James Bell Associates Awarded Prestigious Kansas Health Foundation Grant for the Evaluation of the Immunize Kansas Kids Initiative

Arlington, VA – James Bell Associates, Inc. / JBA (www.jbassoc.com), a leading and respected evaluation and research services firm based in the Washington D.C. area, has been awarded a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation for the highly coveted Evaluation of the Immunize Kansas Kids Initiative.

The Evaluation of the Immunize Kansas Kids (IKK) Initiative is a three-phased project conducted with financial support from the Kansas Health Foundation. The IKK initiative is a high-priority partnership between the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Health Institute and many other stakeholder organizations. Their shared objective is to protect every Kansas child from vaccine preventable diseases by achieving and sustaining a 90 percent immunization rate, a goal set by Healthy People 2010, a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative, and the Healthy Kansans 2010 initiative.

During the current phase (Phase I), JBA’s evaluation team is employing evaluability assessment techniques to systematically describe project objectives and develop performance indicators that are measurable and reflective of the expectations for project processes and outcomes. The focus in Phase II will be on statewide implementation of the immunization action plan. For the final phase, which will end in late 2010, the intermediate- and long-term outcomes associated with full-scale project implementation (particularly expected increases in the number of Kansas children who are protected from disease) will be assessed.

Project director James Bell, M.A. and senior scientist Cheryl McDonnell, Ph.D. lead a highly qualified team of researchers with a proven record for delivering state-of-the-art independent program evaluation, applied research and technical assistance (TA) for both the public and private sectors. Over the last three decades JBA has established a national reputation for excellence and innovation across a broad spectrum of health and human services programs and policy areas. In 2005, the firm was awarded the Outstanding Contractor Award from the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services.

JBA looks forward to its ongoing participation in this all-important, strategic children’s health care and prevention services initiative for the State of Kansas. More information is available at www.jbassoc.com.