An Assessment of  

Evaluation‐Related Needs of

State, Local, and Tribal  

Juvenile Justice Grantees

March 2012

National Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center

A project of the  

Justice Research and Statistics Association

   
JRSA	

Acknowledgments

The authors of this report are Carrie E. Williamson, JRSA Research Associate and Mary E.

Poulin, JRSA Senior Research Associate.   

Other JRSA staff members assisted with the preparation of this report, including: Stan

Orchowsky, Director of Research; and Nancy Michel, Director of Publications.   

We would like to thank Karen Bachar, our grant manager at the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), who has provided support for the project.  Thanks

also to all who assisted in the data collection for this report, including OJJDP staff, OJJDP

grantees, Lockheed Martin, and Consulting Services and Research (CSR), Incorporated.

Notice of Federal Funding and Federal Disclaimer

This report was prepared under Grant Number 2010‐JF‐FX‐0063 from the Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department

of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not

necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

   
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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .....................................................................................................................1

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3

Methods .......................................................................................................................................4

Survey Development...............................................................................................................4

Survey Design ..........................................................................................................................5

Results..........................................................................................................................................7

Agency Composition...............................................................................................................7

Agency Function......................................................................................................................8

Agency Type.............................................................................................................................8

Agency Activities ................................................................................................................... 10

Performance Measurement ...................................................................................................17

Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Needs ............................................................... 22

Challenges and Successes Related to Evaluation and Evidence‐Based Practices ............ 27

Tribal Law and Order Act..................................................................................................... 32

Discussion.................................................................................................................................. 33

State and Local Needs ........................................................................................................... 33

Shared Needs ......................................................................................................................... 33

Variation in Needs................................................................................................................. 35

Tribal Needs........................................................................................................................... 35

Appendix A State and Local Needs Assessment.....................................................................38

Appendix B Tribal Needs Assessment.....................................................................................68

   
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Executive Summary

The Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) launched the National Juvenile

Justice Evaluation Center (NJJEC) in 2010.  The goal of the project, which is funded by the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), is to increase the

evaluation and performance measurement capacity of state, local, and tribal grantees.  

The project provides training and technical assistance (TTA) through a variety of means,

including webinars, an online tutorial, a Web site, and the dissemination of a newsletter

called the NJJEC Bulletin.   

In 2011, the National Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center conducted a national needs

assessment of all state, local, and tribal OJJDP grantees.  Training and technical assistance

providers and organizations with research‐only grants were excluded.  An online survey

was e‐mailed to these grantees in June 2011.  The assessment included separate

instruments for state/local respondents and tribal respondents, and further delineated

agencies and organizations by their function: service provider, grant‐making, and dual‐

role agencies both making grant awards and providing direct services.  The survey

instrument contained both open and close‐ended questions covering a variety of topics

including agency/organization evaluation and performance measurement activity,

training and technical assistance level of need and topics of interest, and challenges and

successes related to evaluation and evidence‐based programs and practices (EBP).   

The respondents provided valuable information about their evaluation and performance

measurement‐related training and technical assistance needs.  Key findings include:

 The majority of all respondents have used OJJDP materials on evaluation and

referenced OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide.  Grant‐making agencies were slightly

more likely to have utilized these resources than service provider agencies and

organizations.   

 Most state and local respondents rated their need for training and technical

assistance at moderate or higher levels.  Tribal respondents rated their own needs

for training and technical assistance slightly higher than state/local respondents.

 Overall, common needs across state and local respondents included sustaining

EBP, interpreting research evidence on EBP, and establishing baseline data.  

Service providers indicated need for TTA on performance measurement

development, program logic and logic models, and cost‐benefit analysis, while

grant‐making agencies indicated interest in learning more about implementing

EBP and how to make use of evaluation results.
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 The majority of state, local, and tribal respondents collect performance measures

beyond those required by OJJDP’s Performance Measures Program and Data

Reporting System (DCTAT).

 Unique challenges of tribal communities included data collection and information

sharing, as well as cooperation among multiple aspects of the criminal justice

system responding to crimes committed in Indian country.

The data indicated that information about evaluation, performance measurement, and

evidence‐based practices has reached grant‐making agencies to a greater extent than

service provider agencies.  As service provider agencies were more likely to report having

developed their own performance measures and logic models, it is critical that

information on these topics continues to disseminate through agencies and organizations

working directly with youth in service provision, treatment, and policies affecting youth

in the criminal justice system.  Tribal responses reflected state and local responses in

many ways, but revealed some specific concerns and issues faced by the tribes with regard

to evaluation and performance measurement.  These tribal‐specific issues include low

retention of youth in programs and difficulty obtaining high‐quality baseline data.   

   
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Introduction

The goal of the National Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (NJJEC), a project of the

Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), is to increase the evaluation capacity of state, local,

and tribal OJJDP grant recipients.  Project activities include the creation and maintenance

of a Web site providing publications and online resources related to juvenile justice

evaluation and evidence‐based practices (http://www.jrsa.org/njjec/), training and

technical assistance for agencies and individuals involved in juvenile justice

programming, and the generation of electronic newsletters providing information on

evaluation studies, conferences, and training events.   

In 2011 NJJEC conducted a national assessment of current state, local, and tribal recipients

of OJJDP grant funds to determine the needs of these grantees related to evaluation and

evidence‐based practices.  Information derived from the needs assessment will be used to

shape project activities, and determine which areas of training and technical assistance

are most useful to different types of agencies and organizations receiving OJJDP funds.

The assessment was intended to be an extension of OJJDP’s 2010 National Needs

Assessment of Juvenile Justice Professionals, but focused exclusively on questions

pertaining to current OJJDP grant recipients involved in program performance

measurement and evaluation activities.  The needs assessment was developed to

specifically assess the needs of this group of grantees, and account for the differences

between grantees providing direct services in the field and those agencies or

organizations that distribute federal grant monies to state and local sub‐recipients.  We

excluded OJJDP training and technical assistance providers, projects exclusively focused

on research and evaluation, and others outside the scope of NJJEC’s target audience of

state, local, and tribal juvenile justice grantees in order to more specifically tailor the

questions to this audience.   

Drawing upon the 2011 survey results, this report describes the needs of juvenile justice

direct service providers and granting agencies related to evaluation and evidence‐based

practices.   

   
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Methods

NJJEC conducted the needs assessment of active FY 2011 OJJDP grant recipients, the target

audience of the National Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center, using an online data

collection tool.  Multiple versions of the survey were developed to capture nuances in the

activities and training and technical assistance needs of different types of agencies and

organizations.  Data collection occurred from June to August 2011.  Staff compiled

contacts from multiple lists of project contacts provided by OJJDP contractors Lockheed

Martin and Consulting Services and Research (CSR) Incorporated, as well as 18 additional

lists received from Juvenile Justice Specialists and Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws

(EUDL) coordinators in the states who were contacted individually by NJJEC staff.  Tribal

grantees were differentiated based on the type and description of the grant award

provided from each of these sources.   

Survey Development

In order to develop the surveys, JRSA staff consulted relevant documents as well as OJJDP

personnel and contractors.  This included a review of the National Needs Assessment of

Juvenile Justice Professionals, a 2010 needs assessment conducted by OJJDP’s National

Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) to avoid repetition with this survey.  

