Tracking the use and impact of a community social report: Where does the information go?

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study evaluating the extent to which a social report (entitled "Hamilton-Wentworth Profile on Children and Youth) was read and used by recipients. Subjects were divided into two gro ups: an Active Group which had worked on producing the Profile and/or reque sted copies of it once it had been released, and a Passive Group which had received copies of the Profile through a general mailing list used for othe r research reports. Approximately one year later, 90% of the Active Group r ecalled the Profile compared to 21% of the Passive Group. Similarly, 83% of Active Group respondents had read the Profile compared to 8% of Passive Gr oup subjects. 80% of Active Group respondents and 5% of Passive Group respo ndents used the Profile. The results suggest that if social reports are rea d by local community agencies and individuals, they will be used to help im prove conditions for children and youth. Social reports at the local level are more likely to be read if potential users are engaged in the process of report production and if it reports are disseminated to the appropriate la rger audience.