Major
Sociology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2023
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The two lead agencies for the A2J initiative – The Resurrection Project (TRP) and the Westside Justice Center (WJC) – have led the efforts to collect and organize the programmatic data from the many community partners. In the Winter of 2021, the Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago began a collaborative research partnership with TRP, WJC, and the entire network of A2J agencies with the broad goals of a) developing a system and process to best harness the data currently being collected and to b) begin to develop an evaluative understanding of the impacts of the A2J initiative in Illinois. Key to understanding the impact of the A2J initiative is the ongoing and collaborative development of programmatic outcomes (and reliable ways of measuring outcomes) that extend beyond services provided directly to clients. While measures like numbers of screenings, case openings, and navigator presentations are of course crucial to evaluating the impact of the A2J initiative, they cannot completely capture the impact that the initiative is having on communities in Illinois or the field of legal services and community organizations that work with immigrants and justice-involved individuals. Understanding the impact of the work will help to inform both future programming and policymaking by all stakeholders. Because CURL is a collaborative and participatory research center, this creation and initial implementation of an evaluation plan has been co-created with the funded agencies. This report is the next step in the process and will be followed up with conversations with grantees and IDHS leaders to help frame the results in the context of programming and policy goals. A further report based on that feedback will then be drafted. There is great work being done through A2J and the data that reflect that work is being impressively collected and should be shared widely within the network of A2J and beyond.
Community Partners
The Resurrection Project, Westside Justice Center, and All Access to Justice Grantees
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Center of Urban Research and Learning: Amanda Ward Assistant Research Professor, Alex Quigley Undergrad Fellow Student Researcher, Andy Estrada Undergrad Fellow Student Researcher
Supported By
Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), The Resurrection Project, Westside Justice Center
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Illinois Access to Justice Project
The two lead agencies for the A2J initiative – The Resurrection Project (TRP) and the Westside Justice Center (WJC) – have led the efforts to collect and organize the programmatic data from the many community partners. In the Winter of 2021, the Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago began a collaborative research partnership with TRP, WJC, and the entire network of A2J agencies with the broad goals of a) developing a system and process to best harness the data currently being collected and to b) begin to develop an evaluative understanding of the impacts of the A2J initiative in Illinois. Key to understanding the impact of the A2J initiative is the ongoing and collaborative development of programmatic outcomes (and reliable ways of measuring outcomes) that extend beyond services provided directly to clients. While measures like numbers of screenings, case openings, and navigator presentations are of course crucial to evaluating the impact of the A2J initiative, they cannot completely capture the impact that the initiative is having on communities in Illinois or the field of legal services and community organizations that work with immigrants and justice-involved individuals. Understanding the impact of the work will help to inform both future programming and policymaking by all stakeholders. Because CURL is a collaborative and participatory research center, this creation and initial implementation of an evaluation plan has been co-created with the funded agencies. This report is the next step in the process and will be followed up with conversations with grantees and IDHS leaders to help frame the results in the context of programming and policy goals. A further report based on that feedback will then be drafted. There is great work being done through A2J and the data that reflect that work is being impressively collected and should be shared widely within the network of A2J and beyond.