CCAP Program Planning & Execution 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting a community needs assessment, which data collection method best captures subjective experiences of poverty that quantitative data may miss?
- Randomized surveys with Likert scales
- Focus groups with community residents (Correct answer)
- Secondary data analysis from census records
- Key informant interviews with agency staff only
Correct answer: Focus groups with community residents
Focus groups allow community residents to share lived experiences and contextual nuances that structured surveys cannot capture.
Question 2: A Community Action Agency's strategic plan should primarily align with which framework to ensure compliance with federal funding requirements?
- SWOT analysis outcomes
- ROMA Next Generation framework (Correct answer)
- Balanced Scorecard methodology
- Six Sigma process improvement
Correct answer: ROMA Next Generation framework
ROMA (Results Oriented Management and Accountability) Next Generation is the federal framework CAAs must use to demonstrate outcomes.
Question 3: Which logic model component directly links program activities to their intended short-term outcomes?
- Inputs
- Outputs (Correct answer)
- Assumptions
- Impact
Correct answer: Outputs
Outputs are the direct products of activities (e.g., number of clients served) that connect activities to measurable short-term outcomes.
Question 4: A CAA discovers mid-year that a federal grant's allowable activities have changed. The FIRST action the program director should take is:
- Immediately revise all program activities to match new requirements
- Notify the board of directors and suspend the program
- Contact the federal program officer for guidance on compliance (Correct answer)
- Submit a budget modification to redirect all funds
Correct answer: Contact the federal program officer for guidance on compliance
Contacting the federal program officer first ensures the agency receives official guidance before making programmatic changes.
Question 5: In program planning, 'triangulation' refers to:
- Using three funding sources for program sustainability
- Validating findings by using multiple data sources or methods (Correct answer)
- Dividing the service area into three geographic zones
- Applying three separate evaluation frameworks simultaneously
Correct answer: Validating findings by using multiple data sources or methods
Triangulation strengthens validity by cross-checking conclusions using multiple data sources, methods, or evaluators.
Question 6: Which budgeting approach requires each program to justify all expenditures from scratch each fiscal year, regardless of prior funding?
- Incremental budgeting
- Zero-based budgeting (Correct answer)
- Activity-based budgeting
- Cash-basis budgeting
Correct answer: Zero-based budgeting
Zero-based budgeting requires justification of every expense anew each year, preventing automatic rollovers of prior-year allocations.
Question 7: A CAA program serving low-income families wants to improve participant retention. Which strategy most directly addresses barriers to service access?
- Increasing program marketing through social media
- Conducting exit surveys with departing participants
- Co-locating services with transportation hubs and childcare (Correct answer)
- Hiring additional case managers to reduce caseloads
Correct answer: Co-locating services with transportation hubs and childcare
Co-locating services near transportation and childcare removes structural barriers that prevent low-income families from consistently accessing programs.
CCAP Program Planning & Execution 2
When conducting a community needs assessment, which data collection method best captures subjective experiences of poverty that quantitative data may miss?