Thursday, January 24, 2008

More NCJRS Abstracts, January 24, 2007

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ 220886
Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress to Crime and Substance-Abuse Policy: A Recommended Federal Strategy
Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

Intended for top officials from Federal agencies involved in a joint initiative to advance crime and substance-based policy developed from evidence-based evaluations, this report presents recommendations on how the Federal Government can most effectively use its resources to advance the development and effective use of rigorous evidence on what works in crime and substance-abuse policy. In profiling the problem, this report presents data to show that crime and substance abuse cause significant harm and costs to life and health in America; however, Federal programs and strategies intended to prevent and/or reduce this problem have not been designed and tested based on rigorous evaluation research. This report proposes a Federal strategy for building the knowledge base of crime and substance-abuse interventions shown to be effective in randomized trials. The strategy is also intended to stimulate the widespread use of such evidence-based interventions by recipients of Federal crime/substance-abuse funding. Randomized trials have thus far identified a few social interventions that have proven highly effective in addressing the problems of crime and substance abuse. These interventions involve nurse-family partnerships, life-skills training, and the use of prison therapeutic communities. The fact that these interventions are effective but rare suggests the need for a Federal effort to build the knowledge base of these evidence-backed interventions so as to encourage and assist in their widespread implementation. This report outlines six main recommendations for Federal agencies in promoting this effort in the near term. 36 notes

NCJ 220889
OJP What Works Repository: Working Group of the Federal Collaboration on What Works
National Institute of Justice/NCJRS

This report describes the objectives and features of the What Works Repository (WWR) of the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs. The WWR was developed in response to recommendations of the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth and the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy. The WWR is also a response to the White House's call for the Federal Government to make a change toward programs and policies based in the findings of rigorous evaluation research. The WWR is a Web-based resource that classifies programs based on evidence of their effectiveness, so as to assist communities in selecting and replicating programs with proven success based on evaluation research. Programs in the WWR are rated according to a classification framework that consists of six levels of evidence of effectiveness and three levels of readiness for dissemination. Levels of effectiveness are as follows: "effective," "effective with reservation," "promising," "inconclusive evidence," "insufficient evidence," and "ineffective." The three levels of readiness for dissemination are "fully prepared for widespread dissemination," "fully prepared for limited dissemination," and "not ready for dissemination." Programs with top-rated evidence of effectiveness and readiness for dissemination receive a cumulative rating of 1A. Programs classified lower than "promising" do not receive a dissemination rating or cumulative rating. The WWR will classify prevention, intervention, treatment, and supervision programs developed by Department of Justice/Office of Justice Programs and other public and private organizations, and it will provide guidance for support of the replication of effective and promising programs. Further, it establishes credible and assessable criteria for evidence of effectiveness while informing the research and program-development agenda. 31 references

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