An Evaluability Assessment of a School-Based Prevention Program: Promoting Evaluation Capacity Building

The criminal and juvenile justice fields have increasingly emphasized evidence-based practices (EBPs) and data-driven decision making. Despite notable progress in developing EBPs, their systematic adoption remains limited, and resources continue to be allocated to programs lacking empirical support. A key barrier in advancing EBPs is the prevalence of unevaluated or unevaluable programs. Evaluability assessments offer a promising, cost-effective strategy for addressing these challenges by determining a program's readiness for evaluation and enhancing evaluation capacity, a crucial precursor to outcome evaluation. This case study presents an evaluability assessment of a school-based prevention program utilizing document review, stakeholder engagement, and participant data. The evaluability assessment focused on articulating the program's theory, gathering feedback on program theory, and determining feasibility of an outcome evaluation. Findings provide practical insights into the value of evaluability assessment for strengthening evaluation capacity in school settings and informing the broader effort to identify and sustain effective delinquency prevention strategies.