a more effective and efficient mix of programs provided to clients. This potential is not currently being met to any degree, however, because evaluations are not being employed to any great extent by decision makers. Stiff evaluations are not wanted by program makers for a number of reasons, including a reticence to collect potentially detrimental information; the cost, trouble, and time involved in more rigorous evaluations; and a lack of training in program evaluation and in the commissioning of a rigorous evaluation effort. A number of evaluation rules and corollaries are presented that provide a handy checklist for practitioners developing or assessing evaluation plans.
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