D. Evaluating Coverage: Are You Serving the Right Group?
Often it is important to know that your program is reaching the intended target population. For example, if your program is targeting at-risk youth you need to be sure you are reaching this group. Similarly, if your program is targeting a specific age or other demographic group, you'll need to be able to show that your program is, in fact, serving this group. Many programs collect basic information about who participates in the program. Sometimes, all you will need to know is the number of people who participated. Other times you may need to know additional information about the participants. Information describing background characteristics of individuals is called "demographic information." Examples include age, race/ethnicity, education level, income level, employment status, etc. Be careful: often, it is easy to ask a lot of these questions but never use the information. When you ask demographic questions, be sure to know how you will use these in reporting or analysis.
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