Program evaluation The Defenders Association of Philadelphia
Program evaluated The Choice Is Yours
Notes Evaluation In addition to partnering on program implementation, the District Attorney’s Office of Philadelphia (DA’s Office), the Defender Association of Philadelphia (also known as the Public Defender’s Office), The Municipal Court, and the TCY service providers (PPS and CFL) are participating in an evaluation of the TCY pilot; both the pilot and the evaluation are supported by The Lenfest Foundation and The William Penn Foundation. Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) provided technical assistance and support to the DA’s Office in the development of the program model, and was the original program office and evaluator for TCY. P/PV closed in July 2012; McClanahan Associates, Inc., in collaboration with Urban Institute, was selected to complete the TCY evaluation. The evaluation of TCY has three primary objectives, to: • Provide data that can guide the continuous program improvement. • Inform TCY program leaders, the DA’s Office, TCY Court, Public Defender’s Office, other stakeholders, and funders about the efficacy of TCY program. • Determine if TCY is effective in reducing recidivism and lowering the financial costs/burden to the criminal justice system. Key Research Questions The evaluation was planned to incorporate both implementation and outcomes components. The implementation study is intended to explore two core areas: program operations and participants and their participation patterns. For program operations, the primary questions include the following: • What are key TCY program components that lead to intended outcomes? • How well are services provided (fidelity, consistency, frequency, incorporating best practices, and quality of service)? • What are challenges and barriers to successful implementation of TCY? • How are the partnerships coordinated among organizations (DA’s Office, Municipal Court, and service partners)? Who is partnering? How do the partnerships work? • Do organizations meet the required benchmarks of TCY? Why or why not?
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