The NTTAC survey was distributed to a wider audience of juvenile justice professionals,

and respondents were classified as management/administrators, frontline staff, or

volunteers.  Staff met with NTTAC and OJJDP representatives to discuss the content of

this assessment, and how we might tailor the NJJEC surveys to be well‐suited to NJJEC’s

narrower target population.  We also met with OJJDP staff who work with tribal grantees,

to discuss the assessment content, method for data collection, and the potential

implications of the Tribal Law and Order Act on the survey.  As a result of this meeting

we determined that a separate survey would be needed for tribal grantees to ensure that

question wording would be appropriate and to include questions pertinent only to tribal

grantees. After we drafted an initial tribal survey, we solicited feedback from OJJDP staff

who work with tribal grantees, an OJJDP consultant that provides training and technical

assistance to tribal grantees, and a few of the tribal grantees themselves regarding on the

language and content of the tribal assessment to ensure appropriateness.   

JRSA’s Internal Review Board reviewed and approved the survey instruments to ensure

the protection of survey respondents.  See Appendix A for the full text of the state and

local assessment instrument and Appendix B for the full text of the tribal assessment

instrument.
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Survey recipients received an e‐mail providing a brief explanation of the project and

needs assessment.  Each e‐mail contained links to both the state/local survey and the

tribal survey to permit respondents to self‐identify as a member of one group or the

other.  Respondents were asked to enter an e‐mail address to confirm their consent to

participate.  We were unsure if the contacts we identified were the appropriate person(s)

to answer questions about the award1

; therefore, we requested that potential respondents

forward the survey to other individuals if they were not in a position to answer these

questions.   

Survey Design

We assumed the needs and evaluation knowledge of grantees working directly with youth

would differ from those of grantees involved in making funding decisions.  Therefore, the

surveys were designed to identify whether needs differed by type of respondent. First, the

assessment placed respondents into one of three groups based on agency function: 1)

respondents from agencies or organizations providing direct services to youth or

operating one or more components of the juvenile justice system, 2) respondents from

agencies or organizations sub‐granting awards to others to provide direct services to

youth, 3) respondents from agencies or organizations both sub‐granting awards and

providing direct services or operating one or more components of the juvenile justice

system (i.e., dual‐role agencies/organizations). These categories distinguish agencies and

organizations providing direct services to youth from those responsible for allocating

funds to these service providers.  We included a third category to account for dual‐role

agencies and organizations that both provide direct services and administer grant awards

to other service providers, as we were unsure if the activities and needs of these agencies

would be unique or similar to either of the other two classifications.  In this report, we

refer to agencies receiving grant awards to provide services or operate juvenile justice

programs as “service providers,” while agencies allocating federal funds are described as

“grant‐making/ administering” or “grantor” agencies.   

The surveys asked all respondents to rate their own level of need and select topics of

interest with regard to training and technical assistance, but also asked an additional

question of grant‐making agencies regarding the level of need and topics on which they

would like to see their grantees receive training or technical assistance.  Granting

agencies have an informed perspective about the training and technical assistance needs

                                                           

1

Sometimes the person listed as a contact was primarily responsible for financial or other aspects of the

program, but was not the project manager or the person involved in the project on a day‐to‐day basis.
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of their grantees due to their review of funding applications and program data.  This

question provided us with the ability to compare and examine the consistency of

responses from juvenile justice practitioners with responses from their funding agencies

and organizations.   

Finally, the surveys contained both open‐ and close‐ended questions.  The open‐ended

questions permitted respondents the opportunity to express relevant issues not otherwise

captured in close‐ended questions.

The tribal grantee survey was structured similarly and addressed the same major topics as

the state and local survey, but the language was altered to be more appropriate for the

tribal system.  Further, the tribal assessment included an open‐ended question regarding

the respondent’s view of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010—specifically, whether the

respondents felt this act would impact evaluation or the use of evidence‐based practices

for tribal youth.   

   
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Results

The surveys were emailed in June 2011 and two additional e‐mails were sent to remind

individuals to respond to the surveys.  Data collection ended in August 2011.  As a result of

allowing the survey to be forwarded, we are unable to ascertain an exact response rate

because we could not track the number of times the link was forwarded.  However, e‐

mails were sent directly to an initial pool of 2,223 recipients: 2,055 state or local grantees

or sub‐grantees, and 168 tribal grant recipients or sub‐recipients.  We received 962

responses from state and local grant recipients (approximate response rate of 47 percent),

and 39 responses from tribal grant recipients (approximate response rate of 23 percent).  

Because all respondents did not answer every question, the total number of respondents

included in each table varies.   

Agency Composition

Both the state/local and the tribal surveys included an initial question asking respondents

to classify their agency, organization, or group as one of the following:

1. Receives grant awards to provide direct services and/or operate one or more

components of the juvenile justice system (“service provider”);

2. Makes grant awards to others to provide direct services and/or operate one or

more components of the juvenile justice system (“grant‐making” or “grant‐

administering”);

3. Both makes and receives grant awards to provide direct services and/or operate

one or more components of the juvenile justice system (“both receiving and

making grant awards”); or

4. Neither of these applies to my agency/organization/group; for example, my

agency/organization/group is an OJJDP training or technical assistance provider or

a university or other organization with a research grant.

This question directed respondents to a set of questions appropriate to their

agency/organization function and was also used to screen out individuals not targeted by

the survey.  Individuals selecting the fourth category were screened out.

During the survey design, we expected to see differences between agencies and

organizations only responsible for administering grant awards to sub‐grantees and those

agencies or organizations administering grant awards but also providing services or

operating components of the juvenile justice system.  However, this was not the case, as

most responses were similar for these two groups, and a relatively small number of

respondents worked for agencies or organizations that only administer sub‐grants and do
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not provide direct services.  As such, for the majority of the needs assessment discussion,

we group together agencies making grant awards and those both making and receiving

grant awards.  Where appropriate, all three groups are delineated.  Data derived from

tribal respondents are discussed separately from data collected from state and local

respondents.   

Agency Function

State and Local Respondents

There were 916 valid respondents to the state and local survey.  As shown in Figure 1, the

vast majority (78 percent) classified themselves as agencies, organizations, or groups that

receive grant awards to provide direct services to youth or operate one or more

components of the juvenile justice system (i.e., grant‐receiving agencies).  Only 5 percent

(46 respondents) of state and local respondents classified their agency or organization as

grant‐making only, while 17 percent stated that their agency or organization both makes

grant awards and provides direct services or operates a component of the juvenile justice

system.  This question screened out an additional 46 respondents whose agency or

organization did not fit into one of the targeted categories.

Agency Type

State and Local Respondents

Respondents were asked to describe their place of employment as state government, local

government, non‐governmental agency or organization, or “other.”  Table 1 shows that

Practitioners/

service

providers

78%

Grant‐making

agencies

5%

Practitioner

and grant‐

making

17%

FIGURE 1:

Agency Function: All State and Local Respondents

n=916
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most of the state and local service providers were affiliated with non‐governmental

agencies or organizations (47 percent) or local government agencies (38 percent).  Only 9

percent were affiliated with state government agencies, and the remaining respondents

did not classify themselves into any of the above categories.  The respondents from grant‐

making agencies predominantly (66 percent) described their places of employment as

state government agencies.  The remaining respondents were equally distributed between

local government agencies (17 percent) and non‐governmental agencies or organizations

(17 percent).   

