A Participatory Evaluation of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Demonstration (IASAD) Programs

This project seeks to conduct a participatory outcome evaluation of two Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Demonstration (IASAD) Programs funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The two programs'Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe's Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Project in South Dakota and the Lummi Indian Nation's Community Mobilization Against Drugs (CMAD) initiative in Washington'have each implemented different innovative approaches to reduce crime associated with the distribution and use of alcohol and controlled substances in their communities. Each site will have an assigned evaluation team working with program staff and an Evaluation Oversight Committee (EOC) that includes various stakeholders from the respective communities.

The purpose of the proposed project is to determine if each program is meeting its stated goals effectively and if the two demonstration models have applications for other tribal nations confronting similar public safety issues related to alcohol and substance abuse. The evaluation team from the University of Arizona (UA) will partner with each tribal program and its EOC to answer two research questions: (1) Are the two programs successful in achieving their stated program goals? and (2) How effective is the participatory evaluation model in assisting these programs to develop their own sustainable program evaluation process?

The intent of this project is to collaborate with the two participating sites in the development, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of findings and information obtained from the evaluation. It is anticipated that these formative and process evaluations will provide relevant data that will be helpful in determining how these two demonstration programs are fulfilling their goals toward the reduction of substance abuse and crime related problems on their respective reservations.

ca/ncf