Final Report on the Evaluation of the SAGE Project's LIFESKILLS And
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The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Final Report on the Evaluation of the SAGE Project’s LIFESKILLS and GRACE Programs Author: Marcia I. Cohen, Mark C. Edberg, Stephen V. Gies Document No.: 234464 Date Received: May 2011 Award Number: 2005–MU–MU–0003 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. FINAL REPORT ON THE EVALUATION OF THE SAGE PROJECT’S LIFESKILLS AND GRACE PROGRAMS June 30, 2010 Prepared for Office of Research and Evaluation National Institute of Justice 810 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20531 Prepared by Marcia I. Cohen Mark C. Edberg Stephen V. Gies Prepared Under NIJ Grant #2005–MU–MU–0003 Development Services Group, Inc. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800E Bethesda, MD 20814 www.dsgonline.com Development Services Group, Inc. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. FINAL REPORT ON THE EVALUATION OF THE SAGE PROJECT’S LIFESKILLS AND GRACE PROGRAMS June 30, 2010 Prepared for Office of Research and Evaluation National Institute of Justice 810 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20531 Prepared by Marcia I. Cohen, Principal Investigator Mark C. Edberg, Co–Principal Investigator Stephen V. Gies, Senior Research Analyst Prepared Under NIJ Grant #2005–MU–MU–0003 Development Services Group, Inc. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800E Bethesda, MD 20814 www.dsgonline.com This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S Department of Justice. ii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Final Report: Evaluation of the SAGE Project’s LIFESKILLS and GRACE Programs Abstract The SAGE Project, Inc., is a nonprofit organization in San Francisco that operates two commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) intervention programs: LIFESKILLS and GRACE. Both programs operate from the philosophical approach of harm reduction, which emphasizes peer education and skills development. Participants in LIFESKILLS are younger (under 18) and are either involved in CSE or considered at high risk for sexual exploitation. The LIFESKILLS program offers case management, support groups, and referral services. Length of stay for LIFESKILLS girls ranges from 4 to 14 months. GRACE participants are older (adults) and have been arrested for prostitution. Most GRACE program clients are court-ordered to participate for a minimum of 25 hours of group services. This study used a four-phase participatory evaluation design that employed both quantitative and qualitative components. The two qualitative components (phases 1 and 4) used interviews with staff and program participants to assist in operationalizing variables for the evaluation, identifying process and outcome measures, and developing program logic models. The quantitative evaluation followed a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design to assess a set of outcomes (phase 2). The principal data sources included baseline and follow-up surveys and official arrest records. The process evaluation (phase 3) integrated both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess whether the program was well designed and implemented as intended and involved an examination of services, management, staffing, information systems, and case files. The key findings: 1. The SAGE Project succeeded in reducing contact with the criminal justice system of both the LIFESKILLS and GRACE groups. The GRACE group had significantly better outcomes for CSE involvement and PTSD symptomology, while the LIFESKILLS group had significantly better outcomes for sexual assault victimization, educational aspirations, self-efficacy, and employment attitude. The program made no significant impact on substance abuse, commitment to school, most measures of victimization, and social support for either group. 2. Girls and young women typically track along one of four risk-related trajectories, on the basis of whether they are a) from ‘risk saturated’ communities, b) from troubled suburban families, c) from immigrant families, or d) becoming involved proactively, without (at first) many of the overwhelming risk factors present for the other trajectories. 3. While a LIFESKILLS curriculum with a good theoretical foundation exists, fidelity to a model is lacking, and it has not been sufficiently formalized, operationalized, and documented. This report offers recommendations for improving both programs such as, eliminating population mixing, increasing staff training, matching program activities to criminogenic needs, incorporating cognitive-behavioral treatment activities, incentivizing program completion, and developing an instrument to assess the CSE risk level of each new client. Development Services Group, Inc. iii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Final Report: Evaluation of the SAGE Project’s LIFESKILLS and GRACE Programs CONTENTS Abstract.................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary................................................................................................................ ix 1. Background of the SAGE Evaluation and the Nature of the Problem........................ 1–1 The SAGE Project, Inc. ................................................................................................... 1–2 Research on Commercial Sexual Exploitation ................................................................ 1–5 2. Methodology...................................................................................................................... 2–1 Overview of Methodology .............................................................................................. 2–1 Overview of Four-Phase Approach ................................................................................. 2–2 Phase 1. Formative Evaluation ........................................................................................ 2–4 Phase 2. Outcome Research ............................................................................................ 2–6 Phase 3. Process Evaluation ............................................................................................ 2–17 Phase 4. Generative Interviews ....................................................................................... 2–20 Barriers and Issues That Arose During the Evaluation ................................................... 2–24 3. Formative Research Results ............................................................................................ 3–1 LIFESKILLS Program and Client Background .............................................................. 3–1 GRACE Program and Client Background....................................................................... 3–6 Suggested Evaluation Constructs and Preliminary Indicators......................................... 3–10 Incorporation of Formative Results in the Development of the Quantitative Survey..... 3–12 Logic Models................................................................................................................... 3–12 4. Outcome Evaluation Findings ......................................................................................... 4–1 Baseline Descriptive Data ............................................................................................... 4–1 Summary of Baseline Descriptive Data..........................................................................