| Session Title: Longitudinal Analysis of Juvenile Justice Outcomes in the Evaluation of Systems of Care for Youth With Serious Emotional Disturbance |
| Multipaper Session 332 to be held in Panzacola Section F2 on Thursday, Nov 12, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Human Services Evaluation TIG , the Crime and Justice TIG, and the Quantitative Methods: Theory and Design TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Adam Darnell, EMSTAR Research Inc, adam_darnell@yahoo.com |
| Abstract: Systems of Care (SOC) are coordinated networks of community-based services and supports that are organized to meet the challenges of youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) and their families. SOC is currently operating in five sites in Georgia under the name KidsNet. Through partnership with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), KidsNet has augmented their evaluation by accessing DJJ data for youth enrolled in the SOC. DJJ data has provided much needed information on the 'non-KidsNet' condition, in this case DJJ contacts for youth prior to their enrollment in KidsNet. Access to this data has allowed KidsNet to avoid the considerable costs associated with collection of data from comparison youth or collection of data prior to or following KidsNet enrollment. Longitudinal change in juvenile justice outcomes was examined using growth modeling and survival analysis. Results and comparative strengths and weaknesses of each analytic approach will be discussed. |
| Application of a Growth Model to Estimate Change in Offending Rates Over Time Among Youth in a System of Care |
| Jeremy Lingle, EMSTAR Research Inc, jeremy.lingle@yahoo.com |
| A primary purpose of Georgia's System of Care (SOC) is to decrease involvement of youth with the justice system. Historical data on contacts with the juvenile justice system for KidsNet youth were obtained via a data sharing agreement between Georgia's SOC and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Growth modeling was applied to this data with repeated observations clustered within individuals. The analysis produced estimates of growth in the number of offenses over time and change in the growth rate attributable to SOC services. Findings from this analysis suggest that the rate of offense accumulation could be effectively eliminated in less than one year of participation in SOC. The potential mediating relationships of rapid referrals and youth demographic characteristics upon growth rates are to be discussed. Discussion will also address presentation of longitudinal data analyses to a wider-audience of evaluation stakeholders. |
| A Discrete-time Survival Analysis of Juvenile Offending in the Evaluation of Systems of Care |
| Adam Darnell, EMSTAR Research Inc, adam_darnell@yahoo.com |
| Historical data on contacts with the juvenile justice system for youth in Georgia's System of Care were obtained via a data sharing agreement with the Department of Juvenile Justice. These data were analyzed using discrete-time survival analysis. Outcomes were time from first to second offense and time from first to second detention placement. Lagged effects of a time-varying predictor representing SOC enrollment were examined, controlling for a range of participant characteristics. Results indicated a significant decrease in the likelihood of a second offense following SOC enrollment. Discussion will focus on strengths and weakness of the survival analysis approach as opposed to the hierarchical linear modeling approach utilized in the other paper in this session. Discussion will also address lessons learned from the process of interagency data sharing. |