Program stability

Outcome evaluations seek to answer the question, Did this program work? Implicit in answering the question is an understanding of what "this program" is. If the program itself is young and still undergoing developmental changes (as the YouthARTS programs were, especially in Atlanta and Portland), it is difficult to determine which program worked or did not work. Moreover, young programs face enormous challenges with hiring and training staff, program logistics, recruitment, and day-to-day operations. These evolving programs resulted in two key problems for the evaluation: