TMS to Partner with Johns Hopkins University School of Education in Measuring Success of Violence Intervention Program

Since 2006, we have partnered with a myriad of organizations – including school districts, non-profits, and businesses – to support their leaders and teams so that they meet their goals and achieve success.

TMS, Inc. is partnering with the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University to conduct a third-party evaluation of the Maryland Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (VIPP) Implementation. While the CCRE takes the lead in evaluating VIPP grantees’ program implementation and efficacy, CCRE researchers will turn to TMS’s expertise to analyze expenditures and cost-effectiveness of various components of the program’s implementation. A third partner First Pic, Inc, will provide prevention programming subject matter expertise for this project. This third-party evaluation will measure program effectiveness as implemented by the six current VIPP grant recipients. 

The evaluation will be based on criteria established by the U.S. Department of Justice and will focus on four evaluation goals to provide a composite review of VIPP-funded programs:

  • A strong methodology that accounts for all variables, while collecting substantial data samples from which to draw conclusions

  • Provide an analysis of how the recipients utilized the VIPP funding

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the VIPP-funded programs in Maryland and make recommendations for future funding efforts to promote program sustainability. This will include measuring the level of satisfaction of constituents that obtained services from and participated in VIPP programming, and will also make recommendations for future efforts to meet their needs.

  • Incorporate a quality control component that will provide strength-based feedback and programmatic support (including database development as needed) to VIPP funding recipients in efforts to reduce rates of gun violence.

In analyzing program cost-effectiveness and return on investment (ROI), TMS will be involved in all areas of the project.

“While the research is valuable in and of itself, our role in looking at the ROI on this program’s implementation will directly help improve the program for current and future communities that benefit from VIPP,” said Andy Paquette, CEO of TMS. “It takes a wide variety of skill sets to look at a complex program like the VIPP, and the combined expertise of the CCRE, First Pic, and TMS makes for a team that can make a real difference. We’re excited to be a part of this.”

This is not the first time Johns Hopkins University’s CCRE has turned to TMS for assistance in evaluation finances, cost effectiveness, and ROI as it relates to community and educational reform. The CCRE engaged TMS’s expertise to work with Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in their initiative to remove barriers and create opportunities in public education. TMS was selected to work on this project because of its expertise in school and organizational business and financial management, and extensive experience in working with school districts and communities.

“Our depth and breadth of services combine with a team approach to bring best practices to bear on every challenge the education, nonprofit, and private sectors face.”  Paquette said. “We become an embedded part of the team, and will work as if this organization is our own.”