Community Corrections Staff Research Articles

Psychological Flexibility Training for Community Corrections Staff: A Pilot Project Examining Impact on Burnout

ABSTRACT Corrections staff experience high levels of stress due to large caseloads and difficulty managing the challenges of being both a rule enforcer and agent of behavior change. These factors can contribute to myriad professional and personal challenges including burnout. Very few existing interventions have been examined to improve burnout in community corrections staff. The current study examined the impact of a brief psychological flexibility training (PFT) program for burnout among community-based corrections staff. This novel program was based on principles of acceptance and mindfulness and delivered via 3 virtual sessions over 8 weeks. This pilot test of PFT was conducted with a sample of corrections staff (N = 99) by collecting pre-intervention and follow-up data on self-reported psychological flexibility and burnout. Results indicated that burnout decreased from pre-treatment to follow-up, and psychological flexibility increased. Levels of psychological flexibility at follow-up predicted decreased burnout. This small exploratory pilot indicates that PFT has potential for improving psychological flexibility and burnout in corrections staff.

Gender-Responsive Probation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Justice-Involved Women and Their Supervising Officers

ABSTRACT In the Spring of 2020, the COVID19 pandemic forced community corrections agencies to adapt their day-to-day processes for supervising individuals and maintaining public safety. These forced adaptations allowed the authors to explore how these changes (i.e., tele-supervision) impacted women and those who supervised them at a probation agency in a large metropolitan county in a Western U.S. state. To date, limited research surrounds how COVID-related adaptations impacted gender-responsive, or women-centered, community supervision caseloads. To address this gap in the literature, the current study utilizes a qualitative approach to explore the experiences of 17 community corrections staff and clients on gender-responsive probation supervision during the pandemic. Their narratives suggest both positive outcomes (e.g., accessibility, reducing tendencies to over-supervise) and challenges (e.g., accountability, lacking a relational component) with tele-supervision and tele-treatment models. It is critical to utilize the lived experiences of those directly impacted by COVID-related changes, including community corrections staff and clients, to help shape gender-responsive supervision moving forward.

Workplace Safety: Perceived Dangerousness Versus Experienced Fear Among Community Corrections Personnel

Little research has assessed community corrections staff members’ perceptions of the dangerousness of their job or experiences that make them fear for their safety. Although not the same as a prison environment, there are nonetheless dangerous aspects of working with probationers and parolees in community corrections. The purpose of this study is first to determine predictors of both perceived dangerousness and experienced fear among a sample of probation/parole officers and residential officers. Then we assess the differential impact of perceived dangerousness and experienced fear on the negative workplace outcomes of burnout (comprised of three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment), secondary trauma, job stress, and job satisfaction. The findings indicate both overlapping and distinct predictors of perceived dangerousness and experienced fear. Also, higher perceptions of job dangerousness were associated with lower job satisfaction, while more experienced fear was related to greater emotional exhaustion and secondary trauma.

The Role of Education on Workplace Outcomes among Juvenile Justice Personnel

Prior research on workplace outcomes among both institutional and community corrections staff has typically included education as a control variable, but few studies have specifically focused on the role education may play in determining job-related experiences of staff members. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the impact educational attainment and perceptions of the adequacy of educational training have on several workplace outcomes (i.e., burnout, secondary trauma, job stress, job satisfaction, work family conflict, and job orientation). Based on survey data collected from nearly 300 juvenile probation and detention officers working in the Midwest, results from the OLS regression analysis indicated that having a college degree had significant effects on job satisfaction and job orientation (i.e., punishment, rehabilitation), while perception of educational training adequacy predicted depersonalization, personal accomplishment, job stress, and rehabilitation orientation. Both methodological and workplace implications of these results are discussed.

Beyond narcan: comprehensive opioid training for law enforcement

ABSTRACT Background Local law enforcement in Tippecanoe County Indiana identified a need for training to be better prepared for encounters with people that were using opioids. In response, an interactive video series was created to provide comprehensive opioid education. Methods The video scripts were reviewed by content experts for clinical accuracy. The videos include people from the recovery community and law enforcement. Community Corrections staff participated in pilot testing of the videos by completing a pre-viewing survey, post-viewing survey, and a six months follow up survey. Results The videos were shown to effectively increase knowledge about opioids, increase confidence in working with people using opioids, and reduce some stigma. Significant stigma still existed related to people in healthcare and education using buprenorphine (Suboxone) for medication-assisted treatment. Some of the largest increases in knowledge were related to the pharmacological action of naltrexone (Vivitrol) and opioid use by pregnant women. Conclusions This pilot test of the publicly available Pathways to Recovery: Training Modules for Opioid Use Disorder shows that it can be an effective training tool for law enforcement seeking to improve interactions with people that use opioids. Further study among a variety of law enforcement is recommended.

The Impact of Individual Factors, Job Characteristics, and Organizational Variables on Job Stress and Job Satisfaction Among Community Corrections Staff

Community corrections (e.g., probation, parole, halfway houses) is the largest correctional placement in the United States, yet little research assesses community corrections staff experiences with job stress and job satisfaction. The purpose of this article is to extend the literature on community corrections officers by assessing the influence of individual factors, job characteristics, and organizational variables on both job stress and job satisfaction. In general, we found that the influence of individual factors and job characteristics differed for job stress compared to job satisfaction. Similarly, the impact of organizational factors on these outcomes also differed, although this was contrary to our expectations. Finally, job stress had a negative effect on job satisfaction and organizational factors had a larger impact on both job stress and job satisfaction, compared to individual and job characteristics. Our results provide a number of possible areas for departments to focus on in order to reduce job stress and increase job satisfaction among probation/parole and residential officers.