TABLE 1:  State and Local Respondents Agency/Organization Type

Which of the following best describes where you work?

Service  

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

N Percent N Percent

Non‐governmental agency or organization 321 46.8 33 17.0

Local government agency 259 37.8 33 17.0

State government agency 62 9.0 127 65.5

Other 44 6.4 1 0.5

Total number of respondents 686    194   

We also inquired if respondents from grant‐administering agencies were members of a

Governor‐appointed State Advisory Group (SAG)2, and whether or not the SAG has an

evaluation subcommittee.  Though only 10 percent of the 185 individuals responding to

this question were members of a SAG, one third of respondents (33 percent) indicated

that the SAG has an evaluation subcommittee.

Tribal Respondents

Tribal respondents provided 39 completed surveys.3

  Nearly all (38 of 39) respondents

classified themselves as recipients of grant awards or subcontracts providing services

and/or operating one or more components of the tribal youth system.  Only one

respondent self‐identified as a grant‐making agency also providing direct services or

                                                           

2 SAG members are appointed by the governor to provide information and guidance on juvenile justice

policies and practices.  States are required to have a SAG to receive OJJDP formula grant funds. 3 Eight of the 39 tribal respondents responded to the state and local survey, but were determined to be

tribal respondents.  
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operating a component of the tribal youth system.  As a result, we present tribal

respondent data collectively rather than by agency function.   

While nearly all tribal respondents stated that they receive grants to provide services or

operate a component of the tribal youth system, we did collect some additional detail

about the agency or organizational environment in which they work.  Of the 39 tribal

respondents, the majority (16 respondents) classified their agencies as direct service

providers.  Seven respondents were members of a tribal council or other government

entity, and an additional seven were tribal law enforcement or tribal court employees.  

The remaining nine respondents were members of a tribal advisory group or community

organization not considered to be a government or administrative agency, employees of

tribal social or human service agencies, or selected the “other” category or declined to

classify their place of employment.   

Agency Activities

The surveys asked respondents to select general activities conducted by their agency or

organization during the past year.  Knowledge about the activities in which OJJDP

grantees are participating helps determine not only what topics NJJEC should address,

but also whether the topic should be at a more introductory or advanced level.

General Activities

State and Local Respondents

Regardless of agency function, a substantial number of respondents had participated in

data collection, submission, and reporting activities during the previous year (see Table

2).  The data demonstrate that service providers and grant‐making agencies participate in

data collection to a similar degree.  In addition, most respondents, regardless of agency

function, had participated in writing grant proposals during this period.  More than 90

percent of service provider respondents indicated that their agencies or organizations

collect performance measures, oversee/manage program operations, and write grant

proposals.  Of respondents who classified themselves as service providers, 87 percent

deliver direct services to youth (leaving the remaining 13 percent as operators of

components of the juvenile justice system not directly providing services to youth).  

Slightly more than half (57 percent) make project funding decisions, while only 35 percent

write solicitations.  More than 80 percent of grant‐making respondents collect

performance measurement data, oversee/manage program operations, write grant
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proposals, write solicitations, and make project funding decisions.  Only 18 percent of

grant‐making agencies deliver direct services to youth.   

TABLE 2: Agency Activities of State and Local Respondents

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any of the

following activities?  

Service

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

N Percent N Percent

Report on program performance/outcomes 663 96.9 186 96.4

Collect performance measurement data 647 94.6 171 88.6

Write grant proposals 642 93.9 163 84.5

Submit performance measurement data 640 93.6 179 92.7

Oversee/manage program operations 635 92.8 164 85.0

Deliver direct services to youths 598 87.4 34 17.6

Make project funding decisions 391 57.2 172 89.1

Write solicitations/RFPs/calls for proposals 241 35.2 163 84.5

Total number of respondents 684    193   

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity

   
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Tribal Respondents

All 37 tribal respondents providing an answer to the question regarding agency activities

stated that their agencies deliver direct services to tribal youth, collect performance

measurement data, and report on program performance/outcomes (see Table 3).  The

majority of respondents’ agencies or organizations oversees or manages program

operations (97 percent) and are responsible for submitting performance measurement

data (95 percent).  Thirty‐one tribal respondents’ agencies or organizations (84 percent)

write grant proposals, while only 12 (32 percent) are responsible for writing solicitations

or other calls for proposals.  Twenty‐four respondents (65 percent) reported that their

agencies make project funding decisions.4   

TABLE 3: Agency Activities of Tribal Respondents

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any

of the following activities?

N Percent

Deliver direct services to youths 37 100.0

Collect performance measurement data 37 100.0

Report on program performance/outcomes 37 100.0

Oversee/manage program operations 36 97.3

Submit performance measurement data 35 94.6

Write grant proposals 31 83.8

Make project funding decisions 24 64.9

Write solicitations/RFPs/calls for proposals 12 32.4

Total number of respondents 37

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity.

The tribal responses concerning agency activities generally reflect those of state and local

respondents, and support the need to emphasize strong data collection and reporting

practices among all grantees.  It is noteworthy that all tribal respondents report that they

deliver direct services to youth, collect performance measurement data, and report on

program performance/outcomes.

   

                                                           

4 Since only one tribal respondent classified his/her agency as a grant‐making agency, we assume these

responses reference budgeting a single grant award within a program.
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Evaluation‐Related Activities of Agency/Organization

To determine which activities related to evaluation and evidence‐based practices were

most frequently carried out by our pool of respondents, we provided a list of relevant

tasks and asked respondents which of these tasks they or others at their agencies had

participated in during the past year.  These tasks fell along three dimensions:

1. Use of Evaluation Resources:  read articles or books on evaluation, read OJJDP

materials on evaluation, referenced OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide, received

training or technical assistance on evaluation or evidence‐based

programs/practices, read research articles/reports on juvenile justice

programs/practices,

2. Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: helped create a program logic

model, incorporated an evaluation plan or findings into a funding proposal,

implemented an evidence‐based program/practice, developed performance

measures, conducted or helped with an evaluation, had an evaluation by an

evaluator contracted by your agency or other source, used findings from an

evaluation to improve program function, and

3. Advanced Evaluation/EBP Activities: provided information, training, or technical

assistance on EBP to others; recommended an evidence‐based program/practice be

implemented/funded; made/assisted in funding decisions on evidence‐based

programs/practices.

State and Local Respondents

The majority of state and local respondents reported having used a wide array of

evaluation resources in the past year.  Table 4 shows that regardless of agency function,

nearly 70 percent of all state and local respondents read articles or books on evaluation,

and more than 70 percent read research articles or reports on juvenile justice programs

and practices.  Similarly, more than half of both types of respondents had received some

form of training or technical assistance on evaluation or evidence‐based programs and

practices during the previous year: 60 percent of respondents from service provider

agencies, compared to 64 percent of respondents from grant‐making agencies or

organizations.   

With regard to resources provided by OJJDP, 78 percent of respondents from grant‐

making agencies had referenced the Model Programs Guide in the previous year.  Fewer

respondents from service provider agencies (59 percent) utilized this resource.  More

than three fourths (139 respondents) of respondents from grant‐making agencies read
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OJJDP materials on evaluation during this time period, while only two thirds of service‐

providers read OJJDP materials on evaluation during the past year.   

