Abstract
This article presents an assessment of a decision support system (DSS) to assist youth probation officers in selecting their recommendations to the courts. The evaluation employed mixed methods in a sequence of four stages: (1) Qualitative assessment of the impact of the DSS via interviews with senior administrators and analysis of documents; (2) Qualitative assessment of staff responses to the DSS, via focus groups and personal interviews; (3) Quantitative assessment of system utilization, via statistical analysis of data bases; and (4) Quantitative assessment of DSS utilization and its predictors, via administration of a battery of questionnaires to all youth probation officers throughout the country. Quantitative findings showed a low rate of utilization of the DSS by the youth probation officers and this is discussed and interpreted in light of the qualitative information stemming from the interviews.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-14 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Technology in Human Services |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 2000 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors wish to thank the Israel Ministry of Labor and Welfare and ELEM-Youth in Distress, who funded this study; the Forum for Children and Youth Affairs, under whose auspices the study was conducted; and the management and staff of the Youth Probation Service, for their cooperation and support throughout this endeavor.
Keywords
- Computer
- DSS
- Human service
- Probation
- Utilization
