BJA Center for Program Evaluation: Enhance Performance Measurement and Evaluation Capacity in the States

The Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Program: National Initiatives, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In FY 2008, the program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within five major categories: 1) preventing crime and drug abuse; 2) enhancing local law enforcement; 3) enhancing local courts; 4) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 5) facilitating justice information sharing.

The Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) will implement the Enhancing Performance Measurement and Evaluation Capacity in the States project under Category 5: Facilitating Justice Information Sharing. They will facilitate the sharing of information about program performance and evaluation among local policymakers and practitioners in order to enhance their ability to use this information to improve program planning and implementation. JRSA will provide timely and relevant information on evaluation and performance measurement of criminal justice programs and strategies to criminal justice policymakers and practitioners throughout the country; assist BJA grantees and those writing grant proposals with their evaluation and performance measurement questions and challenges; offer appropriate evaluation and performance measurement resources to criminal justice policymakers and practitioners; and serve as a resource to BJA in the area of evaluation and performance measurement. JRSA will maintain and enhance the BJA Center for Program Evaluation, an online resource that provides general and topic-specific evaluation information, provide workshops and assistance on evaluation at BJA conferences and respond to evaluation-related requests for information and assistance from BJA, current BJA grantees, and BJA applicants.

CA/NCF