NCJ Number
252012
Date Published
August 2018
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report describes one of the features and uses of the Juvenile Justice Model Data Project's 3D Data Capacity Assessment, which is a tool for juvenile justice practitioners to use in examining the data capacity of their juvenile justice system and reflect on their own use of data to inform decisions and guide improvements.
Abstract
The tool has three sections: Infrastructure, Data Use and Dissemination, and Indicators of Juvenile Justice System Involvement. This report addresses only the Infrastructure section, which is intended to assist juvenile justice practitioners in understanding the extent to which their agency and juvenile justice system have the underlying structural components needed to support data-informed practices. In assessing data capacity, infrastructure does not mean only the physical systems used to collect and report data. It also includes the organizational structure that enables juvenile justice system stakeholders to use the data collected effectively in informing policy and practice decisions. This involves collaboration with other stakeholders in using data analysis to drive system improvements. The 3D Data Capacity Assessment is most effective when a group of individuals from various juvenile justice-related agencies and departments within those agencies are part of an infrastructure that collects, analyzes, and uses data for assessing current policies and practices with a view toward determining and improving their effectiveness. With this broad perspective of infrastructure for data collection, analysis, and application to policy and practice, one of the 20 questions asked in this Infrastructure section is, "How would you describe collaboration across agencies and system actors in your state's juvenile justice system?" For each of the 20 questions in the Infrastructure assessment, answer options are unsure, no capacity, minimal, moderate, and optimal, with brief explanations for each type of answer provided.