Washington State's New Juvenile Code, 1 -Implementation Assessment Design - HB 371

• NCJ Number: 72319
• Author(s): R Elmore
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 77JN990017
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: University of Washington
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Part one of a five - part series.

Annotation

This report describes work aimed at the development of an implementation assessment design for Washington State's juvenile justice reform law, House Bill 371.

Abstract

From July to October 1978, a group at the Institute of Governmental Research at the University of Washington undertook the project. It was not completed, but the conceptual work and field research generated useful ideas about implementation assessment. Social program analyses which focus on outcomes seldom describe the process by which programs come to succeed or fail and do not tell policymakers or administrators what needs to be done to improve program performance. Implementation assessment tracks the process of translating policy into practice, however, and clarifies the relationship between administrative actions and program outcomes. The implementation assessment design for the juvenile code was separated into four areas: legislative history, start-up activities, mapping the delivery system, and outcomes. Basic principles to be applied included basing and assessment on a fairly thorough understanding of legislative intent and program operations and basing assessments on statements of intent, descriptions of process, and statements of outcomes that come directly from participants. All administrative units involved in implementing the law should be identified; and a detailed set of questions, organized by role, should be asked of the implementors. The questions should be constructed both out of the basic prescriptions provided by the legislation and out of general issues of implementation. In the process, basic assessment issues of a substantive nature should be considered. These include compliance with legislative intent versus the capacity in resources for compliance; the structure of the social services system versus its effectiveness of operation; and the manner in which the prior system is adjusted to the new requirements. Attachments include additional information on assessment tasks, and an appendix containing background notes. A diversion flow chart is provided. For related reports, see NCJ 72320-3.