Current Projects
Evaluation of the Sacramento County Probation Department Adult Drug Court Treatment Center – The Sacramento Adult Drug Court is part of a nationwide movement of innovation in court systems in the approach to certain types of crime. The first drug court opened in Dade County, Florida in 1989. Since then, the approach has spread throughout the country, spawning new types of “problem-solving” courts along the way. Partly a response to a growing prison population, and also to the perceived link between drug addiction and the development and continuation of other criminal behaviors, drug courts seek to break the recurring cycle by moving away from the traditional adversarial model toward a therapeutic model in which the court takes an active role in the attempt to help offenders get on the path to recovery. Drug court approaches have been shown not only to provide reductions in cost relative to incarceration, but to lower recidivism rates as well. The Sacramento Adult Drug Court has been in operation since 1995. In 2008, the Sacramento County Probation Department contracted with the ISR to begin conducting the state-mandated program reviews of the Drug Court, starting with a report on the 2006 and 2007 calendar years. The first report will provide a basic description of program services, client population served, and treatment outcomes. In subsequent reports, a more in-depth analysis of drug court processes will be added in order to provide detailed feedback on program implementation and specific treatment components.
Survey of Parents of Children Receiving Child Welfare Assistance - The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has developed a comprehensive Program Improvement Plan (PIP) in partnership between the Federal, State, and County governments and public and private agencies regarding the children receiving child welfare. Many of the program improvement goals can be measured by using data from the automated Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS). However, to measure progress toward PIP goals for which CDSS does not have data, CDSS conducts a survey of the parents and foster parents of children receiving child welfare services. The annual survey, using methods that will provide statistically significant statewide quantifiable information, will be used to measure program changes.
First 5 California Annual Report - The California Children and Families Commission (First 5 California) was created as a result of the California Children and Families Act of 1998 (Proposition 10). First 5 California is the lead agency and statewide coordinator charged with facilitating and enacting the goals of this Act pertaining to the development of California’s early childhood population. In order to promote, support, and improve the development process of children within the first five years of life, the Commission has been given the task of establishing, instituting, and coordinating the appropriate standards, resources, and programs to accomplish this mission. First 5 California has contracted with the ISR to conduct its annual evaluation of programs and a fiscal report for presentation to the Governor and the State Legislature. (2006-2007 Annual Report)
California Department of Social Services In-Home Supportive Services Division - Quality Assurance and Hourly Task Guidelines Project - This project is being conducted for the California Department of Social Service to help improve its program supporting in-home services which allows the elderly and disabled needing living assistance remain in their own homes. The ISR’s role in the IHSS Quality Assurance project involves several elements. One portion is to conduct an assessment of training for social workers and its subsequent impact on the work of the participants. A second focus is to help the California Department of Social Services and its Time per Task initiative by collecting and analyzing information from focus groups with those receiving services (consumers), and social workers. A third component is to collect information on the implementation of Time per Task guidelines implemented in the fall of 2006 to help standardize the hours allocated for various services that are provided to the elderly and disabled. In this portion of the project, analysis of data on the number of hours provided to consumers, guideline exceptions, and appeals by consumers regarding the number of hours they have been allocated will be analyzed.
California Election Data Archive (CEDA) - CEDA is a joint project of the Center for California Studies, the ISR and the Office of the California Secretary of State. The purpose of CEDA is to provide researchers, citizens, public agencies and other interested parties with a single repository of local election data. CEDA summarizes candidate and ballot measure results for county, city, community college and school district elections in three separate reports that have been published annually since 1995. Links to the reports, written summaries of results and trends, summary tables, and raw data can be found by clicking here:(Reports)
Evaluation of the California State University-Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program (CSU-LSAMP) - The Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of under-represented minority students successfully completing programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The CSU-LSAMP program was founded in 1994. In November 2003, with the initiation of Phase III of the program, California State University, Sacramento became the system coordinator for the 19 participating CSU campuses. The ISR is responsible for implementation of the project’s evaluation plan, including obtaining and analyzing student and institutional outcome measures. The ISR prepares annual progress reports for campus project coordinators and will produce a final report in October 2008 addressing the extent to which the program contributed to STEM enrollment, STEM degrees and improved individual student performance. The report will also evaluate the program’s contribution to the institutionalization of strategies and pathways that redress barriers to under-represented minority participation in STEM fields.
Annual Sacramento State Survey of Public Opinion and Life Quality in the Sacramento Region - This series of annual telephone surveys began in 2003 and is ongoing. The objective of the project is to assess the opinions of residents in the Sacramento region regarding their overall quality of life and important local, state, and national issues. For the purposes of this study, the Sacramento region includes Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, and El Dorado counties. The topics covered each year vary to reflect current issues including traffic congestion, affordable housing and health care, public education, air-pollution, growth, and the economy. A set of core questions is maintained for longitudinal analysis.