Criminal justice professionals should not only be familiar with strategies for evaluating criminal justice programs, but also be familiar with how program evaluation strategies can be used to inform or structure policy evaluations. Your completed work in this assignment will be incorporated into your Week 3 summative assessment.
Preparation
Review the criminal justice program and policy related to the program that you selected and researched in the Week 1 Assessment Preparation task. In this assignment, you will explain the strategies you will apply to evaluate both the program and the policy you selected.
Access the Weeks 1 and 2 Learning Activities folders and review the assigned textbook readings to understand essential differences between evaluation questions and evaluation survey questions.
Assignment Deliverable
Write a 800+ word report in which you explain how you will apply evaluation strategies to evaluate your selected criminal justice program. The report will be shared with your supervisor, who wants to justify the evaluation to key decision-makers and stakeholders.
Use the following 4 headings in your report and address the following topics in your report:
Program Analysis
• Identify and provide a link to the criminal justice program you researched.
• Briefly describe the criminal justice program you selected in the Week 1 Assessment Preparation task.
• Indicate whether the program is a local, state, or federal program.
• Explain the organization’s mission.
• Explain the goals/objectives of the program.
• Explain a strategy and/or activity of the program. Include details to explain how the strategy or activity supports program goals.
Policy Analysis
• Identify and provide a link to the criminal justice policy you selected and researched in the Week 1 Assessment Preparation task.
• Summarize the policy and identify whether it is applicable at the local-, state-, or federal-government level.
• Include relevant details about the legal statute or law the policy is aligned to.
• Explain how the program fulfills the mandate(s) of the policy.
Your Evaluation Model
• Identify the purpose of your evaluation.
• Identify which evaluation model (e.g., embedded evaluation model, SARA model) is most appropriate for your proposed evaluation. Justify your choice.
Cite at least 3 scholarly sources, in addition to the textbook. Include in-site citation.
Format your citations and references according to APA guidelines.