TABLE 4: Evaluation‐Related Activities of State and Local Respondents: Use of

Evaluation Resources  

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any of the

following activities?

Service

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

N Percent N Percent

Read research articles/reports on juvenile justice

programs/practices

469 72.3 134 73.6

Read articles or books on evaluation 451 69.5 128 70.3

Read OJJDP materials on evaluation 435 67.0 139 76.4

Received TTA on evaluation or evidence‐based

programs/practices

388 59.8 116 63.7

Referenced OJJDP's Model Programs Guide 385 59.3 141 77.5

Total number of respondents 649    182   

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity.

There was variation among respondent types in their program evaluation and

performance measurement activities (see Table 5).  The dual‐role agencies and

organizations carried out activities similar to service provider agencies and organizations.  

Respondents from agencies receiving grant awards to provide services, including the

dual‐role organizations, were more likely than agencies only making grant awards to be

involved in most of the program evaluation and performance measurement activities.  

Grant making agencies were less likely to have developed performance measures,

incorporated an evaluation plan or findings into a funding proposal, implemented an

evidence‐based program or practice or helped create a logic model than other respondent

types.  The most common evaluation and performance measurement activity of grant‐

making agencies was using findings from an evaluation to improve program function (55

percent) while the most common activity of grant receiving agencies was developing

performance measures (approximately 74 percent for each type of grant receiving

agency).  The remaining evaluation and performance activities were among the least

common, but still used by a substantial proportion of respondents.  More than 55 percent

of all three respondent types indicated that they have used findings from an evaluation to

improve program function.  Similar proportions of all three respondent types have
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participated in or conducted their own evaluation, or had an evaluation conducted by an

outside evaluator.   

TABLE 5: Evaluation‐Related Activities of State and Local Respondents: Program

Evaluation and Performance Measurement  

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any of the

following activities?

Service

Providers

Grant‐

Making

Agencies

Dual‐Role

Agencies

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Developed performance measures 482 74.3 19 47.5 106 74.6

Implemented an evidence‐based program/practice 427 65.8 16 40.0 91 64.1

Used findings from an evaluation to improve

program function

402 61.9 22 55.0 84 59.2

Incorporated an evaluation plan or findings into a

funding proposal

392 60.4 19 47.5 88 62.0

Helped create a program logic model 384 59.2 15 37.5 87 61.3

Conducted or helped with an evaluation   360 55.5 18 45.0 89 62.7

Had an evaluation conducted by an evaluator

contracted by your agency or other source

268 41.3 19 47.5 73 51.4

Total number of respondents 649 40 142

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity.

As might be expected, providing information, training, or technical assistance on

evidence‐based programs and practices to others is an activity more frequently carried

out by grant‐making agencies than other agency types given their role in making grant

awards (see Table 6). Over 60 percent of grant‐making agencies provided information or

TTA on evidence‐based practice in the past year, compared to only 39 percent of service‐

provider agencies or organizations.  Similarly, 72 percent of grant‐making agencies or

organizations recommended that an evidence‐based program be implemented or funded,

compared to only 41 percent of agencies receiving grant awards.  Funding decisions

regarding evidence‐based programs and practices are primarily made by agencies making

grant awards: nearly 70 percent of respondents from grant‐making agencies had made

these decisions in the past year, compared to less than 30 percent of respondents from

agencies or organizations only receiving grant awards.   

   
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TABLE 6:  Evaluation‐Related Activities of State and Local Respondents: Use of

Evaluation Resources  

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any of the

following activities?

Service

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

Recommended an evidence‐based

program/practice be implemented/funded

265 40.8 131 72.0

Provided information, training, or technical

assistance on evidence‐based programs or

practices to others

256 39.4 117 64.3

    

Made/assisted in funding decisions on evidence‐

based programs/practices

185 28.5 126 69.2

None 17 2.6 3 1.6

      

Total number of respondents   649    182   

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity.

Tribal Respondents

The top five evaluation‐related activities carried out by tribal respondents during the past

year were:  

1. Read OJJDP materials on evaluation,

2. Developed performance measures,

3. Helped create a program logic model,

4. Incorporated an evaluation plan or findings into a funding proposal, and

5. Read research articles/reports on juvenile justice.

More than half of tribal respondents had undertaken these five activities (see Table 7).  

Though not quite as common, 50 percent had implemented an evidence‐based program

or practice in the past year or so, and an equal number had referenced OJJDP’s Model

Programs Guide.  Fifteen (42 percent) indicated that their organization or agency had an

evaluation by an evaluator contracted by the respondent’s agency or other source during

the previous year.  Only one tribal respondent had not participated in any sort of

evaluation‐related activities in the past year.

   
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TABLE 7: Evaluation‐Related Activities of Tribal Respondents

In the past year or so, have you or others at your agency participated in any of the

following activities?

N Percent

Use of Evaluation Resources

Read OJJDP materials on evaluation 25 69.4

Read research articles/reports on juvenile justice programs/practices 22 61.1

Received TTA on evaluation or evidence‐based programs/practices 19 52.8

Read articles or books on evaluation 18 50.0

Referenced OJJDP's Model Programs Guide 18 50.0

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement

Developed performance measures 25 69.4

Helped create a program logic model 24 66.7

Incorporated an evaluation plan or findings into a funding proposal 21 58.3

Used findings from an evaluation to improve program function 20 55.6

Implemented an evidence‐based program/practice 18 50.0

Conducted or helped with an evaluation   17 47.2

Had an evaluation conducted by an evaluator contracted by your agency or

other source 15 41.7

Advanced Evaluation/EBP Activities

Recommended an evidence‐based program/practice be implemented/funded 17 47.2

Provided information, training, or technical assistance on evidence‐based

programs or practices to others

11 30.6

Made/assisted in funding decisions on evidence‐based programs/practices 4 30.6

None 1 2.8

Total number of respondents 36

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one activity.

Performance Measurement

Use of DCTAT and Collection of Additional Performance Measures

Respondents were asked if they had worked with OJJDP’s Performance Measures Program

and Data Reporting System (DCTAT), the performance measurement system OJJDP

grantees are required to use to assess the performance of their award.   
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State and Local Respondents

More agencies making grant awards reported having worked directly with DCTAT during

the past year compared to respondents from service provider agencies and organizations.  

This is not surprising even though all recipients of OJJDP funds are required to submit

performance measure data to DCTAT.  Not every person working with a juvenile justice

program would be responsible for this task, and many may not be aware of the kinds of

information that are being reported and the sources from which this information is

derived.  Further, it is our understanding that many sub‐recipients do not report directly

into DCTAT, but rather report measures to their grantor who enters the data into

DCTAT.  

Table 8 shows that, among respondents working with agencies or organizations who

make or both make and receive grant awards, 79 percent had worked directly with

DCTAT, while only 63 percent of service provider respondents had worked with DCTAT.  

This implies that many direct service providers report performance measures to their

granting agencies who in turn report into DCTAT.   

TABLE 8: State and Local Respondents

Have you worked with OJJDP's Performance Measures

Program and Data Reporting System (DCTAT)?

