This document provides instructions for two discussions regarding a problem within an organization. For Discussion 1, participants are asked to consider quantitative metrics that could be used to measure the identified problem now and after a potential program is implemented to address it. They are also asked to discuss the consequences of not measuring program outcomes. Discussion 2 asks participants to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders and how their perspectives could help evaluate a program's effectiveness in addressing the problem. Participants are to support their ideas with citations.

1. This is for 2 discussions. Please see the attachment for
instructions on the 2 discussions. Please use in-text citations
and references to support your materials.
Discussion 1: Quantitative Metrics
In this discussion, consider the quantitative metrics you might
use to assess success in addressing the problem you identified
for your organization. The problems identified are in
Information from Discussion 1 and Information from Discussion
2
below. Consider what type of metrics might be used, as well as
how you might collect that data. You might find that some of
the data is already being collected, but not being used to
measure programmatic efficacy. In other cases, you might find
data is not being collected, so you might have to consider how
to develop and implement a data collection and retention
program along with developing whatever program your
organizational decision-makers finally adopt to address the
problem. Please remember that this is not about the alternatives.
This is about the problem. Earlier in the course, you identified a
specific problem. In your initial post to this discussion respond
to the following:
· How would you measure that problem now, before the
alternative is selected?
· How would you measure the problem issues at a later point,
once the selected program has been in effect for some time, to
determine if the program is achieving its outcome?
· What might be the potential result to your organization if you

2. do not find a way to measure programmatic outcomes?
Please support your ideas with recent, scholarly sources that are
properly cited and referenced in APA Style.
Discussion 2: Qualitative Metrics
In an earlier unit, there was a discussion of macroeconomic
approaches to cost-benefit analysis. In essence, instead of
focusing simply on fiscal measures, we might consider other
metrics, including the perceptions of those involved. For your
initial post, for the problem you identified earlier in the course,
consider:
The problems identified earlier in the course are in
Information from Discussion 1 and Information from Discussion
2
below.
· Who might be primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders
for the problem in your community?
· What perceptions might they bring to the discussion which
would be of value in assessing the efficacy and efficiency of the
program in addressing the problem?
· How might you determine the perspectives of these primary
and secondary stakeholders before the program begins and after
the program has been in effect for some time?
Please support your ideas with recent, scholarly sources that are
properly cited and referenced in APA style.
Information from Discussion 1
The agency I intend to focus my efforts on is the Indiana

3. Department of Child Services (DCS). Their mission is to engage
with families and collaborate with state, local and community
partners to protect children from abuse and neglect and to
provide child support services (DCS Mission, Vision, and
Values). I want to address the overspending that Indiana’s DCS
does every year. They are 100’s of millions of dollars over
budget every year. I know this is not just a problem for Indiana,
but every state.
One thing that I learned working with this agency is that they
want to keep referring services to clients and keep them in the
system. If they keep their numbers high on active clients in
their system every year and overspend the budgeted money, they
will and expect to receive more funds the following fiscal year.
DCS is by far the largest department with the greatest budget
and amount of employees than any other department in the state
of Indiana. As of 2017, Indiana’s rate of children in out-of-
home care was about 13 children for every 1,000 in the state
and is over twice the national average. In addition to Indiana
having a higher number of children in out-of-home care, Indiana
also has a higher-than-average number of children being
referred to child protection. In 2016, Indiana’s rate of referral
to child protection, calculated as the number of referrals for
every 1,000 children in the state’s population, was 108.2
compared to a national average of 55.6 (Evaluation of the
Indiana Department of Child Services).
References
DCS Mission, Vision, and Values. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22,
2020, from https://www.in.gov/dcs/2370.htm
Evaluation of the Indiana Department of Child Services. (2018,
June 18). Retrieved January 22, 2020, from
https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/IndianaEvaluationReportCWGFinal
.pdf

4. Information from Discussion 2
· What is the specific problem that your organization will be
trying to address? Try to be as specific as possible.
My organization will be trying to reduce the spending by the
Indiana Department of Child Services to combat child abuse and
neglect. There are a number of issues that create this situation
that need addressed. One major that needs to be considered is
what is causing the high caseloads in the first place and can
these things be spearheaded from the front end to help reduce
the number of children entering into the system in the first
place. Here are a number of things that need evaluated and are
cause for concern (Evaluation of the Indiana Department of
Child Services.):
• Only three states have a higher rate of abuse and neglect
referrals than Indiana.
• Indiana accepts more abuse and neglect reports than the
national average.
• Only two states had a higher rate of completed child
protection assessments than Indiana.
• Despite completing more assessments than almost any state,
Indiana substantiated only 15 percent of those assessments.
• The rate of abuse and neglect reports grew by almost 63
percent from SFY 13 to SFY 17.
• 55 percent of removals in 2017 were related to parental
substance abuse.
• DCS barely misses the federal standard for repeat

5. maltreatment
• Indiana’s rate of children in care is 13.0 (per 1,000 children)
compared with the national average of 5.6.
• Indiana’s rate of children entering care is 8 (per 1,000
children) compared with the national rate of 3.6. • Nearly 45
percent of family case managers have caseloads above the state
standard.
• DCS’ supervision standard is 1 to 7+ compared to the national
standard of 1 to 5.
• There are 530 children in care on the Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF) wait list for childcare vouchers.
• In SFY 2017, DCS spent $24,933,487 on drug testing/supplies
and $4,538,182 on drug treatment.
• The number of court-involved cases in DCS is more than
double the national average.
· How is the specific problem you mentioned tied to the
organizational mission?
The problem is tied to DCS’ mission statement, because they
job is to provide services to and protect children from abuse and
neglect. If we can reduce the amount of reports by ensuring
parents have resources and tools to properly parent their
children and deal with everyday life. This can potentially
reduce the number of reports and cases DCS receives in the first
place and eventually reduce the amount of spending and
employees needed to make DCS function as it has. Cases that do
need DCS’ attention after this would be handled in a manner to
help put them in a place where they will be no more recurring
incidences and remove the cases from the DCS system. It is a

6. complicated and very involve process, but it can be done with
the proper training, tools, resources, and policies in place.
· How might you frame the problem for the policy analysis to
make the scope of it more realistic in a real-world setting?
Problems such as the opioid epidemic have contributed to the
increased number of families and children in the DCS case
management system. If we were to focus and attack the opioid
problem from the doctor prescribing the opioid, to the
manufacturers, and finally to the patient taking the opioids we
can come up with a solution to combat this and thus reduce the
numbers that increased the caseloads of DCS due to this
problem. Over reliance on a reactive system that uses child
removal as the primary approach to address parental addiction
will not serve Indiana or its citizens well over time (Evaluation
of the Indiana Department of Child Services.). The idea is to
take a proactive approach instead of a reactive approach to
these problems.
References
Evaluation of the Indiana Department of Child Services. (2018,
June 18). Retrieved January 22, 2020, from
https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/IndianaEvaluationReportCWGFinal
.pdf