ABSTRACT
In the 1960s, evaluation research came into prominence as millions of dollars were allocated for social programs. Today, legislation establishes the necessity of evaluating federally funded programs to ensure their accountability. On the local level, law enforcement and corrections administrators are routinely obligated to conduct evaluations of publicly supported programs. Such evaluations provide decision makers with information to determine how effectively criminal justice programs are achieving their intended goals and whether funding should continue. In short, they want to know what the programs accomplish, what they cost, and how they should be operated to achieve maximum cost effectiveness.