Service  

Providers

Grant‐Making  

Agencies

N Percent N Percent

Yes 408 63.3 145 79.2

No 237 36.7 38 20.8

Total 645 183

   
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We asked respondents if their agencies collected additional performance measures

beyond those required by DCTAT, and if so, why.  There was little across‐group variation,

regardless of whether the respondent was affiliated with a service providing or grant‐

making agency, more than half of respondents indicated that they do collect additional

performance measurement data beyond what is required by OJJDP (see Table 9).   

TABLE 9: State and Local Respondents

Does your agency or organization collect performance measures beyond those

required for DCTAT?

Service Providers Grant‐Making Agencies

N Percent N Percent

Yes 356 55.4 112 61.2

No 120 18.7 38 20.8

Don't Know 167 26.0 33 18.0

Total 643 183

Note: Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

We asked these respondents to provide reasons for why they collect additional

performance measure data.  We received 595 responses from 454 respondents to this

question.  We identified the following themes in these responses:

 Requirement from an Additional Funding Stream.  Legislative, state, or non‐

government granting agency or funding stream requires the collection of these

measures;

 Other Requirement.  It is a licensing or accreditation, court‐order, or other

requirement of program partner or parent agency;

 Program Planning.  It is done to help program planning, improvement,

sustainability; including need to collect additional information for future grant

applications and funding support;

 Program‐Specific Measures.  Data of interest are not included in DCTAT

measures, and grantee desires more program‐specific, localized measures;

 Program Evaluation.  In furtherance of outcome‐oriented program evaluation; to

more accurately assess the impact of program activities; and

 In‐House Assessment.  It is used for organizational quality control or internal

records; agency policy; internal management.
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As shown in Table 10, more than 40 percent of respondents from both groups had

performance measurement requirements from other funding agencies or funding

streams, including government and non‐government agencies and organizations.  About

35 percent of grant‐making agencies and 20 percent of service providers noted the need

for more program‐specific information, and collected additional measures that were

tailored to their programs.  The need for additional data to conduct program (outcome)

evaluation and in‐house assessment of performance were also highly cited reasons for

collecting additional measures beyond those required by DCTAT.  

TABLE 10: State and Local Respondents

Why does your agency/organization collect additional performance measures than

those required by DCTAT?

Service

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

N Percent* N Percent*

Additional funding stream requirement 149 42.9 50 46.7

Program planning 74 21.3 12 11.2

In‐house assessment 72 20.7 15 14.0

Program‐specific measures 70 20.2 37 34.6

Program evaluation 70 20.2 27 25.2

Other non‐funding related requirement 23 6.6 1 0.1

Total number of respondents 347 107

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to provide more than one reason.

*Percent of total respondents

   
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Tribal Respondents  

Of the 35 tribal respondents who provided an answer to this survey item, the vast

majority (86 percent) have worked directly with the DCTAT system, as shown in Table 11.  

Similar to state and local respondents, more than half of tribal respondents indicated that

they collect performance measures beyond those required by DCTAT.   

TABLE 11: Tribal Respondents

Does your agency or organization collect performance

measures beyond those required for DCTAT?

N Percent

Yes 20 55.6

No 6 16.7

Don't Know 10 27.8

Total number of respondents 36

Note: Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

Seventeen respondents provided 26 answers to the question regarding the reason for

collection of additional performance measures beyond those required by DCTAT, as

shown in Table 12.  These responses were consistent with those provided by state and

local respondents.  The most frequently cited reasons for the collection of additional

measures were program planning, additional funding stream requirements, program

evaluation, and the need for additional data to conduct in‐house assessment of program

activities.

  

TABLE 12: Tribal Respondents

Why does your agency/organization collect additional

performance measures than those required by DCTAT?

           N   Percent

Program planning 9 52.9

Additional funding stream requirement 7 41.2

Program evaluation 4 23.5

In‐house assessment 4 23.5

Other non‐funding‐related requirement 1 5.9

Program‐specific measures 1 5.9

Total number of respondents 17

Percents exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to provide more than

one reason.
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Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Needs

The surveys asked agencies receiving grant awards to rate their level of need for training

and technical assistance (TTA) on evaluation, as well as choose specific topics they would

like to know more about.  We asked respondents who make grant awards the same

questions, but also asked them about their perception of their grantees’ need for TTA.  As

these agencies review funding applications, they are a valuable source of information

about their grant applicants’ level of knowledge and comprehension.  This provided an

opportunity to compare internal and external perception of the need for TTA.  

State and Local Respondents

Service provider respondents rated their own level of need for training and technical

assistance at an average of 2.79 on a 5‐point scale where 5 indicates greatest need.  Of

these respondents, 138, or 23 percent, rated their need for TTA at a level 4 or 5 (“great

need”) (See Figure 2).  In contrast, grant‐making agencies, including dual‐role agencies

who make and receive grant awards, rated the TTA needs of their grantees (service

providers) substantially higher at an average of 3.59, with 99 (57 percent) stating that

grantees’ need ranked at a level 4 or 5.  Grant‐making agencies had an average self‐

described need for training and technical assistance of 2.85, with 50 respondents (29

percent) indicating their need for TTA was at a level 4 or 5.  So, grant‐making agencies

perceived themselves as having less need for TTA in the area of evaluation than they

perceived their grantees to have.  Altogether, average needs for TTA on evaluation were

moderate (near level 3).

Figure 2: Average Scores of State and Local Respondents’ Perception of Need for TTA

On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you rate your agency/organization/grantees’ need for

evaluation training/technical assistance?  

2.79

3.59

2.85

12345

Granting Agency Perception of Need for SELF

Granting Agency Perception of Need for GRANTEES

Service Provider/Practitioner Perception of Need for SELF
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Respondents were presented with the list of training and technical assistance topics and

asked to select all topics on which they were interested in receiving training and technical

assistance.  Service provider respondents were asked to select their needs, while all grant‐

making agencies were asked to select needs for themselves and their grantees.   

Of the TTA needs of service providers (both self‐identified and identified by grant‐

making agencies), the most frequently cited was sustaining evidence‐based programs and

practices—54 percent of grant‐receiving agencies declared a need for this type of

assistance, compared to 70 percent of grant‐making agencies who responded that their

grantees need training in this area (see Table 13).  If we consider the top five most

frequently  cited needs, there was agreement between service providers and grant‐making

agencies on two other of the top five TTA needs for service providers: establishing

baseline data (fourth) and interpreting research on evidence‐based programs (fifth).   

There were disparate responses, however, with regard to other needs in the top five list

for service providers.  Cost‐benefit analysis and developing performance measures were in

the top five most frequently chosen topics of need by service providers for themselves,

but grant‐making agencies were less likely to select these needs for their grantees.  In

contrast, grant‐making agencies were more likely to choose TTA needs for their grantees

in areas of implementing evidence‐based programs and how to use evaluation results.   

Respondents were also able to list other additional training and technical assistance

needs not provided in the list of topics.  Though few respondents did this, a few

respondents from service provider agencies noted a desire to acquire the recognition or

label “evidence‐based” for the programs they are currently operating, and the need for

assistance selecting and implementing EBP with limited resources.   
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TABLE 13: State and Local Respondents  

On which of the following topics would you like to receive training or technical

assistance?

