Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, Chapter 11. Program Evaluation: How Do We Know If We Are Preventing Gang Membership? (From Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, P 151-161, 2013, Thomas R. Simon, Nancy M. Ritter, and Reshma R. Mahendra, eds. - See NCJ-239234)

• NCJ Number: 243475
• Author(s): Finn-Aage Esbensen; Kristy N. Matsuda
• Date Published: 2013
• Length: 12 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Issue Overview; Instructional Material

Annotation

After discussing the rationale for evaluating the implementation and outcome of programs designed to prevent youth from joining gangs, this chapter outlines the basics of a well-designed evaluation.

Abstract

There are three primary steps in evaluating a program or policy. First, evaluators must identify the program's goals or intended outcome, since programs should be judged on the outcome that policymakers and practitioners are intending to achieve. Second, an evaluation must determine whether the program was implemented as designed and intended. Third, once a program's intended outcome is identified and it has been determined that the program has been implemented as designed, the evaluation must determine whether it had the intended result; however, in order to link measured outcomes to the program being evaluated, a strong evaluation design must be in place. The chapter discusses issues related to these evaluation steps, with attention to challenges likely to be encountered. The chapter also discusses cost-effectiveness, which involves determining the cost required to achieve the measured outcomes. This is then compared to the costs saved as a result of the program's outcomes. In successfully preventing youth from joining gangs, the program can reduce the cost of crimes not committed and the costs saved by not having to arrest, process, and incarcerate a youth had he/she joined a gang and participated in gang-related crimes. 21 chapter notes