A Review of the Status of DMC Efforts in Iowa and Virginia - April 2010

In summary, it seems to us that there is an apparent “disconnect” between the guidance in
the Manual and what states are doing. We see little evidence that Iowa and Virginia are using
RRI values to explicitly target localities and decision points for further examination in order to
specify the mechanisms at work (although a case can be made that Iowa has in effect done this
by virtue of its consistent focus over the years on a handful of localities and its funding of
multiple assessment studies). We see no evidence, from Iowa’s published reports or Virginia’s
assessment study RFP, that “structural factors, such as urban versus rural settings, and the
concentration of racial poverty and inequality” (p. 2-17), have been used to select jurisdictions
for study. The Manual’s recommendation that a statewide DMC assessment is ideal (p. 2-17)
seems unrealistic given the cost and, in some states, local control of the juvenile justice system.
A statewide DMC assessment also seems inconsistent with the notion of using RRIs to focus on
specific jurisdictions and system stages. 11
Finally, we endorse the Manual’s encouraging states and localities “to develop innovative
approaches” to conducting assessments (p. 2-15), but see little evidence of innovation in what
states have done, as illustrated by Iowa’s multiple, multivariate regression analysis assessment
studies over the years and Virginia’s recent assessment study RFP. Again, this is not intended to
be a criticism of these two states. In fact, we would argue that most states’ assessment studies
have used this multivariate analysis approach, and states have perhaps gleaned some useful
information from them. OJJDP may wish to identify for the states what some of these innovative
approaches might be, the kind of data required, and the types of policy implications that can be
drawn from the analyses.
The Manual does suggest another, more practical, assessment study approach in an
example that appears to be taken from the experience in Multnomah County, Oregon. The
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