   Service Providers

selected topics for

themselves

Grant‐Making

Agencies' selected

topics for their

grantees

N Percent N Percent

Sustaining evidence‐based programs and practices   337 54.4 118 69.8

Cost‐benefit analysis 287 46.3 72 42.6

Developing performance measures 24 39.0 77 45.6

Establishing baseline data 222 35.8 81 47.9

Collecting and interpreting research on evidence‐

based programs

221 35.6 79 46.7

Survey design and methodology 206 33.2 59 34.9

How to use evaluation results 196 31.6 102 60.4

Implementing evidence‐based programs 195 31.5 106 62.7

Developing a database 189 30.5 67 39.6

Incorporating performance measures into a

Request for Proposals

184 29.7 51 30.2

Preparing for an evaluation/conducting an

evaluability assessment

171 27.6 77 45.6

Conducting an evaluation 169 27.3 78 46.2

Privacy concerns for human subjects 71 11.5 34 20.1

Other 11 1.8 3 1.8

None 64 10.3 12 7.1

Total number of respondents 620 169

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one topic.

   
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Respondents from grant‐making agencies most frequently selected sustaining evidence‐

based programs and practices (58 percent) as a topic on which they would like to receive

training and technical assistance (See Table 14).  The second most frequently selected

topic for TTA was cost‐benefit analysis (50 percent).  How to use evaluation results (42

percent) and the collection and interpretation of research on evidence‐based programs

(41 percent) were also frequently selected by respondents from grant‐making agencies.   

TABLE 14: State and Local Grant‐Making Agencies Only

On which of the following topics would you like to receive training or

technical assistance?

Grant‐making

agencies' selected

topics for themselves

N Percent

Sustaining evidence‐based programs and practices   102 58.3

Cost‐benefit analysis 88 50.3

How to use evaluation results 73 41.7

Collecting and interpreting research on evidence‐based

programs

72 41.1

Establishing baseline data 61 34.9

Survey design and methodology 61 34.9

Incorporating performance measures into a Request

for Proposals

60 34.3

Implementing evidence‐based programs 59 33.7

Preparing for an evaluation/conducting an evaluability

assessment

58 33.1

Developing performance measures 55 31.4

Conducting an evaluation 53 30.3

Developing a database 39 22.3

Privacy concerns for human subjects 32 18.3

None 18 10.3

Total number of respondents 175

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one topic.

Tribal Respondents

Of the 36 tribal respondents who provided responses to the question concerning their

need for training and technical assistance, the average rating of need was 3.39 on a scale
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from 1 to 5 where 5 indicates “great need.”  Ten of the 36 respondents indicated that their

tribes had a “great need” for training and technical assistance.   

We asked tribal respondents to select topics on which they would like to receive training

and technical assistance.  The most frequently selected topic was sustaining evidence‐

based programs and practices (67 percent) (See Table 15).  More than half of tribal

respondents indicated that they would also like to receive training or technical assistance

related to establishing baseline data, implementing evidence‐based programs, survey

design and methodology, and how to use evaluation results.  Cost‐benefit analysis was

also a frequently selected topic, as 45 percent of tribal respondents chose this topic as an

area of interest for training and technical assistance.   

TABLE 15: Tribal Respondents

On which of the following topics would you like to receive training or

technical assistance?

N Percent

Sustaining evidence‐based programs and practices   24 66.7

How to use evaluation results 20 55.6

Establishing baseline data 20 55.6

Implementing evidence‐based programs 18 50.0

Survey design and methodology 18 50.0

Cost‐benefit analysis 17 47.2

Developing a database 16 44.4

Developing performance measures 15 41.6

Preparing for an evaluation/conducting an evaluability

assessment

14 38.9

Conducting an evaluation 12 33.3

Collecting and interpreting research on evidence‐based

programs

11 30.6

Incorporating performance measures into a Request

for Proposals

9 25.0

Privacy concerns for human subjects 8 22.2

None 1 2.8

Total number of respondents 36

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to select more than one topic.
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Challenges and Successes Related to Evaluation and Evidence‐Based Practices  

In order to learn more about the evaluation and evidence‐based practice activities of

survey respondents, we asked respondents which evidence‐based or evaluation related

policies and practices are working well in their agencies and organizations as well as what

challenges they are facing related to these topics.   

State and Local Respondents’ Successes

When asked what evidence‐based or evaluation‐related policies or practices are working

well in their agency/organization, 501 respondents provided 603 responses.  The

responses were analyzed for recurring themes, and classified into the following 13 general

categories:

 Program impact or effect. Specific program (not necessarily evidence‐based) is

perceived to be effective at meeting its goals or increasing compliance with the

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA);

 Data collection methods;

 Reporting practices.  Accurate or timely reporting of performance measurement

data; performance measures are perceived as useful;

 Program planning. Logic models, development of program logic;

 Program implementation.  Good training for frontline staff; staff following

planned program activities;

 Partnerships and assistance. Partnerships with an outside evaluator, agency,

consultant, or other collaborator; training or technical assistance from an outside

agency or individual;

 Internal and external support for evidence‐based programming.  Substantial

support for EBP from grantors, local/state policy, etc.;

 Data quality.  Consistency of measures; collecting high‐quality, useful

information;

 Program improvement.  Using data to increase effectiveness and sustain

program;

 Self‐generated performance measures. Collecting program‐specific measures

that are useful for evaluation; collecting standardized measures from multiple

program sites or extensions;

 Evidence‐based practice. Specific evidence‐based or data‐driven practice or

program is working well in jurisdiction; promising practices viewed as effective;

 Program evaluation.  Participation of program staff in evaluation; using better

methods for program evaluation; and

 NA or Unknown.
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The most frequently cited success among all respondents was a specific program,

practice, or policy that was perceived to have the intended effect on outcomes.  Two of

the top five most frequently cited successful practices involved data collection.  A number

of these respondents mentioned specific data reporting systems that made it easier for

grantees to enter performance measurement data, or spoke of new methods or

technologies they had begun to use to facilitate and improve data collection efforts.   

Respondents perceived their data to be more consistent and uniform than in the past.   

Table 16 presents these responses separately for service provider respondents and grant‐

making respondents.  There are a few notable differences between the responses provided

by each respondent type.  Nearly 16 percent of grant‐making agencies said both internal

and external support for evidence‐based programs and practices was a notable success,

compared to less than 5 percent of service provider respondents.  This suggests that buy‐

in and support for evidence‐based programs and practices may be greater at the grant‐

making level than the practice level.  Grant‐making agencies also indicated partnerships

and assistance more frequently than service providers (18 percent compared to 11 percent)

as evaluation or evidence‐based practices/policies that were working well.  It is unclear

whether this is occurring because grant‐making agencies participate in partnerships or

receive assistance more frequently or because they have greater success when they

attempt this activity.  Respondents from agencies providing direct services noted program

impact and data collection efforts as practices that work well more frequently than grant‐

making agencies.   

   
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TABLE 16: State and Local Respondents

What evidence‐based or evaluation‐related policies or practices are working well in

your agency/organization?

Service Providers Grant‐Making Agencies

N Percent* N Percent*

Program impact or effect 61 15.3 10 9.8

Evidence‐based practice 60 15.0 25 24.5

Data collection methods 58 14.5 10 9.8

Program implementation 42 10.5 7 6.8

Partnerships and assistance 42 10.5 18 17.6

Data quality 41 10.3 12 11.8

Program evaluation 30 7.5 8 7.8

Reporting practices 29 7.3 7 6.8

Program improvement 27 6.8 4 3.9

Program planning 18 4.5 2 .02

Internal and external support for EBP 18 4.5 16 15.7

Self‐generated performance measures 17 4.3 1 1.0

NA or Unknown 34 8.5 6 5.9

Total number of respondents 399 102

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to provide more than one success.

