The overarching goal of the evaluation is to better understand the implementation of the Regional Service Coordinator Model and how it is associated with changes in procedures, practices, and outcomes for youth and to translate those findings into meaningful recommendations to the Department of Juvenile Justice. OJJDP expects that these findings will also be informative to other juvenile justice systems interested in implementing similar improvement efforts.

There are three objectives:

• Conduct a process evaluation of the implementation of the Regional Service Coordinator Model.
• Explore the extent to which implementation of the model is associated with changes in youth outcomes (recidivism, risk scores, and protective factors).
• Translate and disseminate findings to targeted audiences.

The researchers will conduct a mixed-methods study that draws on multiple data sources, including: (1) existing Department of Juvenile Justice administrative data, (2) semi-structured interviews with judges, prosecutors, and direct service providers, (3) focus groups with probation officers and regional service coordinators, and (4) semi-structured interviews with justice-involved youth. A key focus of the research will be to examine whether implementation varies by a region's urbanicity and practitioner and youth characteristics.

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