Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice
Order description:
Analysis and Application
Evaluate mental health treatment facilities for the youth
For the Unit 5 Team Assignment, you will work in a team (assigned by the instructor) to construct and complete an 8–10-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation on your evaluation of a current criminal justice training program.
Working in a team has its benefits. You will get to know your classmates and benefit from each other’s experiences and different perspectives. Remember that the success of your team depends on each person’s contribution. Everyone is required to participate in the team process.
As you work with your teammates, each member should be actively involved in the discussions and work, supporting each other and assisting in the workload. Also, each team member should be willing to resolve differences professionally and ethically and work towards the common goal. Note that the material required for each portion of the presentation will be different: Some portions may require more research and others may need more slides. Try to divide the work equitably and do not hesitate to share information with your teammates.
Team Assignment Details
Evaluating new and innovative criminal justice programs, together with applying evaluation methods to ongoing activities, can help make programs and their agencies accountable. It can help distinguish what works from what does not, and in doing so, steer limited resources to the most promising strategies for controlling crime and violence.
Evaluation is built into the problem-solving approaches that are increasingly used by police and other justice agencies in training personnel and providing resources for programs. Finally, evaluation can lend support to effective law enforcement, prevention, and other criminal justice programs. Showing that something works or does not work can overcome the natural tendency of officials to base decisions on arguments presented by simple advocacy.
For this Assignment, your team will develop an 8–10-slide PowerPoint presentation of an evaluation model that fits a specific criminal justice program of your choice.
Examples of criminal justice programs include drug courts, police foot patrols, youth programs, community policing, youth boot camps, and neighborhood watch programs.
Do not simply report on a criminal justice program that has already been evaluated. The purpose of this Assignment is for your team to select a program and develop a model based on your research and ideas for an assessment. Be creative!
The following identifies key steps in a standard program evaluation. Address each of the steps in your PowerPoint presentation.
•Introduction: (2–3 paragraphs)1.Describe the program your team has chosen to evaluate and the result of other evaluations conducted (if applicable).
2.What is the purpose and intended outcomes?
3.How could the findings be used?
•Develop a methodology for evaluating the program1.Identify what data will be collected.
2.What is the source of data?
3.Describe in detail the methods that will be used to collect data (interviews, observations, surveys, other research, and criminal justice data sources).
•Identify Performance Indicators1.Indicators can be qualitative (feelings, perceptions), quantitative (data), or both.
2.How will you measure program accomplishments and whether intended outcomes were attained?
3.Discuss how the field may benefit from the outcomes of the program evaluation.
•Recommendations for future Research1.Identify areas not addressed in your research.
2.Discuss types of research needed to better evaluate the efficacy of the program.
Resources
Below is an example of a criminal justice program evaluation to get your team started.
Rossman, S. B., Roman, J. K., Zweig, J. M., Rempel, M., & Lindquis, C. H. (2011). Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE), ICPSR30983-v1. Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/drug-courts/pages/madce.aspx#
Additional Reference Information
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. (2010, January 15). The program manager’s guide to evaluation second edition. Retrieved from website: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/the-program-managers-guide-to-evaluation-second-edition
Be sure to support your presentation with material from the reading and outside research (at least two outside sources from scholarly journal articles, Internet sources, the textbook, articles from the Kaplan Online Library, and other course material.) Also discuss how you evaluated the credibility of the resources used.
The presentation should contain a title slide and a slide of references in APA style. All internal citation of outside sources plus the listing of all references should also adhere to APA style.
View the Unit 5 Assignment Checklist.
Directions for Submitting Your Assignment