Actually tracking the net impact, which is done by an independent evaluator and not by us, is relatively easy. They're going to take the data regarding the number of days in the program. Once people leave jail, they're going to track them for two years, count how many of them come back, and count how many days they spend in jail when they come back. They compare those numbers to their comparison group, which is the same-age population over the prior five-year period. So that's pretty straightforward.
But in a situation like that, how do you track whether you're on target to meet those goals? We're looking at whether the program is being implemented with fidelity, because we know that it has worked in the past, so it has to be done in the way it's supposed to be. Then we check the level of participation. How far along in the program are they getting? How many are completing it? How many are getting to step 3 or step 7 in the step-based program? Based on that, we have some analyses we do that tell us whether they appear to be on point to being successful. But, you never know. At the end of the day, the comparison could surprise us.
That's the way we do it.