Important public health opportunities to provide prevention and treatment interventions for those impacted by HIV/AIDS and other health problems in correctional facilities have been only partially utilized (Braithwaite, Hammett, & Mayberry, 1996). The current proposal outlines the strategies employed by the Evaluation Program and Support Center (EPSC), a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded initiative, to implement a national cross-site evaluation of seven state grantees (California, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York) who have been funded to enhance their prevention and treatment services surrounding HIV/AIDS in correctional facilities, particularly among ethnic minority individuals.
A preliminary assessment indicates that the incidence rate of AIDS among incarcerated individuals is at least 200% higher than the rate in the general population, which suggests that additional services are needed in the areas of HIV prevention and treatment, discharge planning, case management, and staff training. The EPSC is utilizing a matrix evaluation approach to assess the efforts of the state grantees who are implementing programs that offer these services. This appears to be a useful approach that will shed light on the grantees' ability to engage in capacity building, improved discharge planning, stronger community linkages, and continuity of care between the correctional facility and community-based health and human service providers. This approach offers a practical, yet rigorous method for evaluating a broad range of HIV-related services, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of incarcerated populations and the communities to which they belong. Process and outcome data based on this approach are forthcoming.
Learning Objectives: 1. Evaluate the utility of the matrix evaluation approach to inform a cross-site evaluation of multiple projects. 2. Identify five key components of an evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services to inmates and soon-to-be-released inmates. 3. Identify barriers to implementing and evaluating programs for inmates with HIV/AIDS
Keywords: Evaluation, Jails and Prisons
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.