ProDES is an outcome-based information system that tracks every Philadelphia delinquent in the juvenile justice system and measures program outcomes, irrespective of the location of the program. Developed as a joint venture between the city's Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Crime and Justice Research Center, its primary focus is program development. That is, ProDES provides programs and the system as a whole with a continuous flow of intermediate (changes during the program) and ultimate (recidivism and community adjustment) outcome information.
FAQ's
How does ProDES obtain its data?
What outcomes does ProDES measure?
What has been achieved with ProDES?
- To facilitate the development of intervention programs for delinquent youths.
- To facilitate planning of the entire array of delinquency services provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice Services.
- To facilitate the rational matching by probation officers and judges of adjudicated youths to programs that can meet their needs and the needs of the community.
How does ProDES obtain its data?
ProDES comprises a four stage case tracking system with data collection at discrete points in time:
- Following disposition at Family Court, data are collected from the Court's 'J' File.
- Staff assessment and self report data are collected shortly after the juvenile first enters the program.
- Shortly before the juvenile is discharged from the program, repeated measures of the staff assessment and self report variables are collected, as well as information on the juvenile's behavior in the program and the types of services provided by the program to the specific youth.
- Six months following discharge, an interview is conducted with the juvenile and parent/caregiver and court records (including adult records) are checked for any new petitions resulting from new arrests.
- ProDES provides DHS, Family Court and the treatment programs with individual summary sheets on all juveniles at the points of intake, discharge and follow-up.
- Semi-annual program outcome reports are provided to each of the juvenile treatment programs. These reports are also provided to the Department of Human Services and to Juvenile Probation.
- Year-end reports are provided on the system as a whole and topical reports on key issues are provided periodically.
What outcomes does ProDES measure?
- Program completion and length of stay
- Academic achievement and in-program behavior
- Completion of community service and restitution orders
- Changes in School Bonding and Family Bonding
- Changes in Values and Self Esteem
- Self reported behavior and attitudes six months after discharge from the program, and
- Recidivism, including offense characteristics.
What has been achieved with ProDES?
- Specific programs have been helped in terms of reducing AWOL rates, increasing program completion, identifying subgroups of youths who are not responding to the program, and clarifying the need for better intake screening.
- The ProDES typology is now used to evaluate program outcomes for different types of youths. Programs receive information on the classification of each new youth within four weeks of intake.
- Our analyses of female delinquents resulted in an increase in residential program resources for girls.
- Increases in substance abuse have been exposed by our analyses of system-level trends. Additionally, ProDES analyses highlighted the critical importance of parental substance abuse and family disorganization in the design of adolescent substance abuse programs.
- ProDES was chosen as one of the 25 best innovations from a field of 1609 in the prestigious Innovations in American Government competition sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Ford Foundation. The American Correctional Association gave ProDES an honorable mention in its 1998 publication, Best Practices: Excellence in Corrections. ProDES has also been cited in recent federal and foundation publications as a model evaluation system.
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