A number of factors have led to the growing interest in Community Assessment Centers (CACs). These include fragmented and overburdened systems, long-term cycling within the justice system, high juvenile crime rates, lack of immediate and effective interventions, and large incarcerated populations. After review of potential CAC programs in operation throughout the country, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP) initiated a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide funding and technical assistance to sites wanting to create or further develop their CACs. Four sites received funding: two planning sites in Lee County, Florida, and Denver County, Colorado, and two enhancement sites in Orange County, Florida, and Jefferson County, Colorado. The National Council of Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) began its evaluation of the four assessment centers in 1997. The five components of the model used to evaluate the sites, which are described in Chapter 2 of this report, include context, identification, intervention, linkages, and goals. Chapter 3 of the report examines the planning for and development of community assessment centers in the two planning demonstration sites in Denver County and Lee County. In reference to the lessons learned from these planning sites, three concepts emerged: that planning should be collaborative and inclusive, that it was best to start small, and that it was important to identify goals. Chapters 4 and 5 review the Jefferson County Juvenile Assessment Center and the Orange County Juvenile Assessment Center. In Jefferson County, the main lessons that emerged from the CAC experience include: the need to acquire more stable funding, the need to develop consistent policies for data entry, and the importance of determining the validity and reliability of the assessment tools. In Orange County key leaders from different service agencies stated that there is more collaboration as a result of the CAC. In chapter 6, the summary and conclusion section, it is argued that the preliminary evaluation found many positive effects of the CACs on integration, collaboration, and juvenile justice functioning. References