National Evaluation of Tribal Youth Program

OJJDP FY 09 Demonstration Programs Division Grants was established to provide grants, cooperative agreements and other assistance to organizations designated by OJJDP, as authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sections 5601 et seq.) and statutes appropriating funds for juvenile justice programs.

The OJJDP Tribal Youth Program (TYP) supports tribal efforts to address delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth. To date, however, OJJDP has collected limited systematic information about the results. CSR, Incorporated conducted a national process evaluation of the program and its impact, examining (1) the variation among tribes that have applied for and/or received funding, (2) the types of programs created, and (3) program sustainability. CSR examined TYP records and public data about tribal communities, collected primary data from grantees and project directors, and reviewed the research literature on the sustainability of human services programs. The proposed research will permit additional analysis to explore questions raised, to explain data issues encountered, and to incorporate these findings in the final evaluation reports. Research questions will include: How do tribes of different sizes fare in the application and award process? How does the type of TYP program proposed affect receiving an award or implementing a program, and can progress report data be used to track program sustainability? Products will include a report on technical issues and lessons learned, and additional analyses and discussions added as a companion report to the final evaluation reports.
NCA/NCF