Textbook: Vito, G. F., & Higgins, G. E. (2015). Practical program evaluation fo

Textbook: Vito, G. F., & Higgins, G. E. (2015). Practical program evaluation for criminal justice. Waltham, MA: Elsevier.
Directions: Directions: Read Discussion Post 1 and Discussion Post 2 and reply to them with two paragraphs each . Include reference when responding to the discussion posts. Use APA format for reference and include page numbers when citing information. In responding to discussion post make sure they are High Quality Post . Your contributions to each topic indicate your mastery of the
materials assigned. Your responses might integrate multiple views and/or provide value for other
participants’ responses.
Discussion Post1: The program I have decided to review is the Council for Alcoholism & Addictions of the Finger Lakes (CAAFL) in Geneva, NY. 
Goals:
* To reduce the extent of alcohol and other drug abuse in the Finger Lakes;
* To reduce the future incidence of alcoholism and other drug dependence;
* And to minimize the harm experienced in society due to the consequences of abuse and dependence.
Opportunity cost are critical to the planning and implementation of a program.  Planners have to consider the cost of the program being considered and the cost of other programs.  This will allow the planner to better understand the choices between the considered program and alternatives programs. For instance, a community that has a drug issue with teenagers may wish to implement some type of drug education for reduction purposes. The adoption of D.A.R.F. with-out considering other programs (e.g., traditional health curriculum) means that the opportunity for a more cost-effective program adoption may have been lost. In other words, the adoption of D.A.R.E. may make it impossible for criminal justice organization to serve other important needs of a community.  
Cost-benefit Analysis identifies and places monetary values on the cost of programs and weighing these against the benefits of the programs.  A general formula for performing a cost-benefit analysis is to subtract costs from benefits to obtain the net benefits of a program. When the result is negative, this is referred to as net cost.
Lauria (2007) examined the cost-benefit utility of an assigned vehicle program (AVP). The crux of the study was to determine if the benefits of the (AVP) outweighed the cost of the program. The analysis showed that the benefits of assigning vehicles and allowing them to be taken home far outweighed the cost. Allowing officers to take their vehicle home improve police productivity and freed up additional municipal funds because secure parking was not needed.
The heart of Cost-effectiveness analysis seeks to identify and place dollars on the cost of the program (Levin, 1983). In cost-effectiveness analysis, the evaluator links the cost of a program to specific measures of program effectiveness. Generally, a cost of-effectiveness ration provides the information for the analysis. An example of this general ratio is:
Cost-effectiveness ration = total cost/units of effectiveness.
Discussion Post 2: CRI “Community Rehabilitation Initiative” Program Cost Analysis
The criminal justice prevention application I even have chosen for evaluation is the “Community Rehabilitation Initiative” (CRI), which goal is to offer rehabilitative help and reintegration steering to people who have been concerned with the criminal justice system and are recently released from custody (Sedano, 2022). The program offers diverse services, which include transitional housing, employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, and intellectual fitness services, to cope with the particular desires of the target population.
Regarding prices, the CRI program might encompass numerous charges, including “direct and indirect costs, recurring and nonrecurring costs, opportunity costs, hidden and obvious costs, variable and fixed costs, and incremental and sunk costs” (Vito & Higgins, 2014). Direct costs could contain expensesassociated with presenting services, salaries for the body of workers, and operational charges like lease and utilities. Indirect prices, on the other hand, could cowl overhead costs that help service provision, such as administrative charges, equipment, and infrastructure.
Recurring fees in the CRI program could contain ordinary costs like personnel salaries, hiring for transitional housing, and ongoing application payments. Nonrecurring prices could embody one-time charges, consisting of shopping for furniture for transitional housing or obtaining new equipment for this system. Hidden prices within the CRI software may include not immediately apparent prices, like extra education for a group of workers to address unique cases or unexpected legal prices. Obvious charges might be recognizable and easily accounted for within the budget, consisting of basic working charges.
Opportunity expenses for the CRI application could involve the capacity benefits or financial savings that would have been received if assets had been allocated otherwise (Vito & Higgins, 2014). For instance, comparing the cost-effectiveness of different rehabilitation programs within the community to decide the high-quality use of resources. Variable prices might vary based on the extent of service provision, including charges for counseling classes primarily based on the number of clients(Champine et al., 2022). Fixed costs would remain regular regardless of the extent of service provision, consisting of the base salaries of the program team of workers. Incremental charges might constitute each day’s costs necessary for its operation, including the continued fee of substance abuse treatment. Sunk costs could refer to past investments, like the preliminary budget for setting up this program or buying equipment.
Cost-benefit analyses in a potential program evaluation of CRI would use these numerous cost types to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the program. By comparing the advantages achieved through reduced recidivism charges, successful reintegration, and improved community effects to the distinct kinds of expenses incurred, evaluators can decide whether the program is a valid investment. Moreover, understanding the types of costs concerned can resource in resource allocation choices, making sure that the funds are optimally disbursed to deal with the community’s needs correctly. This program’s impact and sustainability can be evaluated and enhanced over time by ethical evaluation, considering confidentiality, informed consent, impartiality, and cultural sensitivity.