Economic & Social Research Page Tools AddThis

Crime and Justice Projects: A Selection

The National Evaluation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

This is a five-year study funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (in collaboration with other Federal agencies). The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative is a landmark effort by the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice to foster school environments that are safe and conducive to learning, and support positive youth development. Since early 2000, RTI has been conducting a cross-site evaluation of 97 sites funded in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Process and impact evaluation components include annual surveys of students, teachers, principals, other school staff, district superintendents, and community partners in law enforcement and mental health. The evaluation also includes case studies, economic studies, a special study of early childhood efforts, and collection of archival data. RTI was provided additional funds in 2002 to provide support to new SS/HS sites participating in evaluation consortia that will accomplish specific, self-defined evaluation goals relevant to the SS/HS Initiative.

The National Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative

This is a five-year study funded by the National Institute of Justice (in collaboration with several other Federal agencies) to examine the effect of a collaborative Federal effort in 68 states/local sites to improve reentry outcomes for released prisoners. The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) focuses on improving outcomes in criminal justice, employment, education, health, and housing through programs that offer integrated supervision and services to offenders. The objective is to promote productive social roles and reduce the likelihood of a return to crime and imprisonment for released offenders. The evaluation, which began in May 2003, includes an implementation assessment in all 68 sites, and an impact evaluation and a cost-benefit analysis in approximately 15 sites.

The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Alternative Coercive Measures of Drug Treatment Project

This five-year effort funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) involves a process, outcome, and cost-effectiveness evaluation of drug courts in Florida. Intensive process evaluations were conducted in five drug court sites; comprehensive longitudinal outcome and cost-effectiveness evaluations are being conducted in two drug court sites; and complex secondary analysis of the effectiveness of treating drug-involved offenders is being conducted using six years of statewide administrative data on over 340,000 offenders.

The Evidence-Based Review of Rape and Sexual Assault Preventive Intervention Programs

This is a two-year study funded by the National Institute of Justice, the purpose of which is to communicate findings and make recommendations on promising and effective rape and sexual assault preventive interventions. This will be achieved by conducting a systematic, evidence-based review of current results of evaluated sexual assault prevention programs. The methodology for this study adheres to the scientific techniques outlined by the Campbell Collaboration Crime and Justice Group and those developed by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.

The Precursors, Insulators, and Consequences of Inhalant Use Project

This five-year longitudinal effort funded in 2002 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) involves interviewing and testing a large sample of high-risk youth who reside in an area where inhalant use is exceptionally prevalent. A unique feature of this study is that a large majority of the sample will be recruited before they begin to use inhalants and then interviewed annually over a time period during which children are at highest risk for inhalant use, thus allowing us to truly establish baseline measures. In addition to capturing risk and protective factors, and social and behavioral consequences of inhalant use, the interviews will include several psychological test batteries that will capture the cognitive effects of inhalant use over time.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This is a DOJ-funded initiative that seeks to reduce gun violence by improving coordination among federal, state, and local agencies in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. RTI serves as the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) research partner for the Eastern District of North Carolina, working with the U.S. Attorney's office, local police and sheriffs departments, district attorneys' offices, and community violence prevention groups. In this capacity, RTI collects and analyzes firearm-related data to gain an improved understanding for gun violence in communities such as Raleigh, Wilmington, Greenville, and Fayetteville. Using geographic information systems (GIS) and other analytic techniques, RTI provides regular briefings to the PSN task force, highlighting the key elements of gun violence as well as changes in violence over time. The research partner is also tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of various PSN gun violence prevention strategies implemented across the Eastern District.


Contact us for more information