An Evaluation of the Community Cadet Corps Program in Saskatchewan
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An Evaluation of the Community Cadet Corps Program in Saskatchewan Lisa Jewell, PhD Carolyn Camman, MA Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and Justice Studies University of Saskatchewan January, 2014 Final Report: An Evaluation of the Community Cadet Corps Program in Saskatchewan Prepared by: Lisa M. Jewell, PhD Carolyn Camman, MA Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and Justice Studies University of Saskatchewan Prepared for the: Royal Canadian Mounted Police "F" Division Evaluation of the CCC 1 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 1 INTRODUCTION . 6 PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION: DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW . 14 Program Roles . 14 Cadet Leaders RCMP Members CCC Coordinator Program Start-Up . 21 Cadet Recruitment . 23 Recruitment Strategies Recruitment Focus Recruitment and Retention Factors Activities . 29 Core Activities Other Activities Cultural Activities Special Partnerships PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION: STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES . 39 Strengthening Factors . 39 Resources and Funding Structures for Advancement and Recognition Dedication and Consistency Overall Program Strengths Implementation Challenges . 47 Resource-Specific Challenges Youth Attendance and Participation Other Youth-Specific Challenges Evaluation of the CCC 2 Community and Cadet Leader-Specific Challenges RCMP Member-Specific Challenges CCC Coordinator-Specific Challenges Suggestions for Improvements . 61 Specific Community-Level Improvements Overall Program-Level Improvements Other Suggestions PROGRAM OUTCOMES . 68 Cadet-Level Outcomes . 68 Community-Level Outcomes . 74 PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY . 77 DISCUSSION . 83 RECOMMENDATIONS . 88 REFERENCES . 92 APPENDIX A . 93 APPENDIX B . 96 APPENDIX C . 109 Evaluation of the CCC 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Community Cadet Corps (CCC) is a program for youth that, in Saskatchewan, is supported by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) "F" Division. It is intended to provide youth with discipline, responsibility, respect, and entertainment in order to help them develop the skills and tools they need to build positive futures for themselves and the communities in which they live. The mission of the CCC is to instill integrity, honesty, professionalism, compassion, accountability, and respect. The program hopes to instill the youth with positive life skills and habits by providing them with mentoring from culturally-sensitive role models. The CCC is designed to be a community-driven and community-owned program. The RCMP provides support for the program through the dedicated CCC Coordinator position and by encouraging local RCMP members to assist with teaching drill to the cadets; however, each community is expected to provide funding for the program, provide an appropriate space, find volunteer community members (including a cadet leader) to lead the program, and determine the specific objectives and activities to ensure that the program meets their community's needs. The program is targeted toward youth aged 10 to 18 years who are attending school full-time. Typically, the cadets meet once a week after to school to practice drill and engage in other activities (e.g., sports, crafts) decided upon by their communities. Purpose of the Evaluation The purpose of the current evaluation is to provide the RCMP "F" Division with an understanding of the processes, outputs and, where appropriate, measurable outcomes of the CCC program in Saskatchewan. Specifically, six questions guided this evaluation: What factors facilitate the successful implementation of CCCs? What support do CCCs require from Aboriginal Policing Services during start-up? How has the CCC helped build partnerships between the RCMP and Aboriginal communities? How does participation in the CCC impact the individual outcomes of youth during, and after, their involvement in the program? How does the presence of a CCC impact a community? What makes a CCC sustainable? Methodology Interviews were conducted with program deliverers, including cadet leaders and RCMP members and, where possible, cadets and other community members at 13 sites. Interview data was supplemented with a document review of relevant program materials, the observation of a drill event at Sturgeon Lake, and a site visit to Loon Lake. Other observations of regular drill meetings were planned but not carried out due to scheduling difficulties. Thirteen communities with active CCCs participated in the evaluation: Big River Piapot Whitecap Black Lake Regina Witchekan Ile-a-la-Crosse Sandy Bay Yorkton Loon Lake Sturgeon Lake Wahpeton Pelican Lake Evaluation of the CCC 2 The CCC Coordinator was also interviewed, as well as two individuals he identified as program volunteers who were not affiliated with a specific CCC. In total, 39 interviews were completed. Data were analyzed for content and discussed according to themes related to the evaluation questions outlined. RESULTS Program Implementation: Descriptive Overview The program includes four major roles: 1) the cadet leaders who are typically responsible for organizing and running the program; 2) RCMP members who provide support for drill instruction and at some location are responsible for running the program where a cadet leader is not available; 3) the Community Cadet Corps Coordinator who provides support to all CCC programs in the province; and 4) other community volunteers who provide additional support. Most communities did not have a full complement of these roles, however, and there was also minimal training available for them. For the cadet recruitment process, there were a number of strategies identified, with advertising in schools and word-of-mouth communication as the most prominent. The majority of sites did not focus on recruiting any particular group of youth but accepted all youth who were interested. The major recruitment and retention factors as defined by the program deliverers were the youth's interest in the activities that were offered, the structure and dependability of the program, and the opportunities to socialize with their friends and the RCMP members. The most common activities offered were drill, participation in community events, sports and outdoor games, speakers and life coaching, and field trips. There was also a strong cultural focus to many activities at the majority of the sites. Overall, there was some consistency between how the program was described in the official documentation and how it ran at the individual sites, but there was also a great deal of variation in how each program operated. Many of the sites had only been running for less than three years and were still in the process of establishing regular and consistent program delivery. Program Implementation: Strengths and Challenges A number of factors associated with facilitating and strengthening the implementation of the program were identified, as well as those which may hinder program delivery. Key strengthening factors included in-kind supports and funding from within the community (e.g., from the Band or Tribal Council or local service-providing agencies) which helped supply the necessary resources for regular program operation. Volunteer support, access to transportation, and uniforms also were important resources. In addition, recognition of the cadets' efforts and achievements, and the dedication of the RCMP members, cadet leaders, and cadets themselves strengthened program functioning. With respect to challenges encountered, many communities reported struggling with consistent access to the important resources discussed above, including funding, access to space, uniforms, Evaluation of the CCC 3 and transportation. There also were challenges with maintaining youth attendance and interest in the program, providing programming that could accommodate a diverse age range, and ensuring consistent and dependable program delivery to help keep youth engaged. Cadet leaders encountered difficulties with limited community and parental involvement and support, sometimes leading to burn-out on the part of the cadet leader when a single individual was responsible for the entire program and no one else was available or interested in assisting or replacing them. Challenges for the RCMP members included unavailability due to service calls, lack of interest in participating in the program, and the difficulties of frequent transfers and subsequent interruptions in RCMP members' involvement in the program. The CCC Coordinator also encountered challenges unique to his role in terms of the difficulties of providing support to northern communities while based out of Regina and having no coverage for his position in the event of medical or vacation leave. Program Outcomes At this stage in the program's development, outcome information was limited. The majority of sites have not been in operation for a sufficient length of time for stable program delivery to have been established and for outcomes to have been measured. The program goals are also vague and have not been translated into clear and measurable indicators from either a quantitative or qualitative standpoint. Anecdotal accounts of individual successes for specific youth as well as general perceptions of positive improvements in the youth and to some extent their communities were noted, the majority of which focused on improvements in the youth's attitudes and level of discipline and their relationships with the RCMP. Although at this time these reports cannot be assumed to be generalizable outcomes that are linked in a reliable way to the unique features of the program, they provide insight into