A team of students at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service has partnered with Phoenix Youth and Family Services to assess the organization’s programs and services.
Clinton School students Abraham Kahasay (Clarksville, Tenn.) and Corrinne McClure (Memphis, Tenn.) used interviews and focus groups to research community and participant perceptions of Phoenix Youth and Family Services. The team will also provide the organization with recommendations for implementing community-based programming initiatives.
Founded in 1995 in Dumas, Ark., Phoenix Youth and Family Services creates, develops, and sustains quality programs and services that focus on violence prevention, substance abuse, and understanding the criminal justice system, among others. Each supports Phoenix’s mission of creating opportunities for rural and low-income residents of southeast Arkansas.
Roshunda Davis, the organization’s Family Support Specialist who supervised the Clinton School team, said that it was important for the organization to have a comprehensive evaluation from the community.
“The team asked a lot of probing questions that really get to the heart of what we are looking for in terms of our stories, understanding our clients, our programs, and the community a little better,” Davis said. “We want to ensure that the services we are offering are what is needed.”
In addition to current and part participants, the team interviewed judicial representatives, teachers, local government officials, and youth organization leaders from Dumas and its surrounding counties. Focus group and interview participants included Linda Rushing, Vice Chancellor for the College of Technology at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Spencer Chastain, Director of the Boys and Girls Club in McGehee.
Kahasay and McClure said that community perceptions of Phoenix Youth and Family Services were consistently positive across the range of stakeholders, finding that people familiar with the organization held a strong impression of its work.
“All of the stakeholders we spoke to were either deeply invested in the work Phoenix is doing or were excited to get involved,” McClure said. “Those who were unfamiliar with the organization were in agreement that the organizations and institutions they represented would greatly benefit from the development of partnerships with Phoenix.”
McClure added that alumni of Phoenix’s programs attributed much of their success in life to their involvement with the organization. Current students agreed on the various ways in which Phoenix has been a support system in their daily lives. Some thought that Phoenix’s services could benefit others in the area.
“A few of the clients we spoke with felt that the adults in their neighborhoods and communities would greatly benefit from attending Phoenix programs as well,” Kahasay said.
As part of its deliverable, the team will provide recommendations on how the organization can increase community awareness of its different services.
“It was good to get feedback from stakeholders because a lot of them did not know all of the services we provide,” Davis said. “Most people knew one program we provide, maybe a few others, but they don’t know the whole spectrum.”
Kahasay and McClure will present their findings online on Wednesday, April 14. In addition to members of Phoenix Youth and Family Services organization, many of the stakeholders who were interviewed are invited to join.
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