Community Development Block Grant Evaluation

Since 1974, through the Community Development Block Grant program, one of the Federal governments largest Federal initiatives, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has funded local jurisdictions to meet urgent community development needs, benefit low- and moderate- income people, and aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight. In 1999 Gibson & Associates began annual comprehensive evaluations of Oaklands CDBG program.

The Oakland City Council mandated the evaluation of CDBG to ensure accountability in public expenditures. Oaklands Community and Economic Development Agency (CEDA) administers the program. During the first two years the Gibson & Associates evaluation team researched and documented CEDAs process of performing local community assessment, procurement of services, as well as its contracting and monitoring of those services. Concurrently, the researchers conducted program evaluations, including site visits and collection and tabulation of client feedback on over 50 individual services funded through CDBG. These services ranged from city-administered economic development, residential lending services and neighborhood improvement initiatives to a wide array of public services delivered by community based non-profit organizations. Researchers designed and utilized a standardized set of data collection protocols to determine, the extent to which each service:

• met proposed goals and objectives
  
• delivered proposed services
  
• maintained reasonable costs
  
• benefited clients
  
• benefited the community