Updated: 6.1.06
It is critical that you evaluate your efforts to determine whether your outreach strategies and messages were effective in reaching American Indian and Alaska Native families. Then you can make adjustments to your outreach efforts depending on how successful they were and share lessons learned with other outreach workers.
In addition to following the instructions in the evaluation guide, you should also:
• Stay in touch with outreach workers and ask them for information on what is and is not working as they conduct outreach within Native communities. As discussed earlier, one of the most effective ways to learn how to conduct outreach is to learn from the experts. Encourage your outreach workers to share the lessons they have learned and what outreach practices work best so you can implement them as part of your overall outreach strategy. Encourage them to fill out an evaluation form (see below) and use this information to enhance your outreach efforts.
• Stay in touch with I/T/U and other health systems. Ask if they can report the number of new patients enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP or if they can report an increase in matching funds. Ask them to report the number of materials distributed or inquiries from parents. By working as a team with those most interested in seeing an increase in AI/AN enrollment, you may find new opportunities to recruit families into Medicaid and SCHIP.
Be observant and ask for feedback. Look around the community. Are posters still up? Do brochures need to be restocked? Monitor how your time and materials are distributed. Does it indicate any success or the need for improvement? The community can also let you know if your materials are being circulated. Just ask. Again, the key advocates already working in the communities, like I/T/U clinics, tribal Head Start programs and schools, can be allies to help you track information.
For more tips and tools on evaluating your outreach efforts, download the Covering Kids & Families Evaluating Communications and Outreach guide.