This report presents the findings from an examination and multipronged assessment of Linking Systems of Care (LSC) Children and Youth Demonstration Project sites, an effort funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).
The report is the product of three different approaches or viewpoints, including a formative evaluation of the first statewide demonstration sites to be funded (Montana and Virginia), an evaluability assessment of all four demonstration sites (Illinois, Montana, Ohio, and Virginia), and an assessment of the system changes necessary to produce functional systems of care. Data was collected from a variety of sources and used multiple methods to capture the necessary information to complete a comprehensive formative evaluation of the first two funded sites, Cohort 1, and an outcome evaluability assessment of all the sites. Both quantitative and qualitative sources of data were analyzed to arrive at findings and draw conclusions. These data include key informant interviews, participant and program observations, site documents, and surveys. In addition, quantitative data were collected from project staff at each of the four demonstration sites through an evaluability assessment questionnaire and follow-up interviews with project staff and partners in the second cohort of demonstration sites. These data helped determine the feasibility of an outcome evaluation. The ultimate goals of this report are to comprehensively describe the planning and implementation process of the OVC demonstration sites and to examine the evaluability of the sites and their present capacity to support an outcome evaluation. Based on the results of this report, the research team concludes that it may not be feasible to conduct an outcome evaluation of the demonstration sites at this time. All of the sites lack clear and measurable outcomes that are tied to the project activities and key data sources for assessing the projects outcomes. This report offers a series of recommendations for the continued development of the current demonstration sites and for other jurisdictions or communities that want to replicate the work of the OVC demonstration sites.