About the BJA Center for Program Evaluation

The BJA Center for Program Evaluation is funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to maintain a user-friendly online evaluation and performance measurement tool designed to assist state and local criminal justice planners, practitioners, State Administrative Agencies, researchers, and evaluators in conducting evaluations and developing program performance measures that will address the effectiveness and efficiency of their projects. The web site contains two main sections: Program Areas and Evaluation and Performance Measures Resources.

The Program Areas section features evaluation information on criminal justice programs and strategies and contains specific subsections on justice-related topics. The Program-specific topic areas include Crime Prevention with a focus on Community-Based Crime Prevention and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Gang Programs/Strategies, Information Sharing/Integration, Methamphetamine Programs/Strategies, Multijurisdictional Task Forces, Problem-Solving Courts with a focus on Drug Courts and Mental Health Courts, Reentry, Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Sex Offender Programs/Strategies, Tribal Courts, and Victim Services Programs. The topic areas include an assessment of what has been learned from previously conducted evaluations, present information on evaluation considerations and challenges, list commonly used performance measures, and provide references of evaluation reports for each area.

The Evaluation and Performance Measures Resources section provides a comprehensive Guide to Program Evaluation with sections designed to assist evaluators in getting started, planning the evaluation, understanding the different types of evaluation, the data collection process, and reporting and using evaluation results.

Information Covered in the Evaluation Resources Section:

• Getting Started: Defines what is evaluation, discusses the benefits of evaluation, and discusses considerations before beginning an evaluation
• Planning the Evaluation: How to choose an evaluation team, develop and build an evaluation plan, and work with program logic models
• Assessing Program Performance: Provides information on monitoring, performance assessment, process and outcome evaluation
• Data Collection: Assessing the reliability and validity of existing data, how to go about collecting new data, and other data issues
• Reporting and Using Evaluation Results: Discusses evaluation reports, how to review evaluation findings, and the effective use of evaluation results

Also included under Evaluation and Performance Measures Resources is a section on Including Evaluation in Requests for Proposals (RFPs) which includes examples of RFPs that show how to incorporate evaluation into RFPs. A Reference Materials section provides additional references, materials, and contacts to assist you with evaluation and performance measurement. A Useful Links section contains other web-based resources arranged by category. A Glossary section contains vocabulary and terms frequently used in evaluation and performance measurement.

The web site also produces a monthly newsletter (Evaluation News) which contains key evaluation-related information as well as the latest evaluation developments at the national and state level. The newsletter is emailed to SACs, SAAs, and practitioners in areas such as courts, corrections, and law enforcement. The BJA Center for Program Evaluation also provides Technical Assistance to enhance the evaluation and performance measurement capacity of states in the area of criminal justice.

The BJA Center for Program Evaluation is a project of the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA).