AEL’s contract with the U.S. Department of Education includes work partnering with faith-based organizations in Kanawha County, West Virginia, to (1) build their capacity to better serve at-risk youth and (2) document what best helps such organizations to successfully impact youth and their families. One of the first faith-based organizations with which AEL became involved on an individual basis was the Helping Others Pursue Excellence (HOPE) Youth Development Movement. Work undertaken with the HOPE program during 2002 has served as a pilot test of the types of data collection methods and instruments needed to document the impact of AEL’s involvement with faith-based organizations serving African American youth. This evaluation report of the process for partnering with a faith-based organization serves as documentation of the pilot test of the instruments and provides the baseline data for the HOPE program. The primary audiences for this report include AEL staff, U.S. Department of Education staff, and HOPE staff. Secondary audiences include staff of other faith-based organizations interested in promoting such partnerships within their communities. Appendixes include a description of HOPE programs, a completed evaluation standards checklist, interview protocols, the AEL Skills Inventory, and a satisfaction survey. (GCP)
