The purpose of this project was to determine whether adult sexual assault cases in a Midwestern community were more likely to be investigated and prosecuted after the implementation of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program, and to identify the "critical ingredients" that contributed to that increase. The authors found that case progression through the criminal justice system significantly increased pre- to post-SANE, in that more cases reached the "final" stages of prosecution (I.e., conviction at trial and/or guilty plea bargains) post-SANE. The findings of study indicated that the SANE program has been instrumental in the creation of more complete, fully corroborated cases.  A step-by-step toolkit for evaluating the work of SANEs in the criminal justice system is also availalble.

Systems Change Analysis of SANE Programs: Identifying the Mediating Mechanisms of Criminal Justice System Impact