EVALUATION - PLANNED PARENTHOOD ASSOCIATION/CHICAGO AREA FAMILY PLANNING TRAINING AND RESEARCH CENTER

Under contract with USAID, PPA/CA provides flexible training programs, tailored to meet the individual needs of LDC participants. Generally, PPA/CA is used as an auxiliary rather than a primary training center. Most participants are sent to PPA/CA for brief training sessions, often before or after an academic program elsewhere. From 5/72 to 10/74, 310 LDC participants have been trained. The training center, located in the University of Illinois Medical Complex, has a cadre of 34 consultant faculty available for training on an ad hoc basis. The Center"s International Training Division consists of a core staff of 6 individuals. The staff is well coordinated, and while they lack overseas experience, they are dedicated to their work and sensitive to the needs of the participants. Clinical facilities utilized in training of participants are well staffed and efficiently operated. Leadership throughout PPA/CA in clinical and non-clinical activities was found to be excellent. Patient counseling is stressed at all clinics, an aspect of acceptor management generally neglected in LDC clinics, leading to an increased drop-out rate. The 2 mobile clinics are seldom used and should be eliminated from the contract. The Center"s Demonstration Clinic provides an adequate training setting. There is no formal systematic follow-up of returned participants by PPA/CA or AID. Since most participants receive their primary training at other facilities, PPA/CA feels that measuring the impact on later job performance of training received just at PPA/CA is usually not possible. It is recommended that USAID ask LDC"s to contact participants of the past 3 years to determine their current use of training. Authors recommend that the PPA/CA contract be continued. Report briefly reviews two previous contracts with PPA/CA dating back to 6/78.