Evidence-based policymaking, which relies on rigorous analysis of program results to inform budget, policy, and management decisions, is one strategy gaining support among public leaders who want to reduce wasteful spending, expand successful programs, and strengthen accountability."

Evidence-based policymaking is the systematic use of findings from program evaluations and outcome analyses (“evidence”) to guide government policy and funding decisions. By focusing limited resources on public services and programs that have been shown to produce positive results, governments can expand their investments in more cost-effective options, consider reducing funding for ineffective programs, and improve the outcomes of services funded by taxpayer dollars.

Actionable strategies to inform evidence-based policymaking at all levels of government.

This webpage from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides a list of gang offenders programs, their ratings for effectiveness and a program summary.

The National Gang Center Web site features the latest research about gangs; descriptions of evidence-based, anti-gang programs; and links to tools, databases, and other resources to assist in developing and implementing effective community-based gang prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies.

The program aims to reduce recidivism of high-risk probationers by assigning them to intensive supervision by an officer with a reduced caseload and through the use of evidence-based practices.

Three purposes support this paper: (1) present data to adult drug courts that responded to the NCSC survey; (2) provide a literature review of the scientific evidence that provides the basis for the widely accepted eight evidencebased principles (especially for the risk-needs-responsivity principle (Principle 1) and the evaluation principle (Principle 8); and (3) to provide the survey itself, which although not an evaluative tool, can be used by program staff as an initial step in determining where their court stands in relation to proven principles for program effectiveness.

This study examined how and why girls become gang-affiliated and how and why some girls avoid or leave gang activity. The study includes information about addressing the needs of gang-involved/formerly gang-involved girls and recommends that services recognize the girls’ individuality and provide tailored plans that build on their strengths.

This publication provides practitioners and policymakers with knowledge about why kids become involved in gangs and offers effective and promising strategies that prevent them from doing so.

In this video, hear how four counties invested in evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism and increase public safety with the help of the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative.