This document describes the research-based, practitioner-informed systematic process used to reexamine the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines.
This Research Evidence, Practice Synthesis and Translation Protocol describes the research-based and practitioner-informed systematic process that was used to reexamine the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court (JDTC) Guidelines. The JDTC Guidelines were developed following the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) identification of a need to create research-informed guidelines for JDTCs. This project had two phases, the first was the development of the Guidelines and the second phase was the testing of the Guidelines in the field; those findings will inform potential updates and revisions to the JDTC Guidelines. This protocol document outlines the steps used to establish the underlying research and practice foundation, synthesize the information, and translate the research evidence and practice into the several components of the JDTC Guidelines. The document is organized into six sections: identifying guiding principles and the structure of the JDTC Guidelines; establishing the research evidence base for the reexamination of the JDTC Guidelines; establishing indicators for the Guideline statements; establishing convergence of practice themes for key components, implementation and practice considerations, and Guideline statement practice gaps; translating the research evidence base into the Guideline statements and the convergence of practice themes into the research evidence and practice considerations; and developing resources that complement the JDTC Guidelines.