NIJ has video available of Dr. Rebecca Campbell speaking at one of their symposiums on her research regarding SANE programs and their impact on the criminal justice system.

This discussion is broken up into four segments:

1. A background of SANE programs and how they affect prosecution of sexual assault.
2. A description of Dr. Campbell's research on SANE programs and whether they increase prosecution rates of sexual assault.
3. Interviews with law enforcement officers, judges and sexual assault survivors about their experiences with these programs.
4. Information on a toolkit that Dr. Campbell developed for SANE program practitioners.

It should be noted that Dr. Cambell and her colleague Dr. Debra Patterson are the evaluators for the sustainability project, as well.

You can watch the videos here.

OVC is holding a free evaluation overview webinar this Friday, August 21st from 1-5pm ET. Apologies for the late notice, but I just found out about it myself. Preregistration is required. Sadly, I have no other information, but I registered for it this morning.

BTW, the site says to register by 8/14--I was able to successfully register anyway. I wouldn't wait too long, though.

Tomorrow, Dr. Rebecca Campbell will be in Seattle to talk about the impact of SANE programs on case prosecution. Evaluating program efficacy is a tricky issue. And while I encourage programs to define success in healthcare terms and not criminal justice terms (patient-centered, not prosecution-centered), there's certainly worth in considering how one discipline impacts another. I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of some of her latest research on the topic. Until then, you might want to check out her evaluation toolkit: Step-by-Step Practitioner Toolkit for Evaluating the Work of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs in the Criminal Justice System. The document is somewhere in the vicinity of 145 pages, so I'm not suggesting you sit down and devour the document in its entirety (at least not in one sitting). But if you've been wondering about whether your program is having the impact you think it does, or you're trying to determine how to define success for your program, you might find some helpful answers within its pages.

Dr. Campbell and her colleagues break the toolkit into 4 sections:

1. The first section provides a basic overview of conducting program evaluation with SANE programs. This includes sample evaluation questions for assessing the different domains of SANE’s work.
2. The second section provides an introduction to the many ways SANE programscreate change in their communities, with a particular emphasis on the impact of SANEs on the processing of sexual assault cases through the criminal justice system.
   
3. The third section is a step-by-step explanation of a specific type of evaluation your program can conduct: an evaluation of whether your SANE program has impacted the progression of sexual assault cases through the criminal justice system in your community.
   
4. The last section illustrates how your evaluation work (discussed in the previous section) can translate into ideas for community action. If you did find a positive impact on case progression through the criminal justice system, the rest of the
   Toolkit will help you to understand what you are doing well that should be continued and made to last. If you didn’t find a change, the rest of the Toolkit will help you understand what improvements can be made to change the criminal justice system response to sexual assault in your community.

Evaluation is an intimidating concept, but this toolkit is specifically written for SANEs (how often do I get to say that!), so it really speaks to our work and the realities of the role. You can also find the report that accompanies the toolkit on the NCJRS site (and the summary document here [PDF]).

Logic models are one of those things that are great to have available when writing grants or engaging potential donors, but they can be a challenge to create. I think the process of putting together a logic model can be daunting. The details can feel overwhelming and complicated at first glance. In all actuality, logic models can actually simplify things, creating an illustration for the good results we see and why those good results occur. As the Fieldstone Alliance points out, the practical benefits of having logic models are:

1. They help you understand why something works
2. They tell the story of your program quickly and visually
3. You can apply the models theories to new and related problems

Fortunately, there are a lot of good resources available to provide some guidance.  When I created my 1st logic model, I used the Kellog Foundation logic model guide, and it served me well. It's still my go-to resource on the topic. However, I was pleased to see that the Fieldstone Alliance has a simple page about creating logic models, which serves as a great introduction.

You can also find information about logic models on a few other sites:

• University of Wisconsin--Extension Program Development & Evaluation
• The Free Management Library
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DOJ)
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Evaluation Working Group

I love getting an opportunity to peruse other people's work on the topic of sustainability. And the nice folks at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS) have obliged me by publishing their Sustainability Toolkit for Grassroots Programs (PDF). The toolkit is specifically geared toward community- and faith-based programs (and ones centered around substance abuse and mental health treatment, at that), so obviously some of the ideas outlined in the kit will require a broader read.

The toolkit is broken down into 6 sections:

• Introduction
• Organizational Assessment and Readiness
• Effective Marketing Strategies
• Financial Management
• Sustainability Strategies
• Results-Oriented Evaluation

Best of all, it's rife with charts, timelines, exercises and other tools, many of which feel very relevant to the work we do. A caveat, though--as with so many sustainability tools, this one is primarily about funding. And as you may have learned, sustainability is about much more than just money. Collaboration and recruitment/retention certainly contribute to the sleepless nights of many a coordinator. I'll touch on those topics this week, as well.

Thanks, Sally for this tip!

Evaluating your program can be daunting. It's an overwhelming concept for many, and just knowing how and where to start is challenging. But there are many good resources out there to make evaluation a bit less intimidating, so today's post will introduce a few of those.

• The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has an online evaluation toolkit. Within it are 2 documents that I have turned to frequently: the Evaluation Handbook and the Logic Model Development Guide. Definitely bookmark this site.
• The Free Management Library's Basic Guide to Program Evaluation is a good read. Although the page is a bit cumbersome, there's a lot worth viewing. When you're done reviewing it, head over to their planning checklist.
• Over at VAWNet you can find Taking Stock: A Practical Guide to Evaluating Your Own Programs. Not healthcare- or sexual assault-specific, but many of the concepts are adaptable to our work, particularly for community-based programs.
• FRIENDS, the National Resource for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, also created an online evaluation toolkit. The thing I like best about this site is its link to the logic model builder. A fun toy if you're at all wonky like me.

Did we leave out a resource you find invaluable for program evaluation? Please add it in the Comments section below!