Aboriginal Courtwork Program, Summative Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION


1.  INTRODUCTION

1.1. Purpose of the Evaluation

The Aboriginal Courtwork (ACW) Program was developed to address the unique challenges faced by Aboriginal people dealing with the justice system. The main purpose of the Program is to ensure that Aboriginal people charged with criminal offences receive fair, equitable and culturally sensitive treatment by the criminal justice system. To achieve this objective, Aboriginal courtworkers assist Aboriginal people to understand their rights, responsibilities and obligations and help them to better understand the nature of the charges against them and the philosophy and functioning of the criminal justice system. Furthermore, they work with justice officials on enhancing the awareness and appreciation of the values, customs, languages and socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal people. They also respond to problems and special needs caused by communication barriers which exist between Aboriginal people and those who are involved in the administration of the criminal justice system. And lastly, they work closely with programs, agencies and leaders in the community.

The ACW Program began in the early 1960s. Several studies had revealed particular challenges faced by Aboriginal persons charged with criminal offences such as a sense of alienation from the administration of justice, a feeling of futility, and a limited knowledge of their rights and obligations as well as court procedures and the resources available to them. In addition, justice officials often failed to understand Aboriginal people and issues. Federal financial support for the Program began in 1969. By 1978, the ACW Program was an ongoing cost-shared program between the federal and provincial/territorial governments. In 1987, the Program began providing services to Aboriginal youth. ACW Programs currently operate in eight provinces (all but P.E.I. and New Brunswick) and in all three territories.

A formative evaluation, completed in 2007, focused on management, process and data collection as well as reporting issues. This summative evaluation addresses the ongoing relevance, success and cost effectiveness of the ACW Program. The specific evaluation issues that were defined for the summative evaluation are listed below.

Table 1: Listing of Evaluation Issues and Questions

Relevance:

Does the ACW Program continue to be consistent with departmental and government-wide priorities, and does it realistically address an actual need?

Success:

To what extent has the ACW Program been successful in achieving its immediate and intermediate outcomes?

To what extent has the ACW Program been successful in achieving the final outcome?

To what extent does the attrition rate for Aboriginal courtworkers impact on the success of the Program?

Cost effectiveness and Alternatives:

Are the most appropriate and efficient means being used to achieve the ACW Program objectives, relative to alternative design and delivery approaches?

1.2. Method of Evaluation

This evaluation was undertaken in two phases. The purpose of the first phase was to complete a detailed work plan which was then implemented in the second phase of the evaluation. In the second phase of the evaluation, an extensive field research program was undertaken which included:

A detailed document review of program reports.

This involved a review of the results of a recent literature review conducted for the Program [1], other documents that relate to the ongoing need for the ACW Program, budget and expenditure information, and annual provincial plans and performance reports where available. The information was summarized to prepare a profile of the ACW Program.

Field visits to eight communities located in seven provinces and territories

including Eskasoni Reserve, Nova Scotia; Goose Bay, Labrador; Toronto and London, Ontario; Whitehorse, Yukon; Kuglugtuk, Nunavut; Lac La Biche, Alberta; and Duncan, British Columbia. The communities selected for field visits included a cross section of rural, urban, northern and Atlantic communities. The primary objective of the visits was to undertake job shadowing of Aboriginal courtworkers to observe and describe the services delivered as well as learn of specific examples where Aboriginal accused are able to make better informed decisions regarding their cases before the courts. In addition, the field trips provided opportunities to meet with various stakeholders.

A survey of 99 Aboriginal courtworkers.

A project Website was established through which 30 Aboriginal courtworkers completed and submitted a questionnaire online. In addition, personal and telephone interviews were conducted with a sample of 69 courtworkers.

Personal and telephone interviews with 93 judicial and court officials.

This sample included 21 judges, 11 judicial assistants, 22 Crown lawyers, 24 defense/Legal Aid lawyers, and 15 others including court clerks and parole officers.

Interviews with 28 representatives from the delivery partner organizations.

These key informants included 4 representatives of Justice Canada, 11 provincial and territorial government partners and 13 representatives of SDAs.

Personal and telephone interviews with 34 stakeholder representatives.

These stakeholders included representatives from 18 AJIs And 16 other community stakeholders. The list of stakeholders was developed based on suggestions from Justice Canada, provincial/territorial partners, and other stakeholders.

A review of the results of the adult Aboriginal accused survey which was conducted and analyzed separately.

A total of 901 adult Aboriginal accused responded to the survey. The results of the client survey were integrated into the other evaluation findings. Of the 901 clients, 57% are from an urban area and 43% are from a remote area; 74% of the clients are male, 25% are female, 1% was not identified; 68% of the clients had previous convictions and 24% had no previous convictions while the status of 8% of the clients is unknown; 39% of the clients were receiving services from the courtworkers for the first time and 52% of the clients had received services more than once while it is unknown whether the remaining 9% had previously received services.

In total, interviews were conducted with over 250 representatives. A summary of the number of stakeholders interviewed by province or territory (excluding federal representatives) is provided below:

Number of People Interviewed by Province or Territory

Number of People Interviewed by Province or Territory

[ Description ]

Some of the factors that contributed to differences in the number of people interviewed per region included the size of the Program (e.g., the number of courtworkers), the number of names available, provincial/territorial partners and other stakeholders, and the willingness of local representatives to participate. Quebec did not participate in the summative evaluation but did participate in the Aboriginal accused survey.

1.3. Structure of the Report

This document is divided into four chapters. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the ACW Program. Chapter 3 provides the findings of this evaluation regarding relevance of the Program, the services provided by courtworkers, resulting impacts and effects, factors affecting the success of the Program, and opportunities for improvement. Chapter 4 provides the conclusions arising from the evaluation of the ACW Program.

[1] Scott Clark Consulting Inc., Literature Review for the Aboriginal Courtwork Program, 2007. Department of Justice Canada.