By Benjamin Chambers, February 23 2011
When I was at the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) in 2010, I interviewed Dr. Mark Lipsey about a new tool he and several other colleagues developed to improve the implementation of evidence-based juvenile justice programs. Dubbed the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP), the tool uses a massive meta-analysis of nearly 700 evaluations to help local jurisdictions identify what they're already doing that's working, and to improve on what they've got.
I asked Dr. Lipsey the following questions:
- Why did you do the meta analysis and develop this tool to improve effective programming in juvenile justice? (:20)
- How is the new tool different from simply implementing evidence-based programming? (2:35)
- How do I get my hands on it? Can I just download it? (6:36)
- How do I access the assistance I need to implement the SPEP? (8:57)
Implementing the comprehensive new tool takes some finesse, so Dr. Lipsey and his colleagues are partnering with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) to provide training to interested jurisdictions. Through a competitive process, three states will be able to get trained in using the tool -- CJJR tells me that an announcement about this will go out in a couple of weeks.
Learn more:
Check out Improving the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs: A New Perspective on Evidence-Based Practice (cover shown at right) a guide to the new tool by Dr. Lipsey and his colleagues, published by CJJR.- Watch a brief video presentation by Dr. Lipsey, given at George Mason University last year, on the surprising effectiveness of "home-grown" interventions vs. "name-brand" interventions.
Updated: February 08 2018