DATA
When Dave Sanders stepped in as Executive Director in 2022, OAR piloted a data tracking system on all the clients who walked through their doors, the challenges they faced, the resources they were connected with, and their outcomes.
OAR knew that careful data collection & analysis were the only way to track the work and measure its results. Without knowing the impact of the work we do - on the clients we serve - we cannot course correct what is not delivering, or expand what is succeeding.
Our Executive Director was trained in Results Based Accountability in 2012. These are the same metrics the UN uses to set goals for poverty, hunger, etc.
It is this core competency he brought to the Tompkins County in 2017, gathering metrics and data across all 30 of their departments over the next 5 years.
In 2022, when he stepped in to lead OAR, he expanded his certification to include in Results Based Management at Cornell. He is also received an Executive Certification Reducing Ethnic and Racial Disparities at Georgetown University.
Because these tracking systems do not exist, we have built a massive data bank of who comes through our doors, what their needs are, what services they employ, which government services they connect with, and their success rates (measuring recidivism, employment, housing.)
Results Based Accounting
Results Based Management
Executive Certification Reducing Ethnic and Racial Disparities
Sunflower House:
Employment vs. Recidivism
Tracking the data of our residents in the Sunflower House revealed this important dynamic: the higher the rate of employment, the lower the rate of recidivism.
This allows OAR to concentrate its focus on finding employment opportunities for its clients, training them and supporting them to reenter the work force - knowing that work will go a long way to keeping them out of the prison pipeline.
The Power of Data
With the data we are collecting we can support both population and performance measures. Population measures include crime, arrests, and jail population, these measures are critical in understanding current trends and environment. Many times, they are often pawned off as state or national trends, meaning we cannot do anything about it, but that’s untrue. The federal and state government are not going to reverse Tompkins County trends, only Tompkins County can do that. We have more power and influence than we think.
Choosing Metrics
Performance measures are program specific and used to improve client outcomes. Examples include incidents, unmet needs, client feedback, and OAR clients in jail. We track each and implement action strategies to improve services and outcomes. OAR is the only Community Based Organization that maintains recidivism data. This is a difficult measure as there are many restrictive and supportive factors outside of OAR, but ultimately this is what we aim to accomplish, providing and supporting pathways out of the criminal justice system and out of poverty.
Examples of Performance Measures
HOW MUCH
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Number of participants per day/ per month/ per year/ unduplicated count
HOW WELL
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Unmet needs
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Incidents
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Client feedback (survey)
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Percent of clients successfully completing program
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Percent of clients linked to supportive services
BETTER OFF
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Number/ Percent of clients successfully existing a Substance Use treatment facility
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Number/ Percent earning college degrees
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Number/ Percent securing full-time employment
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Number/ Percent of clients housed
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Number/ Percent securing permanent housing
"Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions."
-- Andy Dunn