DeKalb Co, GA: Babies Can't Wait - Data Analysis and Evaluation
County: DeKalb County, GA

Skill Area: Program Evaluation

Internship summary
The DeKalb County Board of Health is an urban public health agency that will house the internship. The internship project will be located in the Babies Can't Wait (BCW) program within the Birth to Five System. The BCW program's address is Babies Can't Wait Program, DeKalb County Board of Health, T. O. Vinson Health Center, 445 Winn Way, 3rd Floor, Decatur, Georgia. Babies Can't Wait is an early intervention program that serves children with significant developmental delays, or children who may be at risk for delays due to a diagnosed medical condition. The program, established under part C of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, provides services to children and their families from birth to age three.

Purpose
The purpose of the internship is to perform an internal review of the program's data processes to assess the effectiveness of the system for identifying and referring children to the Babies Can't Wait program.

Goals
The goal of an internal review of the data processes is to determine if the current processes are effective for quality data outcomes, and whether the individuals responsible for data reporting at each step in the process have the information they need to produce an accurate data set.

Objectives
The objectives are to determine the usefulness of current data tools, the effectiveness of data collection procedures and if data entry processes are accurate and relevant to the data variables requested by the state.

Data or analytic tasks and activities involved
Staff currently collect data that is specific to the actual services provided. Evaluations are performed on children to determine eligibility and if eligible, service coordination and services are provided in a primary service provider model to the child and family. Data is child specific to outcomes listed on the individualized family service plan.

The intern will conduct a thorough review of the referral and data collection system, including interviews with parents and providers, review of charts and data, and assessment of the accuracy and timeliness of the referral and reporting process.

Required data or analytic skills
The analytic skills required will include the ability to identify strengths in the processes; determine areas for improvement and errors in the process from data collection to data input. This will also require chart reviews to determine if data entry is consistent with documentation.
Software applications available to the student intern include Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access programs.

Begin date
05/17/2010

Housing assistance available?
The availability of housing must be independently explored by the student as there are several colleges, churches, extended hotels, including housing and apartment complexes in the area. At most, we can provide guidance in where the intern may look for housing.

Public transportation available?
Yes, the T.O. Vinson Health Center is accessible via public transportation/MARTA. A personal vehicle is not necessary for this internship.