FY 2011 Second Chance Act Adult Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects: Evaluability Assessment of the Palm Beach County (FL) Regional and State Transitional Ex-Offender Reentry (RESTORE) Initiative

• NCJ Number: 243982
• Author(s): Jennifer Hardison Walters; Erin Kennedy; Janeen Buck Willison
• Date Published: September 2012
• Length: 33 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-R2-CX-0032
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This study conducted an evaluability assessment (determination of whether a project is a candidate for meaningful evaluation) of the Palm Beach County (Florida) Regional and State Transitional Ex-Offender Reentry (RESTORE) Initiative, a FY 2011 Second Chance Act (SCA) demonstration site, whose grant-mandated goals are to increase reentry programming for returning prisoners and their families; reduce recidivism of program participants by 50 percent over 5 years, reduce parole violations, and improve reintegration outcomes.

Abstract

The RESTORE Initiative is a coordinated county-wide approach to providing reentry services to moderate-risk and high-risk offenders returning to Palm Beach County from Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) correctional facilities. The evaluability assessment (EA) found that the program's case flow is sufficient to support rigorous evaluation research, and a number of program features warrant further study. Impact, outcome, process, and cost evaluations will likely produce actionable information for practitioners, program developers, and policymakers. Key stakeholders showed a fundamental understanding of and an appreciation for evaluation. The program is already invested in program evaluation as demonstrated by their development and use of a county-wide reentry data system that tracks and reports client outcomes, procurement of an external local evaluator, and commitment to internal assessment intended to improve program operations. The EA team is confident that the leadership and stakeholders would welcome participation in the SCA evaluation. The description of RESTORE's program operations encompasses the target population and its selection and enrollment, pre-release processes and core components, post-release processes and core components, and key staff and resources. Also discussed are staff training and technical assistance, along with data elements, data sources, systems, and strategies. The EA methodology is described. 4 exhibits, 3 references, and appended logic models