Reclaiming Futures in North Carolina

Policy makers and the public expect government accountability, yet the gap between ideals and actual practice remains large. The situation is especially pronounced in juvenile justice, where little is known about the impact of everyday activities. Given the growing demand for accountability, the substantial costs of juvenile justice, the potential for harm to crime victims and communities, and, not least, the risk of failing to improve the life outcomes of young offenders, performance measurement in juvenile justice is essential.

Six communities in North Carolina worked to bring the Reclaiming Futures approach to serving the needs of youthful offenders with drug and alcohol problems. The project worked with the Reclaiming Futures National Program Office in Portland, Oregon and the North Carolina sites selected by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to develop and demonstrate the Reclaiming Futures model in North Carolina.

The Research and Evaluation Center assisted each  community as they developed and deployed performance-measurement methods (based on the six-step Reclaiming Futures Model) and assessed the quality of these efforts. Officials in each county: 1) designed a series of performance measures based on the Reclaiming Futures Model, 2) began to implement data sharing systems that allow each community to generate the measures, and 3) drew upon the measures to assess the overall success of the demonstration effort.

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Project Staff

Jeffrey Butts, PI
Rhoda Ramdeen
Kathleen Tomberg

Funding

$68,000. Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
Susan Richards, Program Officer