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Evaluation Criteria

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) conducts in-depth evaluation of the community programs throughout implementation to ensure that each program is being completed as designed. VFHY staff members review each grant as it is administered, including evaluating quarterly reports and conducting site visits to see the programs in action. In addition, VFHY contracts with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to evaluate the programs on a statewide level to gauge their effectiveness, and to identify factors that will assist in developing and strengthening the effectiveness of VFHY’s youth tobacco-use prevention programs in the future.

Community Programs & Education

VFHY provides funding to organizations throughout the state of Virginia offering tobacco-prevention or smoking-cessation programs to youth. Each of these funded agencies provides one or more compendium or supplemental programs specified by VFHY and recognized by national and state organizations as a model, effective or promising tobacco prevention program.

VVCU’s Community Health Research Initiative (CHRI) provides a comprehensive evaluation of the programs conducted by VFHY grantees serving youth ages 9 and older. The evaluation instruments consist of pre-tests and post-tests designed by VFHY to measure VFHY’s core objectives, and were appropriately designed for two distinct age groups: (Level 2) second through fifth grade, and (Level 3) sixth through twelfth grade.

Evaluation:

The assessment of the extent to which a program has achieved its goals.

Grant Programs & Education

VFHY provides funding to organizations throughout the state of Virginia offering tobacco-use prevention and cessation programs for youth. Each of these funded organizations provides one or more compendium or supplemental programs specified by VFHY and recognized by national and state organizations as a model, effective or promising program.

Previous statewide efforts provided a comprehensive evaluation of the programs conducted by VFHY grantees serving youth ages 9 and older. The evaluation instruments consisted of pre-tests and post-tests designed to measure VFHY’s core objectives: current tobacco use; intention to smoke; perceived benefits of remaining tobacco free; knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco; and self-efficacy.

Among participating youth during the 2010-11 school year, all core objectives for evaluation were deemed to have been achieved.

Concept Mapping

VFHY currently contracts with the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies to conduct concept mapping evaluation of VFHY grant programs for both tobacco-use and obesity prevention.

This innovative strategy to program evaluation will collect data related to youth attention, engagement and participation in funded programs. Findings will assist in reducing barriers to success and increasing the long-term sustainability of positive program outcomes beyond the initial years of the grants.

Overview

Formerly known as the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth was established by the Virginia General Assembly to lead statewide efforts to reduce and prevent youth tobacco use and childhood obesity.

Overview

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth issues grants for programs and initiatives to reduce and prevent youth tobacco use and childhood obesity throughout the Commonwealth each year. Members of Regional Advisory Boards consisting of community representatives...

Overview

Established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1999, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) leads a statewide effort...

Overview

Obesity is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled. The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth works to reduce and prevent childhood obesity by funding and training community-based coalitions.

Overview

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth has provided quality regional trainings to prevention professionals throughout the state of Virginia since 2005.