*Percent of total respondents

State and Local Respondents’ Challenges

In addition to being asked about their successes related to evaluation and evidence‐based

practices, respondents were asked, “What are the most substantial issues or challenges

currently with regard to evaluation and evidence‐based programs and practices in your

agency/organization?”

The 595 respondents provided 866 responses.  These responses classified into 12 themes:

 Understanding “evidence‐based.”  Understanding what qualifies as evidence‐

based and the proper method for selecting a program, finding evidence‐based

program components that are applicable for program context;

 Stakeholders.  Stakeholder understanding of evidence‐based programs; buy‐in for

the idea of evidence‐based programs and practices;
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 Data collection.  General knowledge about the appropriate way to collect, clean,

and analyze data;

 Data collection technology.  Technological aspects of data collection, including

building a database and streamlining data input processes;

 Developing useful performance measures.  Developing program‐specific

measures that focus more on program outcomes;

 Funding. Financial constraints on program operation or funding data collection

and evaluation;

 Knowledge of Evaluation Methods. Training and knowledge of evaluation

methods;

 Use of data. How to report program results or data, using evaluation and

performance measurement for program improvement;

 Sustainability. Maintaining consistent funding and other forms of support from

stakeholders, program/ service delivery expansion;

 Client participation. Sufficient client participation and communication to

facilitate data collection, program attrition;

 Program implementation and program characteristics. Adherence to the

program plan, having enough resources to follow program model; management

difficulties, staffing limitations, or time constraints; agency characteristics restrict

availability of resources to implement program models (e.g., small size, rural

location, etc.); and

 Grant requirements. Requirements for grant proposal submission, reporting

requirements during course of grant award.

Examined collectively, the most frequently provided EBP and evaluation‐related

challenges of state and local respondents were funding and program

implementation/characteristics.  Data collection, cleaning, and analysis was the third

most frequently cited challenge, followed by training and knowledge of evaluation

methods and developing useful and informative performance measures (See Table 17).

   
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TABLE 17:  State and Local Respondents

What are the most substantial issues or challenges currently with regard to

evaluation and evidence‐based programs and practices in your

agency/organization?

Service

Providers

Grant‐Making

Agencies

N Percent* N Percent*

Funding 132 28.2 51 40.2

Data collection 109 23.3 15 11.8

Program implementation 104 22.2 29 22.8

Knowledge of evaluation methods 61 13.0 11 8.7

Developing useful performance measures 39 8.3 5 3.9

Understanding "evidence‐based" 37 7.9 6 4.7

Client participation 31 6.6 0 0.0

Use of data 30 6.4 6 4.7

Stakeholders 28 6.0 9 7.1

Data collection technology 28 6.0 2 1.6

Program implementation 27 5.8 11 8.7

Grant requirements 25 5.3 7 5.5

Sustainability 22 4.7 12 9.4

NA or Unknown 23 4.9 6 4.7

Total number of respondents 468 127

Note: Percentages exceed total of 100 because respondents were able to provide more than one challenge.

*Percent of total respondents

It is noteworthy that data collection was a frequently cited success for this pool of

respondents in addition to being a frequently cited challenge.  This suggests substantial

variation across grantees with regard to data collection issues.  As shown in Table 17,

when challenges are examined separately by agency function, the data show that data

collection efforts are more frequently mentioned as a challenge by service providers (23

percent) than grant‐making agencies (12 percent).   

Tribal Respondents’ Successes and Challenges

‘

Twenty‐four tribal respondents reported their challenges and successes related to

evaluation and EBP.  The most frequently mentioned successes were specific program

activities that respondents perceived as impactful, including the delivery of culturally

appropriate services (nine respondents).  Respondents also noted success with the quality
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or consistency of data collection, as well as support for programming from funding

agencies.  The most frequently cited challenges of tribal respondents were funding, data

collection/cleaning/analysis, management/staffing/time constraints, and training or

knowledge of evaluation methods.  Other challenges cited included difficulty in trust

building, poor communication between tribal groups, and inconsistent program

participation by youth.  Tribal respondents also noted the need for evidence‐based

programs tailored to tribal target populations, as well as the difficulty of coordinating

data collection among sovereign tribal nations.  Inconsistent participation and program

attrition in programs operating with a small group of youth represent a particularly

difficult challenge for tribal programs as they try to assess program performance.  

Tribal Law and Order Act

The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) of 2010 was enacted to encourage

interjurisdictional cooperation and information‐sharing between tribal justice systems

and federal, state, and local law enforcement.  It mandates that the Bureau of Justice

Statistics facilitate the collection and analysis of data concerning crimes committed in

Indian country, where previously reporting and information sharing were sparse.  To

determine grantees’ perspective on the TLOA, we asked tribal respondents, “What

impact, if any, do you expect the Tribal Law and Order Act of 20105 to have on evaluation

or evidence‐based practices for tribal youth?”   

Sixteen of the 39 tribal respondents provided an answer, but many of the respondents

indicated that they were unsure what to expect, if anything.  There was a general interest

in the increase of justice in the tribal legal system, most notably with regard to sexual and

violent victimization of tribal women.  Respondents hoped the implementation of

standardized measures across tribal agencies might further their ability to obtain outside

funding and increase access to resources they need to collect quality data.   

However, there were also several negative potential repercussions mentioned by the

respondents, including concern that the increased responsibilities create “an added

burden” on staff to compile data.  Respondents also noted that they do not currently have

sufficient resources to meet standards for reporting, and that the mandates themselves

will be unfunded.

                                                           

5 The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to establish and

implement a tribal data collection system, support tribal participation in national records and information

systems, and provide yearly reports to Congress on the data that has been collected.
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Discussion

The surveys provided valuable insight into the evaluation‐related training and technical

assistance needs of OJJDP’s state, local, and tribal grantees.  Given the high proportion of

respondents who reported engaging in a wide variety of evaluation activities and the high

proportions requesting assistance on various topics related to evaluation and EBP, there is

a clear need to provide assistance to ensure that the work that OJJDP grantees do in this

area is of high quality.   

Generally, we found that responses provided by agencies and organizations administering

grant awards and also providing services or operating components of the juvenile justice

system are more similar to agencies who only administer grant awards than to those who

deliver direct services to youth.

State and Local Needs

When service providers and grant‐making agencies from states and localities self‐rated

their needs on evaluation‐related assistance, we found that they have a moderate level of

needs.  However, service providers appear to have greater evaluation‐related needs than

agencies making grant awards.  We conclude this based on two findings from the survey:

1) when respondents of grant‐making agencies were asked about the evaluation‐related

needs of their grantees, they rated the level of need as substantially higher, and 2) service

providers were less likely to access OJJDP‐produced resources on evaluation and

evidence‐based practices than grant‐making agencies.

Shared Needs

When presented with a list of TTA topics, we identified a number of needs that service

providers and grant‐making agencies on the state and local level shared.  Here we discuss

the identified needs and consider project activities to help address those needs.   

