This report includes an introduction to the Weinberg Center’s elder mistreatment prevention and intervention program; describes data collection and analysis, Elder Abuse Shelter service description and logic model, evaluability assessment of the Weinberg Center, evaluation designs; and includes four appendices of interview guides, search strategy for literature review, admissions to SPRiNG Alliance Partners, and PIER Scoring Tool and references cited.
The authors of this report describe their formative evaluation of the Weinberg Center’s Elder Abuse Shelter (EAS) model; an evaluability assessment of the EAS, consisting of an examination of their organizational, pragmatic, and evaluation readiness; and a comprehensive literature review of shelter model evaluations. The data sources for this report included interviews with Weinberg Center staff, partners, and other organizations that have EAS models across the U.S., as well as quantitative data from the Weinberg Center and program documents. The literature review provided evaluations of other shelter models, which informed the evaluation blueprint options offered by the authors as potential approaches for a rigorous evaluation of the model. Key findings included observations about EAS population demographics and cognitive abilities, resident turnover rates, staffing, and the program logic model. The authors suggest three evaluation designs that could help the Weinberg Center rigorously evaluate its impact: a quasi-experimental design using nonrandom self-selection into the program; a propensity score matching design that pairs clients with Adult Protective Services data; and a robust pre- and post-evaluation design. The authors also suggest that federal and state partners interested in protecting victims of elder abuse should consider funding one of the three recommended evaluation designs to determine whether the EAS should be supported and encouraged to proliferate as the population ages.