A Comparison of a Process and Outcome Evaluation of an OWI Court

• In Event: Specialty Court Evaluation Studies

Abstract

Treatment courts, like other criminal justice programs, are often told they need to conduct evaluations to determine the effectiveness of their program. The choice often becomes whether to conduct a process evaluation or an outcome evaluation. Outcome evaluations are often the preferred choice, because they provide the all-important outcome measure—recidivism. However, these types of evaluations are not able to explain the reason behind the outcome measure—the “black box” of treatment. The opposite problem is true for process evaluations. The current study will present information on a concurrent process and outcome evaluation for an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Treatment Court. The presentation will focus on the findings from both the process and outcome evaluation, with a focus on how information from the process evaluation can be used to explain findings from the outcome evaluation. Implications for program evaluation, as well as generalizations of the project’s findings will be discussed.

Authors

• Andrew J. Myer, North Dakota State University

• Matthew D. Makarios, University of Northern Iowa