National Evaluation of the Title V Community Prevention Grants Program

• NCJ Number: 191170
• Author(s): Susan Chibnall
• Date Published: November 2001
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Issue Overview

Annotation

This paper assesses and evaluates Title 5 Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs which provides grants to support State and community-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs.

Abstract

This assessment process allowed both researchers and the community itself to understand which methods worked and why. This also benefited the Justice Department by determining which strategies were most efficient in preventing juvenile delinquency. In order to evaluate whether or not the Title 5 model was successful, several issues needed to be taken into consideration. First, what was the impact of planning and service delivery, risk and protective factors, and types of behavior problems that were being addressed? Second, which factors or activities led to effective implementation? To address these issues the research team interviewed State level officials as well as specialists. These tools were initially developed for national evaluation, but they were also useful for community efforts. For this Title 5 model to be effective on the State level certain steps were taken: (1) there must be a coordinator or specialist who oversees planning, implementation, and evaluation of all activities; (2) there needs to be State support that includes grants, training and technical assistance, and a plan to gather data for evaluation; (3) everyone involved, including prevention staff, must be able to understand the basic evaluation plan. To assess the effectiveness on the community level similar steps need to be implemented, along with access to ongoing resources such as financial and material, and in-kind resources. Overall, this allows for more effective juvenile delinquency prevention programs.