what works! summit · 2015. 10. 13. · 2013 led by governor nathan deal (r): reduce reliance on...
TRANSCRIPT
Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County
September 30, 2015
Clay YeagerSenior ConsultantEvidence Based Associates
What Works! Summit
“Introduction to Evidence‐Based Programming”
What Works!
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”
Yogi Berra (1925‐2015)Baseball player, Prophet andUnintentional World Philosopher
(Or)
‘Television is just a passing fancy, nothing but a vast empty wasteland’
Newton Minow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 1955
‘Then there are those pushing computers into schools’
Clifford Stoll, Computer expert in ‘The Internet? Bah!’, Newsweek, 1995
‘It is hard for us to think of two sadder words than juvenile delinquency. They speak of wasted youth and they speak of worried families….too often they speak of reformatories that do not reform the child and do not resolve the problem.’
President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968 Remarks upon signing the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968, July 1968
What Goes Around….
“The rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so far have had no effect on recidivism…. present strategies cannot overcome, or even reduce, the powerful tendencies of offenders to continue in criminal behavior”
Robert Martinson, in ‘What Works?’, published in The Public Interest, 1974
Nothing Works!
Then ANYTHING is worth trying!
If NOTHING Works!
Scared Straight Boot camps Wagon trains ‘Just Say No’ Tough Love Diet and nutrition programs DARE in schools Horse therapy programs Drama therapy Talk therapy Hip Hop therapy And more……
The Era of Miracle Cures and The Quick Fix
Fads and Fallacies in JJ Over Time
Inflaming rhetoric
Creating public fear and panic
Find the quick fix
1990’s: The Perfect Storm
‘America is now home to thickening ranks of juvenile 'super predators' ‐‐ radically impulsive, brutally remorseless youngsters who are Godless, fatherless and jobless, leading to a ‘Crime Bomb’ flooding our streets’
John Dilulio, Princeton University, 1995
‘There will be blood in the streets!’
James Alan Fox, Criminologist, Northeastern University, 1996
“Brace yourself for the coming generation of `super‐predators,’ imputing criminal tendencies to infants not yet out of their diapers”
Rep. Bill McCollum (R‐FL), House of Representatives, April 1996
Setting the Stage
Mid‐1990’s – nation rocked by crack cocaine, school shootings, images of violent juvenile crime, marauding gangs
Major issue in politics – federal and state
More police, enhanced enforcement & prosecution Removed judicial discretion, demonized young people
47 states revamped juvenile justice systems
Get tough policies prevailed:
‘Adult crime, Adult time’ – ‘Zero Tolerance’
Juvenile Institutions: A Uniquely American Experience(Rates per 100,000 populations worldwide)
Japan – 0.1Italy – 11.3
France – 18.6Australia – 24.9Germany – 23.1
England & Wales – 46.8South Africa – 69.0
United States – 336
U.S./Europe Rate of Incarceration(per 100,000 population)
67
73
77
82
98
100
105
108
148
707
Sweden
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
Austria
France
Italy
Belgium
United Kingdom (England & Wales)
USA
How Did This Happen?
Hint: The answer is shockingly simple
We got here through a series of policy choices
• Choices made in our name by individuals we elected to office
• Maintaining the status quo, THE most powerful force in systems
• Permitting systems to know how much they spend, but not what they buy
Purchase ‘Services’, not OutcomesTraditional services are bought in the form of:Number of contacts Number of home visits Number of bed days Number of counseling sessionsAnd more……
Systems Know What They Spend…. But Not What They Buy
Successful program completionsMeasures of youth positive outcomes during the program
Measured improved outcomes for youth‐family, school, community
Fewer family functioning problemsQuantified outcomes sustained over time Improved public safety as measured by recidivism
Reduced costs to the taxpayers
Rather than Outcomes
1998Blueprints for Violence
Prevention
The Introduction and Evolution of the Evidence‐Based Movement
“I don’t care what the science
says. The amount of evidence
I’ve made up in my own mind is
irrefutable”
Reduces Wasteful Spending – funding is based on evidence, identifies and eliminates programs that fail to deliver results
Expands Successful Programs – funds programs that produce greater outcomes
Strengthens Accountability – focuses on outcomes, holds systems and agencies accountable for results
What is Evidence Based Policy ?
