Process Evaluation and Strategic Analysis of the Education Advocacy Project

The Katherine A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project (EAP) was founded as an initiative of the Juvenile Rights Division at the Legal Aid Society of New York in order to provide early intervention and special education advocacy for disabled and developmentally delayed foster care children in New York City. The Capstone team conducted a qualitative process evaluation and strategic analysis in order to assess the programmatic and fiscal sustainability of the EAP. Through comprehensive internal, environmental, and competitor analyses, the team found that the EAP fills a gap between the Department of Education and the Administration for Children’s Services by obtaining legally entitled appropriate education and related services for children in foster care. The team’s recommendations address the found strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the EAP in order to position the project more effectively to funders.