This article reports on a process evaluation that sought to determine whether the Swift and Certain Probation program in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, faithfully implemented the HOPE probation model as planned.
Although outcomes for HOPE and HOPE-like probation programs have received a good deal of attention in the literature, there is arguably less focus on implementation of those programs with fidelity to the HOPE model. In the current evaluation of the implementation of the Swift and Certain Probation program in Louisiana, the degree to which it was implemented with fidelity to the HOPE model was tested by using the list of elements laid out in the Demonstration Field Experiment (DFE) Final Report. The evaluation observed the Swift and Certain Probation program for 2 years and found that it is being implemented with fidelity across many, but not all, of the elements of HOPE. The article concludes with a discussion of lingering issues for both the implementation and evaluation of HOPE and, especially, HOPE-like programs. (publisher abstract modified)