NCJ Number
169179
Date Published
1997
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper organizes possible evaluation activities for a jail industry program into the following steps: (1) articulate your objectives; (2) use your objectives to identify outcomes; (3) determine what to measure; (4) determine how to measure; (5) prepare a report; and (6) communicate your results to others.
Abstract
First, the articulation of objectives should focus on what the program intends to accomplish. Objectives should be realistic, achievable, and be stated in terms that can be measured and evaluated. Second, objectives should be viewed in terms of specific desired outcomes that result from the achievement of each objective. Third, as objectives are converted into a series of expected outcomes, it becomes necessary to determine what measures will be applied to the desired outcomes. Six types of measures that may be helpful are revenues and costs of the program, participation in the program, inmate productivity, disposition/use of monies earned by inmates, cost savings associated with the program, and inmate behavior. Fourth, after determining what to measure, various measurement methods must be chosen. One measurement method is by counts or averages, such as the number of customers served, the number of inmate labor hours sold to customers, and dollars paid to inmates as wages in a given time period. Fifth, after data and information on program results have been assembled and organized, a written report should be composed to convey the findings. This preparation includes consideration of potential audiences for the report, the matching of report elements to program goals, development of a report outline, and determination of the types of charts to prepare. Sixth, the written report should be distributed to appropriate parties in a timely manner.