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Fall 2013
NPC News
A Quarterly Update from NPC Research
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Research | Evaluation | Technical Assistance and Training
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Staff Spotlight
 Jerod Tarte, Executive Vice President and Research Associate, has been involved in program evaluation and research since 1998 and joined NPC in 1999. His experience includes project management, methodology, and statistical analysis for evaluations of programs related to early childhood and juvenile populations. Jerod has served as project director and data analyst for many local evaluations of programs serving at-risk youth and children. He is currently the project director for a large-scale randomized study of Healthy Families Oregon, designed to examine the effects of the program on substantiated maltreatment rates, and serves as NPC's Grants Manager. Learn more about Jerod.
Tamara Perkins, Research Associate, serves as the Project Director or Principal Investigator for several studies, including a statewide process and outcome evaluation of Ohio family dependency treatment courts, three Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiatives, a Native Elder abuse prevention, and a Native teen pregnancy prevention program. Among other studies, she heads up the program evaluation of the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center's Native Youth Suicide Prevention Program. Learn more about Tamara.
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San Antonio Study Shows Reduced Recidivism in High-Risk/High-Need Population
 In 2010, the Bexar County Adult Felony Drug Court, located in San Antonio, TX, received a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) enhancement grant for training, evaluation, and expanded residential treatment services. NPC recently completed a full process, outcome, and cost evaluation of the program. Findings indicate that while participants involved with the program after the receipt of the SAMHSA grant were assessed as higher risk and higher need than previous program participants, they demonstrated significantly lower recidivism rates (measured as number of new arrests since program start) than prior participants. Program participants also had lower recidivism rates than a comparison group of offenders who were eligible for the program but were not referred and did not participate. Click here for the full report and here for a fact sheet. [Pictured: Drug Court Magistrate Ernie Glenn with a program graduate.]
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Presentation at Judicial Conference Applies Best Practices Nationally to Reentry Courts
 Research Associates Anna Malsch and Paige Harrison presented research on drug courts and reentry courts to attendees of the annual Oregon Judicial conference in Gleneden Beach, OR, on Oct. 22, 2013. The session was organized to address questions related to Oregon HB 3194, enacted in July 2013. Specific sub-sections of the legislation established: (1) concurrent judicial jurisdiction with post-custody supervision agencies for reentry court participants; (2) grants to support implementation of reentry courts across the state; and (3) that the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission serve as an information center and resource center for evidence-based practices among specialty courts. The presentation by Paige and Anna covered best practices by drug courts based on national research, how this research applies to reentry courts, and current work on reentry courts underway within NPC and its partners to learn more about effective practices within reentry courts. Click here to see the presentation. To access a study of NIJ's Evaluation of Second Chance Reentry Courts, click here.
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Featured Top 10 Drug Court Best Practice: Internal Review of the Data and Program Stats Leads to Reduced Recidivism
In this ongoing column, we present the Top 10 drug court best practices, one practice at a time, with a brief discussion of each practice. In this issue, we present the #6 practice in the Top 10 best practices for reducing recidivism. (See the full publication on best practices.)
Drug courts where internal review of the data and program statistics led to modifications in program operations had 105% greater reductions in recidivism.
The key elements to this best practice are twofold:
1) The program uses an electronic data collection and management system that allows staff to provide the drug court with relevant statistics on program performance and operations, which the team can use to garner insights into its performance, guide improvements, and reveal areas where training is needed. 2) The drug court uses the data as a basis for practical program change and continues to use it to monitor progress.
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NPC Effort Delves Into Cultural Concerns in Research
A cultural responsiveness committee at NPC meets regularly to discuss issues related to cultural sensitivity in research. One of the recent discussion topics was the use of a racial equity lens in reporting data (i.e., how to avoid reinforcing negative racial stereotypes). Click here to access a relevant article that explores this topic in depth. But race is only one of myriad cultural attributes. For instance, researcher Colleen Kidney led a presentation to staff on Research with Individuals with Disabilities. Colleen's research experience includes a variety of studies aimed at promoting the inclusion, health, and well-being of individuals with disabilities, including autistic individuals. She touched on some of the historical progress made in recent decades where once there was widespread institutional abuse. The progress was the result of many efforts including self-advocacy movements within respective groups of individuals and organizations. The NPC committee will continue to study cultural issues and spark dialogue with staff to promote cultural responsiveness in our personal interactions as well as in our research methods.
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NPC Honored Again for Workplace Flexibility
"NPC allows employees a great deal of autonomy and flexibility to get their work done," said Tamara Perkins, Research Associate at NPC. She recalled that when her husband was recently in China for a month, she wanted to be at home when her daughter came home from school. Tamara was able to work from home 2-3 days each week and, on the days she was in the office, was able to leave early and flex her time by working either in the early morning or on the weekend. "This really offered all of us great peace of mind; if only all parents had this option!" she said.
When Work Works' national partners, Families and Work Institute (FWI) and The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), recently honored NPC Research as a winner of the 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility in the Oregon category. This was NPC's third consecutive year to earn the award. Click here for more information and to see all the winners.
A recent luncheon honored the Oregon winners of this year's Alfred P. Sloan award for workplace flexibility. Several NPC staff attended, including, from left in the front row: Megan Redfield, Shannon Carey, Mike Finigan, Kate Kissick, and Lara Miyahira. In the back row are Jerod Tarte and Jennifer Aborn.
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