SMART Office Grant for Juvenile Treatment Progress Scale Development and Implementation

With this solicitation, the SMART Office seeks applications for funding the development and validation of a dynamic assessment tool for juveniles who commit sex offenses designed for use by professionals in measuring treatment needs and progress toward completion.

The project objectives include:

• Develop and validate a scale that incorporates dynamic (needs) factors that assesses a youth’s progress in meeting treatment goals and treatment completion.
• Incorporate the scale into a cognitive-behavioral treatment program and train providers on its use.
• Evaluate the implementation, impact and efficacy of incorporating the scale into the treatment program.
• Implement the scale in up to two sites and validate the scale in each.

Applicants may validate an assessment scale currently available in the field or develop a tool for the purposes of this solicitation. A justification for the tool selected should be made and included in the proposal.

Site Selection

The assessment scale should be validated in up to two sites that are geographically and demographically diverse. The sites should have a minimum of 300 – 500 youth that can be included in the project. The applicant should provide evidence of the sites’ case flow and population of juveniles who have committed sex offenses. The sites should have automated data and information systems in place capable of tracking juveniles who commit sex offenses in the study. Evidence of these data systems and their capabilities should be described in the application. Applicants may include financial incentives in their proposed project budgets to encourage site participation. The sites selected to participate in the project will not receive additional funding from the SMART Office to implement the validated assessment scale or to develop a tool.

Applicants are encouraged to include a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letter of Intent from each site detailing their commitment to participate in the project in their submitted application. This document should be provided to SMART before an award is made. A special condition will be attached to the award stipulating that the grantee may not obligate, expend, or drawdown any project funds until SMART has received an MOU or Letter of Intent from the participating sites.

The selected grantee will be responsible for the following activities:

• Work collaboratively with the selected sites to incorporate the scale selected or developed for this project into a cognitive-behavioral treatment program and train providers on its use.
• Work with the selected sites to track and document the implementation of the assessment tool.
• Evaluate the implementation, impact and efficacy of incorporating the scale into the treatment program.
• Verify the data infrastructure and data collection capabilities of the selected sites, and provide training on data-related issues, if applicable.
• Report and disseminate interim and final project results.

Project Deliverables and Other Project Activities

The following deliverables will be submitted to the SMART Office at the end of the project period:

• A final report and an executive summary that details (1) the development or modification and validation of the assessment scale, (2) the implementation, impact and efficacy of incorporating the scale into the treatment program, (3) significant findings, (4) any significant policy implications and lessons learned, and (5) a general description of the methods used and activities performed.
• A copy of the treatment needs and progress assessment scale developed for the purposes of the project or the existing tool implemented and validated for the project as well as all corresponding and relevant materials.

Applicants are encouraged to submit a copy of the assessment tool to be used for this project if it has been developed or is in use at the time of application.

Other expected deliverables for this project include:

• Monthly conference calls with the SMART program manager to review progress and address issues.
• Bi-monthly progress reports to keep SMART apprised of the current status of the project. Additional information about the content of the progress reports and their due dates will be provided once an award is made.
• A final progress report and a task activity summary will be submitted at the end of the performance period. The task activity summary shall address activities undertaken to achieve completion of this project.
• Data sets resulting from this research will be submitted as a product or deliverable for archiving, if applicable.