With regard to evidence‐based practices, we found that these respondents want

assistance in interpreting research on EBP and how to sustain EBP.  Together, this

indicates that the push for implementation of evidence‐based programming has been

successful enough that continuation of these programs and practices has become a

prioritized issue.  Further, these respondents sought assistance on how to do cost‐benefit

analysis and establish baseline data.  Baseline data would help programs report on

changes that occur during the course of their programs.  Funding and sustainability were
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among the most frequently cited responses of both service providers and grant‐making

agencies in response to an open‐ended question regarding challenges related to

evaluation and EBP.  A practitioner‐friendly toolkit on sustainability could be a useful

resource for NJJEC to develop.  This resource might be most useful from a two‐pronged

approach: facilitating sustainability at the service provider level through high‐quality data

collection, analysis, and use of data for program improvement; and a top‐down approach

for grant‐making agencies that focuses on the emphasis of best practices at the service‐

provider level, and the usefulness of data analysis and reporting for program

improvement and continued funding.  A substantial percentage of granting agencies

stated that they have a need for TTA related to cost‐benefit analysis, a critical element in

continuing both individual evidence‐based programs and practices as well as pushing a

more broad‐based approach to evidence‐based policy decisions.   

The ability to adhere to a program model was also cited as a challenge by both service

providers and grant‐making agencies.  Finally, data collected on state and local

respondents’ use of existing evaluation resources show that these resources are widely

available and utilized, especially by grant‐making agencies, but there is also substantial

room for improvement.  Any TTA approach that NJJEC uses should promote existing

resources as well as develop new ones.  Grant‐making agencies may be a valuable partner

in the effort to promote these resources to their grantees who are service providers.

The data indicate that the majority of state and local respondents collect additional

performance measures beyond those required by OJJDP’s performance measurement

system, DCTAT.  This is an important factor to consider in designing training and

technical assistance for OJJDP grantees for several reasons.  The frequent use of

additional performance measures calls for an emphasis on developing appropriate

measures and data collection methods for these measures when these activities are

performed by the grantee, as well as for conveying appropriate sources for data and units

of measurement.  Tools to facilitate the efficient collection, analysis, and reporting of data

are also important given the additional time and resources required to the collect

additional data.  While more than 40 percent of respondents indicated that they collect

additional measures because they are required by agencies other than DCTAT, we know a

number of funding streams and state/local government agencies require grantees to

develop their own performance measures as part of the grant proposal process.  As such,

this group of grantees would benefit from training on developing high‐quality

performance measures, and this should be a strong focus of the resources made available

by NJJEC.
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Variation in Needs

Though service providers and grant‐making agencies shared some evaluation‐related

needs and challenges, there were significant variations as well.  This suggests tailoring

training and technical assistance to the audience.   

Service providers were more focused than grant‐making agencies on wanting assistance

to develop performance measures.  Grant making agencies were more concerned than

service providers with getting assistance on how to use evaluation results.  Though both

of these topics address the issue of demonstrating program/project effectiveness, they

reflect different stages in the process.  Perhaps staff of grant‐making agencies are more

comfortable than service providers in writing performance measures and are now more

focused on using the performance measure data collected.  Regardless, given the high

percentage of all respondents noting participation in the collection, submission, and

reporting of performance measurement data and their requests for assistance, NJJEC

should address these needs.   

When respondents were asked to list challenges related to evaluation and EBP, there were

some variations across respondent types with funding being a greater challenge for grant‐

making agencies than service providers and issues related to data collection and analysis a

greater concern for service providers than grant‐making agencies.   

One of the broad takeaways from this assessment is a lack of resources.  Three of the

most frequently cited challenges of state and local respondents— lack of funding, factors

affecting ability to implement programs as designed, and need for training/knowledge of

evaluation methods—reflect a general lack of available resources to dedicate to

evaluation and performance measurement efforts that extend beyond the provision of

direct services.  For example, many respondents specifically cited the cost of materials

and resources related to implementing evidence‐based programs and practices as a

substantial constraint, particularly for small agencies or programs and those operating in

rural areas.  There is a great need for increased efficiency for these agencies and

organizations regardless of their roles as service providers or grant administrators.  

Though it is not possible for NJJEC to address the lack of funding, the development of

resources to facilitate data collection and analysis efforts can later be used to help

agencies understand the implications of making modifications to designs of evidence‐

based programs.  

Tribal Needs
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As we consider what was learned about tribal needs, it is important to keep in mind that

the response rate from this community was quite low, much lower than that of the state

and local respondents.  We are unsure of the extent to which the respondents represent

the tribal justice needs related to youths.  Tribal respondents’ agency activities reflected a

number of the state and local activities such as involvement in data collection and

reporting.  Tribal grantees specified a few unique challenges that are important to

consider in the delivery of assistance to tribal justice systems, particularly with regard to

communication between tribal groups and low levels of program participation by youth.

Considering tribal respondents’ evaluation‐related activities during the previous year and

that nearly half of the tribal respondent had not had training and technical assistance

related to evaluation or evidence‐based practices in the past year, there is need for

training and technical assistance on some basic evaluation issues like program logic

model development and the creation of performance measures, as well as how to collect

data.  In addition, we noted that a number of tribal respondents—30.6 percent—have

provided training or technical assistance to others.  Given this experience, “train the

trainer” TTA efforts throughout the tribal community might be a fruitful means of

reaching the tribal community.   

More than half of tribal respondents indicated that they collect additional performance

measures beyond those required by DCTAT.  The two most frequently cited reasons for

collecting additional performance measures were that the measures were required for an

additional funding stream or that measures were needed for program planning purposes.  

Similar to the state and local respondents, we view the high percentage of tribal grantees

collecting additional measures as an indicator that training and technical assistance

should include the development of appropriate measures as a training topic.  

Tribal respondents face challenges specific to their award and program sizes related to

sustaining evidence‐based programs and practices, the most frequently selected topic of

interest for training and technical assistance by this group of grantees.  TTA created for

tribal grantees related to sustainability should address these issues.  Tribal respondents’

high level of interest in training and technical assistance related to establishing baseline

data is a key component of the ability to sustain programs as baseline data provide the

ability to demonstrate changes in youth and communities over time.  Many typical

sources of baseline data have caveats in the tribal community, specifically related to crime

reporting and arrest data.  For example, underreporting of criminal offenses has been a
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longstanding problem in Indian Country6, and is further exacerbated by the complexity of

data collection and information sharing among federal, state, local, and tribal

jurisdictions, who may each be involved in responding to crimes in Indian country.  

While the Tribal Law and Order Act places new emphasis on the quality and accessibility

of these data, training and technical assistance related to establishing baseline data for

tribes should carefully consider the current limitations of the available data.    

   

                                                           

6 See, for example, Bachman et al.’s 2008 report Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and the

Criminal Justice Response: What is Known available at http://www.nij.gov/topics/tribal‐justice/vaw‐research/prior‐

research.htm.  
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Appendix A

State and Local Needs Assessment
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Note: The survey instrument employed a skip pattern based on the response to question 2.  Respondents from

agencies/organizations receiving grant awards to provide services to youth were directed to question 3, respondents

from grant‐making agencies were directed to question 20, and respondents from dual‐role agencies both making and

receiving grant awards to provide services were directed to question 44.
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Appendix B

Tribal Needs Assessment

   
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