Assessing the Effectiveness of the Second Chance Act Grant Program through a Phased Evaluation Approach Using an Implementation Science Mixed Methods Approach

The purpose of this project is conduct Phase 3 of NIJ’s three-phased evaluation of the processes, implementation, outcomes, impacts, and costs of the Second Chance Act grant program in improving reentry and reducing recidivism.  For the Phase 3 evaluation, three SCA sites have been selected, each employing a different program model.  All provide pre- and post-release from custody services.  Interventions include pre-release assessments leading to case planning, use of self-guided workbooks, post-release community-based services, and use of technology to assist in the reentry process. The Phase 3 evaluation consists of SCA site-specific and cross-site efforts that use which randomized control trials in two of three SCA sites and a dosage-response quasi-experimental design in the third.  Outcomes to be measured include recidivism, rearrest, violations of conditions of supervision, employment, child support, housing, and participation in substance abuse and mental health programming.  Outcomes will be measured for up to 36 months, as feasible. The effect of separate program components will be assessed by taking advantage of phased implementation, Pandemic-induced implementation delays, and measurement of services received.  Qualitative assessments of program fidelity, collaboration, and self-efficacy across sites will address how program elements are delivered and received.  The utility and quality of technical assistance will be addressed from the SCA site and assistance provider perspectives. Costs and benefits will be assessed. An interim report—one year after enrollment in the evaluation is complete—will report on implementation, fidelity, and outcomes to date; a final report will address longer-run outcomes.  Peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations are planned.

A multi-disciplinary team from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies will conduct the evaluation. The team is organized around the specialized expertise of criminologists, economists, social workers, and health policy researchers who will address design, implementation, outcomes, impacts, and costs.

In partial response to the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2018’s requirement to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of technical assistance provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to grantees for implementing such programs, GSU proposes to conduct a survey of active SCA grantees about the relevance, utility, quality, satisfaction with DOJ-delivered training and technical assistance (TA). The survey will also measure the extent to which changes in program implementation or agency organization occurred because of the TA. The proposal describes a plan to design, test, administer, analyze, and report data from a single (one-time) survey of all active SCA grantees funded from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2021. The survey will cover the TA delivered by SCA TA service providers and will allow for comparisons of TA experiences among different types of SCA grantees.  Survey design work will build upon current efforts to conduct in-depth interviews with TA providers and SCA grantees about the details of their experiences, and survey results will be integrated into findings from the interviews.  This two-year effort covers the work of survey instrument design and testing, survey administration, data cleaning and file preparation, data analysis, and report writing. CA/NCF