Sample Document: Choosing an Evaluator

One of the more critical, yet often overlooked and undervalued, tasks that a treatment court must engage in is the selection of an evaluator. Research shows treatment courts that review data and use program evaluations to make operational modifications have almost twice the reduction in recidivism compared to programs that do not. The use of evaluation also leads to greater cost savings and confirms for courts what works in order to align with national best practice standards. With such significant reductions in recidivism correlated with the use of an evaluator and a standing data review process, teams must take the time to carefully consider the scope of work, selection, and use of an evaluator on their team.