Over the last few years, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD) has renewed and reformed the residential programs for youth placed under its custody. Some of these programs aim at serving youth with histories of serious offenses by providing rehabilitative services locally, enabling families to be involved in the youth’s rehabilitation process. Other programs take a trauma-centered approach to rehabilitation. Using quasi experimental methods, and exploiting rich administrative data, TPL will conduct a rigorous evaluation of residential placement programs for youth in Harris County.
This evaluation is currently in the research design stage and will be executed once required sample sizes are achieved.
This project is part of our long-term partnership with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD), in which we aim to quantitatively characterize the multiple decisions that affect the youth in the system, rigorously evaluate programs and services, and identify racial disparities throughout the system. Our research will directly inform HCJPD leadership, as well as other stakeholders, such as the Harris County Juvenile Board, as they implement policies, changes, and programs to achieve their vision for youth justice in Harris County.