Does My Corrections Program Work? A Missouri Case Study in Impact Evaluation

Hosted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance

How can corrections leaders know whether a program is making a difference?  

Recidivism rates and other data provide clues, but without a control group of people who didn’t participate in a program, they can’t answer the question leaders really care about: Were program participants more successful than non-participants?  

 The Missouri Department of Corrections uses propensity score analysis—a quasi-experimental method that draws on data that agencies already collect—to build a control group and answer that question. This approach helps agencies better evaluate a program’s impact so decision-makers can make more informed decisions.  

 Join this virtual seminar to learn: 

• How propensity score analysis (PSA) works—and when it’s the right tool for measuring program impact  

• How Missouri applied PSA to understand long-term impacts of a community residential program and prison- and community-based substance use treatment programs 

• How your agency can apply PSA 

During the final 30 minutes of the seminar, participants will have an opportunity for discussion with their peers in other states. 

This event is open to anyone but intended for corrections and criminal justice practitioners, including data analysts, research directors, and program evaluators. It’s part of the CSG Justice Center’s Advancing Data in Corrections Seminar Series, which showcases innovative analytics practices to help corrections departments nationwide leverage data for planning and decision-making. 

Other Upcoming Seminars: Cross-Agency Data-Sharing: What Corrections Can Learn from Montana (September 30) 

Speakers:

• David Edwards, Director of Research, Planning, and Process Improvement, Missouri Department of Corrections 

• Sean Hardee, Decision Support and Administrative Analysis Manager, Missouri Department of Corrections 

• David Oldfield, Research Analyst, Missouri Department of Corrections 

All registrants will receive a recording after the event.  

This event is contingent on final approval from the Office of Justice Programs. This project was supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-22-GK-01570-JRIX awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.