Evaluating the Work of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs in the Criminal Justice System: A Toolkit for Practitioners

• NCJ Number: 240917
• Author(s): Rebecca Campbell, Ph.D.; Megan Greeson, M.A.; Nidal Karim, Ph.D.; Jessica Shaw, M.A.; Stephanie Townsend, Ph.D.
• Date Published: August 2012
• Length: 227 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-MU-MU-0002
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Award: Implementation of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit

Annotation

This report presents the six basic steps for evaluating a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program as they are presented in the SANE Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit.

Abstract

The goal of the toolkit is to guide SANE staff members in implementing procedures that will measure the effectiveness of a SANE program in increasing prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. The six basic evaluation steps presented in the toolkit are to understand the evaluation design, identify the evaluation questions, establish cooperative agreements, sample cases and collect data, analyze the data, and interpret results. Detailed guidance is provided on how to proceed in performing each of the steps The evaluation is intended to improve a SANE program's design and practice so as to enhance its medical-evidence collection and victim services, so as to increase the prosecutor's confidence that the evidence is sufficient for a successful prosecution of the case, and the victim is willing to cooperate in strengthening the case. The six steps in SANE program evaluation are discussed separately for a pre-SANE/post-SANE comparison evaluation, a post-SANE only evaluation, and an on-going evaluation. After discussing how the six evaluation steps apply under these three circumstances, this report discusses ways in which evaluation findings can be applied in order to improve program performance. Appendixes present a review of the literature on SANE outcomes, a sample handout for the hospital hosting the SANE program, a hospital template for a memorandum of understanding (MOU), a sample handout for the prosecutor's office, a template for the prosecutor's office MOU, working with law enforcement to obtain suspect names, a sample handout for the law enforcement agency, template for a law enforcement MOU, selection of cases, information collection table, and tips for working with an outside evaluator/researcher. 39 references