The Program Plan Index: an evaluation tool for assessing the quality of adolescent pregnancy prevention program plans

To assess process, impacts, and outcomes among 45 distinct county teen pregnancy prevention initiatives, several standardized data collection procedures, instruments, and protocols were developed including the Program Plan Index (PPI). The PPI was developed to determine if program plans met legislative requirements and were consistent with best practices in public health program planning and teen pregnancy prevention. Analysis of proposals from 45 counties revealed that 12 county plans were evaluated as deficient, 14 as low, 14 as acceptable, 4 as good, and 1 as excellent. Explanations for overall performance included the following: criteria used to develop the PPI based on an in-depth understanding of best practices, variations in the criteria for county request for proposals, lack of prevention expertise at the local level, and minimal time for grantees to draw down funds. Statewide efforts to improve funded community-based teen pregnancy prevention planning, implementation, and empowerment evaluation efforts are ongoing.