EXPANDING THE ROLE OF PROGRAM-EVALUATION IN SOCIAL-WELFARE POLICY ANALYSIS

Program evaluation is integral to the policy analysis process in socia l services Increasingly, program administrators and policymakers rely on program evaluation results for making micro- and macro-level decisi ons about client services. This article examines the role of program e valuation in relationship to several dimensions of policy analysis and suggests that program evaluation is most persuasive as a component of the policy process when its role is clearly understood. Such clarity can be achieved by using the program mandate to guide evaluation activ ity and including frontline practitioners in developing program evalua tion models.