Other Projects

In 2018, Choice Research Associates began encouraging community-based service providers to adapt the Self-Sufficiency Matrix to assess client outcomes. Since that time, we’ve trained a variety of clients on the tool including organizations participating in OVSJG DCRC and Supportive Housing/Housing First programs, PREPARE, St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center 180 Homeshare Program, and the University of Maryland Medical Capital Region Health Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (CAP-VIP).

The SSM captures 19 domains (e.g., housing, employment, food, income, health insurance, family/social relations, etc.) and scores each on a scale between one and five, with lower scores indicating crisis or vulnerability on that issue; and higher scores indicating the client was “building capacity” or “empowered”. CBOs were instructed to obtain SSMs for all new and existing clients beginning in FY18, at intake to the program, and then every 90 days until the client completed the program. (See here for more information about the SSM).

Choice Research Associates was contracted with The Moss Group (TMG) to assist on several projects related to training.

Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) Gender-informed Training Project. In July of 2025, Choice Research Associates began working with TMG to develop participant pre- and post-training assessment tools for the introductory, advanced, and refresher level trainings to be developed by TMG.  The IDOC Gender-informed Training project develops and delivers a communication model that provides corrections professionals with de-escalation techniques and effective communication skills based on gender-responsive best practice and research. The training equips participants with the skills necessary to train facility personnel in methods to prevent escalating situations, manage and deescalate situations, and provide gender-responsive strategies that include a trauma-informed approach.

Improving Institutional Correctional Academy Training Initiative, Bureau of Justice Assistance Training Academy Project. Importance of Outcomes Series.  The BJA Training Academy project, "Improving Institutional Corrections Academy Training Initiative," was designed to expand the understanding of the current state of pre-service and in-service training across jurisdictions. From 2023 to 2024, Choice Research Associates developed a series of three 90-minute webinars on the importance and development of outcomes related to training.  The project sought to move correctional trainings beyond compliance only into value-based outcomes.  Supporting materials included seven resource handouts on a variety of topics including asking the right questions, analytical tools, and pre-test and post-test design. The series was condensed into a single 2.5-hour session and is available here: https://www.mossgroup.us/bja-resources/training-evaluation/

The City of Salisbury Police Department (SPD) engaged Choice Research Associates in 2022 to provide research services to discern the existence of bias-based policing through the analysis of traffic stop data. In addition to the secondary data analysis, the project involves ongoing discussions with SPD leadership and with representatives from University of Salisbury REACH project to frame the overall traffic stop data project and discussion.

Choice Research Associates conducted an empirical analysis of jury trial outcomes in four Maryland jurisdictions funded by the Abell Foundation in Baltimore City. The published study is located here. This study examined 293 cases from a pool of 1,624 unique cases disposed by jury trial in Baltimore City Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard Counties and found jurisdictional disparities after accounting for offense, case, and offender characteristics.

The Felony Threshold Project looked specifically at how changes in the threshold for felony offenses upon passage of the South Carolina Omnibus Act of 2010 impacted public safety. This examination involved two studies. The first, conducted in 2015, reviewed property index crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and the violent index crime of robbery from 1995 to 2013 utilizing an interrupted time-series analysis on monthly state-level UCR data. The study also analyzed crime rates for North Carolina as this was a comparable Southern state that did not adjust its property value thresholds during the same time period. The second study, completed in 2016, examined admissions to prison and the theft dollar values before and after the threshold changed. This study used two primary data sources -- data from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to examine prison admissions and length of stay and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data on crimes reported to police, which includes the dollar value of the item or items stolen.

Choice Research Associates is currently engaged by the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Guide Dog School in Yorktown Heights, New York to conduct statistical analysis of longitudinal surveys completed by graduates of the school over the next 3 to 5 years. Guiding Eyes for the Blind is an internationally accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit guide dog school, founded in 1954. Since its inception, Guiding Eyes has become known for its cutting-edge training programs, commitment to excellence, and dedication to its elite and superbly trained guide dogs. In 2008, the school launched Heeling Autism, a service dog program designed to provide safety and companionship for children on the autism spectrum. Guiding Eyes provides all of its services at no cost, and is dependent upon contributions to fulfill its mission. The organization's Headquarters and Training Center is located in Yorktown Heights, New York, and its Canine Development Center is in Patterson, New York. Choice Research Associates conducted an analysis of a prior graduate survey in 2013, and those results are available here.

Dr. Flower completed evaluations in 2011 of the Workforce Solutions Group of Montgomery County Healthcare Navigator Program. This program provided eligible uninsured adult Montgomery County residents seeking employment services with access to low-cost/no-cost healthcare and/or information about healthcare options. The pilot project was successful and the expansion of the project to a second Montgomery Works! location was funded by Kaiser Foundation. Evaluation activities included development of Access databases to capture process, outcome and client satisfaction data, analysis of existing administrative data, and conducting focus groups and stakeholder interviews.

In 2008, MontgomeryWorks! participated in the Public Private Venture Benchmark Project and requested Choice Research Associates to guide and provide quality control over the data collection, the reporting process, tabulate the results, and provide a summary of issues and recommendations related to administrative databases and challenges in data collection efforts related to the Benchmark project.

The Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) in Kensington, MD provides a variety of services to public housing residents. From 2010 to 2011, Dr. Flower conducted program assessments of three Housing and Urban Development funded Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency programs. Two of the programs focused on provision of employment, education and case management; while the third was an evaluation of utilization and customer satisfaction of a neighborhood drop-in center by public housing residents. Evaluation activities for these projects included coding data from paper files, creating data collection tools to capture additional information and client surveys, analysis of existing administrative data and writing brief reports summarizing the findings.