NCJ Number
246629
Date Published
May 2014
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This study examined program sustainability in three Bureau of Justice Assistance criminal justice domains.
Abstract
This study was conducted by the RAND Corporation to examine program sustainability in three Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) criminal justice domains. The report, intended for use by BJA program officials, has three primary goals: evaluate program sustainment status in a sample of former BJA programs, examine the characteristics theorized to underlie longevity, and make recommendations for improving BJA's assessment of program sustainability. The study assessed a sample of BJA grantee programs and found that 79 percent of the programs were successful in procuring supplemental support, with 43 percent of those obtaining State-level funding and 83 percent of them obtaining internal matching funds. The study also found that programs showing evidence of increased funding stability and increased modifiability were more likely to attain sustainment status. The final portion of the study included recommendations for improving BJA's assessment of program sustainability. These recommendations are 1) BJA should develop a comprehensive, quantitative measurement and data-collection plan to allow for the systematic tracking and analysis of performance and outcome measures of program sustainment; 2) the development of a procedure for educating grantees early about strategies for program sustainment that are based on existing literature; and 3) support further research to investigate the possibility of developing a single standardized evaluation process for all BJA grantees. Tables, appendixes, and references