NCJ Number
85045
Date Published
1978
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This is the fifth and final paper of a symposium on the evaluation of juvenile diversion programs by the Claremont Graduate School Center for Applied Social Research.
Abstract
The first four papers deal with specific methodologies used to obtain information at each of four levels of evaluation: general project management, description of the intervention, assessment of client outcomes, and analysis of system-wide impact. This fifth paper provides an overview of how the specific methodologies fit into the framework of our overall evaluation plan. A key concept in the author's approach to evaluation is the use of multiple sources of information to address each major program issue (e.g., What is the impact of diversion programs on the juvenile justice system?). Thus, a number of data sources in addition to those described in the methodological papers were used, including archival sources, questionnaires, and interviews. This paper includes a discussion of these aspects of the evaluation effort, and focuses on relationships between various methodological approaches. Another topic discussed is the difficulty evaluators face in attempting simultaneously to fulfill responsibilities to diverse constituencies including clients, project staff, service providers, the community, and funding agencies and political bodies. (Resource in Education (ERIC) abstract)