Search results matching tag 'Evidence-Based Practices'

Research Influencing Policy, A Committee

Eileen Conway — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:30:24 GMT

Many thanks to the Oklahoma DOC's great Corrections News and Research blog for leading us to the activities of a National Academies committee highly relevant to followers of corrections research. The Standing Committee on Social Science Evidence for Use is tasked with addressing "how best to strengthen the quality, use, and utility of social science research, and to lay a solid foundation for the continuous improvement in both the conduct of social science research and its applications to policy." As we consider issues surrounding the influence of correctional research on policy and the quality of that research, we should keep an eye on activities of this committee.

Standardizing Parole Violation Sanctions

CC Pro — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:04:00 GMT

The economic realities of many state budgets has prompted a renewed examination of how corrections systems do business. One of the areas of concern has been the number of costly and time-consuming parole violation hearings that often result in the re-incarceration of parolees (Table 6). Is there a methodology parole agencies can utilize to address parole violations and the accompanying sanctions in a fairer and more proportionate manner? In an attempt to answer this question, two states (California and Ohio) have employed standardized tools that provide a grid of graduated sanctions to assist in parole violation decision making. Standardizing Parole Violation Sanctions, a National Institute of Justice Journal report highlights both states and the possible implications the use of standardized tools may have on a national basis.

A full report on the impact of Ohio's Progressive Sanction Grid is available here. Information on California's Parole Violation Decision Making Instrument (PVDMI) may be found here.

How WSIPP Did It

Eileen Conway — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:41:44 GMT

Fans of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy's 2006 document, Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs, and Crime Rates, will be pleased to know that they have posted a paper extensively describing the methodology behind that report, including some updates. The article, "Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Crime and Criminal Justice Costs: Implications in Washington State," appears in Victims and Offenders, 4:170-196, 2009.

CSG Justice Center Releases Guide to Manage Mentally Ill in Community Corrections

llinke — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:20:00 GMT

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced today the release of a policy and practice guide for managing mentally ill offenders in the community (see attached press release). The publication, Improving Outcomes for People with Mental Illnesses under Community Supervision, was developed with support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the National Institute of Corrections. The guide reviews the body of recent research on community corrections supervision for people with mental illness and translates findings to help officials develop effective interventions. Link on the PDF of the guide above, or limited printed copies of the document are available from the NIC Information Center. More information regarding the mentally ill in corrections is available on the NIC Projects pages and Justice Center's Consensus Project website.

"Women in Corrections" to Meet in Des Moines

llinke — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:59:00 GMT

The National Conference of Women Working in Corrections & Juvenile Justice will be meeting October 26-29, 2008 in Des Moines, Iowa. Twenty-nine workshops (under five major themes), plus an all day session on evidence -based practices and gender responsive research are included in the program. Read more about the conference and registration infomation.

Putting Public Policy on an Evidence-Based Track

Eileen Conway — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Saying that "U.S. public policy has increasingly been conceived, debated and evaluated through the lenses of politics and ideology," the Urban Institute has released an updated brief, Beyond Ideology, Politics, and Guesswork: The Case for Evidence-Based Policy. In just eight pages, the paper succinctly covers several public policy areas, including criminal justice and corrections.

Evidence-Based Practices and the Jails Role

Sandy Schilling — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:22:00 GMT

An examination of the jails function within the correctional system and collaboration among the components to achieve the shared goal of reduced recidivism is the focus of "Our System of Corrections: Do Jails Play a Role in Improving Offender Outcomes?" "This paper was developed as part of a set of papers focused on the role of system stakeholders in reducing offender recidivism through the use of evidence-based practices in corrections" by the Crime and Justice Institute and National Institute of Corrections. The author, Gary E. Christensen, Ph.D., emphasizes that the status quo will not have a long term effect on public safety and that actual outcomes will determine the future path of corrections.

Dr. Christensen was the recognized as the 2007 Jail Administrator of the Year by the American Jail Association. The appendix of this document includes "One Example of a Successful Jail Transition Program: The Dutchess County Jail Transition Program", which is the jail program he designed and developed.

Research-Focused Seminar Posted

Eileen Conway — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:39:39 GMT

Participants in this forum may be interested in presentations just posted by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections' Institute for Excellence in Justice from the quarterly seminar they hosted last month. Titled Community Corrections: Ensuring Results Through Evidence-Based Practices, the seminar leads off with a presentation by Edward Latessa on Improving the Effectiveness of Correctional Programs Through Research. Other speakers include Judy Sachwald on Using Research to Improve Outcomes, and James Wilson on Correctional Programming and Research Design. Video of the presentations is available through Ohio State University's Knowledge Bank.

Evidence-Based Practices Tool Kit for Community Corrections

CC Pro — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:39:00 GMT

The term "evidence-based" is used widely in describing effective interventions in fields ranging from medicine to corrections. But what is the definition of and the guiding principles that indicate whether individuals and agencies are engaging in proper decision-making for the treatment and supervision of their clients? The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Ohio Institute on Correctional Best Practices, Institute for Excellence in Justice has provided a clear and concise best practices tool kit for community-based corrections professionals that answers these and other questions. This report also highlights the polices and practices of jurisdictions that have adopted an evidence-based model for operations and supervision. Report here.

Hot Best Practices Tool-Kits

Eileen Conway — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:22:00 GMT

The Institute for Excellence in Justice has been very busy this week, catching up on posting the Best Practices Tool-Kits out of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's Ohio Institute on Correctional Best Practices. New on the site are tool-kits addressing "Faith-Based Programming, Reentry and Recidivism," "Offender Job Readiness and Job Retention," "Employing Ex-Offenders after Release from Prison," "Sex Offender Assessment and Treatment," and "Sex Offender Registration and Notification."