Preliminary assessment of the presidential training initiative for the island Caribbean, February 1986-December 1987

academic and technical training to participants from the Caribbean. External evaluation, based in part on exit evaluations of the program by short-term trainees, covers the period 2/86-12/87. A total of 662 trainees have initiated or completed programs in the United States. Of these, 80% have been short-term (about a month on average) and 20% long-term; most of the long-term training has been provided on the undergraduate level, as planned. Two targeted populations - women and the economically disadvantaged - are being reached in expected proportions (53% and 70% respectively). A total of 64% of the trainees are teachers, reflecting the emphasis on education in the Jamaica and RDO/C Missions. Excluding the Haitians, almost three-fourths of the trainees are from the public sector. Of the Haitians selected, almost three-fourths are students or recent graduates. All trainees have received predeparture preparation consisting of English-language training when necessary and an orientation to U.S. culture. However, only about half of short-term trainees felt prepared for the training. In general, 42% of these trainees found the training to be better than expected, while only 5% reported it to be below expectations. Experiences outside the classroom varied greatly. More than half had visited or lived with U.S. families, and 38% had attended civic activities. Some respondents reported a much increased understanding of U.S. families (35%), citizens (43%), and lifestyles (52%); fewer reported that their understanding of U.S. politics (16%) and government (19%) was much increased. The Missions' performance in recruiting, screening, and selecting trainess has been mixed. USAID/Dominican Republic and USAID/Haiti have developed sound procedures for these tasks (though USAID/H has not always followed these procedures in practice). USAID/H and USAID/Jamaica have not adequately documented their procedures, while RDO/C has, until recently, used procedures leaving it with limited authority over selection. Training and administrative costs have not been unreasonably high.