An application of theory-driven evaluation to a drop-in youth center

This article reports on the theory-driven evaluation of a drop-in center fo r youth that incorporated a literature search, concept mapping with staff a nd focus groups with youth. Findings revealed strong agreement among the th ree sources of data around specific elements identified as critical compone nts of a program theory of global prevention in after-school-hours initiati ves, such as drop-in centers. These results are used to illustrate how a th eory-driven approach was relevant for the context and objectives of this ev aluation, as well as how it was used to develop knowledge useful for action , social intervention theory and further research.