NPC News 
A quarterly update
from NPC Research
Volume 3, Issue 2 
Staff Spotlight

Kelly Jarvis has been promoted to Senior Research Associate at NPC Research. Kelly is a developmental psychologist whose primary areas of expertise include child and family functioning, violence prevention, behavioral health integration, research and evaluation design, and statistical analysis. She is responsible for all aspects of research and program evaluation, including evaluation design and methodology, data management and analysis, presentations and report writing, technical assistance provision, staff oversight and coordination, and overall project management. Learn more about Kelly. 

 

Mark WallerMark Waller is Senior Cost Analyst at NPC, and as a part of the new leadership transition, he is now also NPC's Grants Manager and Benefits Administrator. In his new administrative role Mark oversees bookkeeping operations. He also manages grants and company benefits as well as other HR and administrative duties. His research specialties include the gathering and management of cost and utilization data, cost analysis, and the coordination of research efforts. Learn more about Mark.

Announcing Exciting Changes at NPC

NPC's founder, owner, and President, Dr. Michael W. Finigan and his wife, Veronica Roth-Finigan, the company's Vice President of Finance, have retired after 25 years of service. NPC's three Vice Presidents are now leading the company through a collaborative management model as Co-Presidents. Each has specific responsibilities in addition to sharing overall leadership and management.a

Juliette R. Mackin, Ph.D.
Co-President
Director of Quality and Training
a
Jerod M. Tarte, M.A.
Co-President
Director of Finance and Operations
a
Shannon M. Carey, Ph.D.
Co-President
Director of Development

 

Juliette Mackin, Jerod Tarte, and Shannon Carey
Along with the leadership transition, the company is transitioning to employee ownership. NPC will maintain the company focus on policy relevance and program improvement; dedication to high-quality services; cultural responsiveness; and a family-friendly, flexible, and caring workplace. These changes will reinforce employee engagement and commitment to our purpose and clients. NPC will continue to operate out of its Portland, Oregon, offices. 

Launching a New NPC Website!

NPC Research is excited to launch a new website! The new site will allow visitors to search easily for publications, reports, project descriptions, and materials. This newsletter is always posted to our site, including past issues. Check out the new site.
 

Evaluating Initiatives to Prevent Juvenile Crime

NPC Research has conducted juvenile justice research and evaluation with partners in Oregon for the past 15 years. Since 2000, NPC has helped evaluate the Juvenile Crime Prevention (JCP) Program, which is administered and monitored by the Youth Development Council. JCP funds Oregon counties and Tribes to serve youth and their families with a range of programs and supports, including culturally specific services. The goal of JCP is to prevent young people from engaging in criminal behavior.

JCP programs served over 4,200 youth during the 2011-13 biennium. The average age of youth at program entry was 14 years old, though the children and youth who received services ranged in age from 6 to 18. Just over half of the youth (57%) were male. White (63%) and Hispanic/Latino (19%) youth were the largest groups served, and Native American (4%), African American (4%), Asian (1%), Multi-racial (7%), and youth with other races or ethnicities (2%) were also represented.

Half of the youth served (49%) had reductions in their total number of risk factors from the start of services to their re-assessment (average of 7 months in service), with 68% of high-risk youth (youth who had at least 14 risk factors at program entry) experiencing reductions in risks. Among the youth in JCP services, 83% had no criminal referral (that is, they were not arrested for a crime) in the 12 months after they began services, including two-thirds(66%) of high-risk youth. 

Featured Top 10 Drug Court Best Practice: Focus on the Time a Judge Spends with a Participant  

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 #3 practice in the Top 10 best practices for reducing recidivism. See the full publication on best practices.

Drug courts where the judge spent an average of 3 minutes or greater per participant during court hearings had 153% greater reductions in recidivism compared with programs where the judge spent less time.

One of the crucial aspects of the drug court model is the influence of the judge, which requires significant and meaningful interaction with the participant. Research data show a linear effect on positive outcomes when more judge time is spent with the participant. Moving from under 3 minutes to just over 3 minutes effectively doubles the reduction in recidivism.