Categorize current programs by evidence of effectiveness
Incentivize use of evidence‐based programsRestrict or phase out funding of programs without evidence or those shown to be ineffective or harmful
Require use of evidence‐based programsDedicate funding to evidence‐based programs
A New Political Strategy
Kentucky – (SB 200):
Defines ‘evidence‐based’, mandates agency to identify programs that meet the standard.
Phases in requirement over time for evidence‐based
Self funds expanded evidence‐based programs with savings from reduced residential placement costs
Political Leadership
Oregon (SB 267)
Requires gradual annual increases in funding to evidence‐based programs (25%‐50%‐75%‐100%)
Requires agencies to report the percentage of funding allocated to EBP’s every two years
Political Leadership
Mississippi (HB 677)
Establishes a ranking of programs: evidence‐based, research‐based, promising practices and lacking evidence
Requires agencies to catalogue and categorize ALL programs based on these standards
Political Leadership
Tennessee (Public Chapter 585)
Restricts use of funds to evidence‐based programs Increases funds to EBP’s from 25% to 75% over five years
To qualify for funding, programs must meet state‐defined standards
Requires that funded EBP’s have implementation protocols
Must demonstrate positive outcomes in at least two independent evaluations
Political Leadership
Washington (HB 2536)
Requires established criteria for three standards of effectiveness: evidence‐based, research‐based, and promising practice
Requires compilation of programs that meet the standards
Requires agencies to report on extent their programs meet standards and identify gaps in services
Political Leadership
Florida – Redirection Project
Georgia – Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program
Moving from Theory to Practice
Legislative Initiative (2004): Florida Redirection Initial pilot expanded over time serving entire state supporting ONLY top‐tier EBP’s
Reduced felony and misdemeanor re‐arrest rates
Reduced the rate of felony reconviction by 38% Lowered the rate of subsequent commitment to DJJ, adult probation and adult prison by 33%
Florida
2013 Led by Governor Nathan Deal (R): reduce reliance on costly and ineffective facilities
Grants to highest committing countiessupported ONLY programs with evidence
Set clear standards and expected outcomesGoal: Reduce placements by 15%, improve outcomes in youth and families
1st year outcomes: 62% reduction in placements
Georgia
62.0%
84.4% 84.2% 79.6%
76.1% 75.6% 72.9%
70.1% 70.0% 68.6% 66.3% 65.3% 65.2% 63.6% 63.4% 61.5% 61.1% 60.7% 60.6% 58.9% 58.9% 55.3% 54.6%
47.8% 47.0%
39.0%
18.2%
8.3%
‐6.7% ‐15.2%
‐20.0%
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Reduction Percentages by Grantee Reductions in STP Admissions & Felony Commitments from 2012 Baseline
(EBA Counties in Green)
15% Reduction
“The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Yogi (again)
"People are gonna look at photographs of this and swear it was photoshopped."
Become students again, stay current with the research and program registriesUnderstand the varying standards of evidenceConsider the available evidence base when choosing policy areaAvoid the latest fadsTrack the data: monitoring and outcome reporting Seek and secure political champions Celebrate success
Our To Do List:
Play Ball! ‐Moneyball
Build evidence about programs that will achieve the best results
Invest taxpayer dollars in programs that use data and evidence to demonstrate they work;
Direct funds away from practices, policies, and programs that fail to achieve measurable outcomes.
“Less than $1 out every $100 spent by government is backed by even the most basic evidence that the money is being spent wisely”.
Strong evidence is not a fad…..nor a sound bite
It’s good policy
Good policy is good politics
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may
be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates
of our passion, they cannot alter the state of
facts and evidence.” John Adams
Clay [email protected]
717.870.2144