Nurturing Good Beginnings: Evaluating and Assessing the YWCA’s community care program for new mothers/birthing parents

The YWCA aims to evaluate, through partnership with McMaster University, the impact of Good Beginnings, a program providing support for mothers/birthing parents who are vulnerable, precarious, and at-risk for postpartum depression. The program provides service for approximately 70 postpartum people and their babies annually, for a total of 500 people since 2014. During these six years, the YWCA has collected entrance, mid, and exit data from program participants. The research partnership will analyze these data, determine the strengths of the program, and set the foundations for ongoing evaluation and best practices to further meet the needs of the community. The primary goal of this project is to maximize positive social impact among vulnerable populations through quantitative and qualitative impact assessments which will inform the expansion of this and similar programs. This project assessment will provide the YWCA with leverage in the form of tangible results in obtaining sustained program funding.

Faculty Supervisor:

Tina Moffat;James Gillett;Sarah McDonald

Student:

Isabel Dewey

Partner:

YWCA Hamilton

Discipline:

Anthropology

Sector:

Other services (except public administration)

University:

McMaster University