NCJ Number
48522
Date Published
1978
Length
94 pages
Annotation
INTRODUCTORY BACKGROUND, EVALUATION METHODOLOGY, AN OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM DYNAMICS, STATISTICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC DATA, AND PRELIMINARY COST EFFECTIVENESS INDICATORS OF THE PROGRAM ARE PRESENTED.
Abstract
WHAT WAS KNOWN AS THE FRASER REGION ADULT DIVERSION PROGRAM, NOW KNOWN AS GATEWAY CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, BEGAN OPERATIONS IN NOVEMBER 1975, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE TO SENTENCING FOR YOUNG ADULT OFFENDERS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. THE WORK OF THE PROGRAM COUNSELORS FALLS UNDER THE GENERAL HEADINGS OF SUPERVISION AND ASSISTATNCE. SUPERVISION INVOLVES DEVELOPING A REASONABLE PLAN FOR THE CLIENT TO MINIMIZE THE OCCURRENCE OF FURTHER OFFENSES; TO HELP WITH LIVING ARRANGEMENTS; TO MONITOR THE PROBATION OREDER, PAYMENT OF FINES, RESTITUTION, AND COMMUNITY WORK SERVICE; AND TO KEEP A RECORD OF MEETINGS AND TIMES OF PARTICIPANT CONTACT. ASSISTANCE IS RENDERED IN LIFE AND SOCIAL SKILL AREAS AND MAY INCLUDE THE USE OF OTHER COMMUNITY AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. IN EVALUATING THE PROJECT, CLIENT DATA WERE COLLECTED ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS, AND ONSITE VISITS TO VARIOUS PROBATION OFFICERS IN THE FRASER REGION WERE CONDUCTED. THE RESULTS OF THESE VISITS WERE THEN REVIEWED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FINDINGS OF A SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE PROGRAM IN FEBRUARY 1977. VARIOUS STATISTICS AND RESEARCH PAPERS ALSO WERE REVIEWED AND ASSESSED FOR APPLICATION TO THE EVALUATION OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT 75 PERCENT OF ALL PERSONS WHO BECAME INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM WERE 'CRIME-FREE' FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS, AND 59.7 PERCENT OF THE CLIENTS WHO WERE EXPOSED TO THE PROGRAM FOR MORE THAN ONLY 1 MONTH REMAINED FREE OF CONVICTION OF ANY FURTHER OFFENSES WITH A MEAN FOLLOWUP AVERAGE OF 15 MONTHS FROM INTAKE. PSYCHOMETRIC DATA INDICATED THAT PROGRAM REFERRALS TENDED TO BE PERSONS WITH A VERY LOW LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM. RETESTING AFTER 3 MONTHS IN THE PROGRAM INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN CLIENTS' SELF-IMAGES AS WELL AS THEIR PERCEPTION OF THEIR BEHAVIOR. CURSORY ANALYSIS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS YIELDED A BENEFIT-MINUS-FUNDING COST FIGURE OF $124,240, WHICH CAN BE EXPRESSED AS A COST-EFFECTIVENESS RATIO OF 1.62. AS A RESULT OF THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED, THE PROGRAM HAS ACHIEVED A MORE SYSTEMATIC DATA BASE, INCREASED EFFICIENCY PROCEDURES, AND GAINED GREATER AWARENESS OF THE DYNAMIC PROCESS THAT THE PROGRAM REPRESENTS. APPENDIXES CONTAIN A BIBLIOGRAPHY, RESULTS OF THE FEBRUARY 1977 SURVEY, AND FORM DESIGNS. (RCB)