NCJ Number
224879
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 491-508
Date Published
December 2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article examines the process evaluation of a county drug court.
Abstract
Results found that the study assisted in allowing program staff to determine whether the proposed goals and objectives were being met; pointed out certain challenges in recordkeeping; and indicated which variables appeared to be significantly related to discharge status. The rapid growth of drug court programs across the Nation creates a need for evaluations from which shared results can assist in strategic planning for new and existing programs. This study determined that demographic characteristics, such as education, employment, and prior felony were among the most useful characteristics for predicting program graduation. Offenders completing the program had lower recidivism rates than individuals not participating in a drug court program. The study notes the importance of meaningful cross-comparisons of programs and the need for standardized client surveys which reference information such as sociodemographics, program participation, services received, violation criteria, sanctions, discharge status, and evaluations. It concludes that some standardization of program operations would lend itself well to evaluation that can determine the correlation between specific elements of drug court programs and successful discharge and reduced recidivism. Data were collected from 241 individuals participating in a drug court program. Tables, figure, and references