NCJ Number
40997
Date Published
1973
Length
316 pages
Annotation
THIS PROJECT WAS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP A COMMON STRATEGY FOR EVALUATING ADULT COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS.
Abstract
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE STRATEGIES DEVELOPED IN THE FORM OF ISSUES WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO CORRECTIONAL EVALUATION AND NOT AS A READY-MADE EVALUATION DESIGN FOR IMMEDIATE APPLICATION IN ANY COMMUNITY. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS EXAMINE THREE EVALUATION STRATEGIES - PROGRAM AUDIT, QUALITY CONTROL, AND EXPLANATION. THE QUESTION EACH CAN ANSWER AND THE METHODS MOST COMMONLY APPLIED IN EACH ARE ENUMERATED, AND EXAMPLES OF CORRECTIONAL RESEARCH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH. THE PROCESS BY WHICH A SENSITIVE AND APPROPRIATE EVALUATION STRATEGY IS DEVELOPED IS ALSO DESCRIBED. THROUGHOUT THE SECTION THE LINKAGE BETWEEN PLANNING AND EVALUATION IS NOTED, AS IS THE EFFICIENCY OF DESIGNS WHICH BUILD TOWARD COMPLEX EVALUATIONS THROUGH INCREMENTAL ACQUISITIONS OF INFORMATION. FEW SPECIFIC PROJECT SOLUTIONS ARE PROVIDED. THE NEXT THREE CHAPTERS POSE STRATEGY QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL EVALUATION AND OFFER SOLUTIONS TO THESE BASED ON ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED IN THE SEATTLE/KING COUNTY TEST LABORATORY. THE PLACE OF PARTICULAR TREATMENT PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AS INTERVENING VARIABLES AND INTERMEDIATE MEASURES OF OUTCOME IS EXAMINED. RECIDIVISM, SEEN AS THE PRIMARY, ALTHOUGH NOT THE ONLY CRITERION, IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE DIFFICULTIES OF DETECTING CHANGES IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR WHEN THE BEHAVIOR IN QUESTION IS A RELATIVELY RARE EVENT. SEVERAL SOLUTIONS ARE SUGGESTED, INCLUDING USING THE INDIVIDUAL'S PAST HISTORY AS A BASIS FOR COMPARISON WITH OBSERVATIONS OF FURTHER BEHAVIOR. OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES AND TREATMENT PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES ARE CONSIDERED AS POSSIBLE DETERMINANTS OF CHANGE. THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THESE INFLUENCES ARE PRESENTED DIAGRAMMATICALLY. DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF TREATMENT DIMENSIONS, INCLUDING REDUCING THESE TO AN UNDERSTANDABLE NUMBER, ARE EXAMINED AND METHODS SUGGESTED. THE REQUIREMENT FOR COST EFFECTIVENESS IS PURSUED, INCLUDING THE PRACTICAL CONSTRAINT OF THE PRESENTLY INADEQUATE COST ACCOUNTING RECORDS ON WHICH A COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS WOULD BE BASED. THE FINAL CHAPTER SUMMARIZES THE PREVIOUS MATERIAL THROUGH THE DEVICE OF A HYPOTHETICAL EVALUATION DESIGN. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND A LIST OF SUGGESTED READINGS ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)...ELW