Evaluation of Project CerclesCat

Abstract

The objective of the program is to be able to have a structured tool or instrument that addresses child-parental violence in the most effective way and best adapted to the needs detected in young people with juvenile justice measures and their families.

The MIRALL program is characterized by three specific and genuine elements:

The implementation of the program with young people is done simultaneously with the LIMITS program that their parents do. The presence in some sessions of the monitor MIRALL, a person who has successfully overcome situations of family violence such as those in which young people find themselves immersed and who has been specifically trained to give his testimony to the young participants. The participation and involvement of the Medi Open technician who refers the young person to the program in three individual sessions and in monitoring the implementation of the exercises and reflections that are proposed to the young people through Facebook. For the research, an action research methodology was used in which, as the program was piloted, it was adapted and adapted to the young recipients. This constant feedback has made it possible to increase didactic effectiveness, young people's motivation and awareness of the problem.

For the validation, different quantitative and qualitative evaluation instruments have been applied and developed - which, at the same time as evaluating and measuring their effectiveness, served to bring improvements to the program -. Some of the procedures used are: the analysis of the criminal recidivism of the young participants and the comparison between those who had completed the program with integrity and those who had not; the comparison of the evaluations of the significant items of the instrument SAVRY (Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth) before and after the realization of the program; the qualitative assessment of the participants, the assessment of the instrument by external expert evaluators and the analysis of the diaries of the sessions.

This evaluation and validation has been able to conclude that the MIRALL program is a useful tool that has a positive impact on the reduction of violence in the domestic sphere and that promotes awareness of the problem both among the young people and the parents who participate.