Tempered Radicals: Considering Street-Level Community Corrections Officers and Supervisors’ Divergence from Policies

Every day, community corrections staff make complex decisions in an uncertain environment, affecting their workload, supervisees, and public safety. These micro-level decisions have the cumulative potential to influence the overarching goals of the organization as well as probationers themselves. While focal concerns theory is a well-developed explanation of decision-making in courts and policing, within the community corrections context, scholars have only applied the framework to specific reforms or decisions. Using ethnographic data from a community corrections agency and a grounded theory approach we extend the focal concerns perspective, and uncover how and why frontline supervisors and officers diverge from an array of policies. A spectrum of policy divergence themes emerge suggesting collective action between staff and policies. Findings reveal emergent rationale for why staff make micro-level divergent decisions, and how the collective action of officers and frontline supervisors serves as tempered divergence, ultimately altering the implementation and fidelity of policy.

Burnout among Community Corrections Officers: Do Supervisor and Coworker Support Matter?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that predict burnout among community corrections staff, with a particular focus on the impact of supervisor and coworker support. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, we evaluated the impact of supervisor and coworker support, individual attributes, job characteristics, and workplace perceptions on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among our sample of nearly 300 probation/parole and residential officers. Additionally, we assessed which set of variables (support, individual/job characteristics, or workplace perceptions) had the greatest impact on each measure of burnout. Our results indicated that supervisor support negatively impacted emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but that coworker support was not significant for any of the three burnout measures. Additionally, models predicting emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were somewhat similar, whereas the personal accomplishment model was significantly different. Lastly, workplace perception variables had a stronger influence than individual/job characteristics or social support variables on all three burnout components. However, social support had a greater impact than individual/job characteristics for depersonalization and personal accomplishment.

Supervision Strategies and Their Correlates: An Empirical Study of Chinese Community Correctional Staff.

While there are different approaches to dealing with offenders sentenced to community corrections, the three major ones are law enforcement (surveillance), therapeutic (rehabilitation), and crime opportunity prevention. Using the study of U.S. community corrections staff by Miller as a guide, the current study examined the supervision strategy used by Chinese community corrections staff in the Hubei province of China. Chinese community corrections staff were more likely to use the therapeutic and crime opportunity prevention approaches than the law enforcement model. Predictors of each of the three offender supervision approaches differed. The results from Chinese staff were similar in many ways to that found among U.S. staff reported by Miller but differed in some areas.

The influence of work–family conflict on job stress among two groups of community corrections staff

ABSTRACTThe negative individual and organizational impact of job stress is well documented for institutional correctional officers. One known predictor of job stress in this setting is work–family conflict. To date, however, no literature has assessed this relationship among community corrections staff. The purpose of this study was to determine if work–family conflict predicted job stress not only for probation/parole officers but also for residential (i.e., half-way house) staff members. Using data collected from an anonymous online survey of probation/parole and residential officers, we found that work–family conflict had a direct effect on job stress, but this relationship was conditioned by job position. Specifically, a significant interaction effect and models separated out by job position suggested that work–family conflict contributed to greater feelings of job stress for probation/parole officers but not for residential officers.

Impact of Workplace Factors on Role-Related Stressors and Job Stress Among Community Corrections Staff

Community corrections staff are responsible for supervising more than 4 million offenders nationwide; yet, little research exists on understanding their experiences with role-related stressors and job stress. The purpose of this study was to extend the existing community corrections literature by examining the impact of job characteristics, danger-related factors, and role preference on role-related stressors (i.e., role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload) and job stress, with a focus on determining whether the relationships varied across specific job positions (i.e., probation/parole vs. residential). Results indicated that each type of role-related stressor was differentially affected by job characteristics, danger-related factors, and role preference, and that these relationships also differed by position. Threat of harm was a significant predictor of each type of role-related stressor for probation/parole officers, but only had a significant effect on role overload for residential officers. Furthermore, safety training had significant effects on role ambiguity and role overload for residential officers, but was not a significant predictor of any role stressor for probation/parole officers. Role preference was significant for both positions, but only for the role overload variable. Most surprisingly, the only variable to predict job stress was role overload.

Risky business, risk assessment, and other heteronormative misnomers in women’s community corrections and reentry planning

This article uses ethnographic and interview data to explore how halfway house and community corrections staff in a women’s halfway house in the northeastern region of the U.S. police women’s sexuality and the ensuing complications of being queer and under supervision. In this setting, women are required to create a Reentry Home Plan that is approved by Community Corrections Officers, putting into tension some women’s newly emerging queer identity and/or nonnormative relationship schema that they see as “healthier” and more stable than heterosexual relationships, with Probation or Parole Officers’ heteronormative ideals that disapprove nontraditional home plans. This study shows how these women negotiate a marginalized sexual identity and resist biased forms of heteronormative surveillance that extend beyond the legislative parameters of community corrections supervision. It also illustrates the tensions between correctional staff, who view residents’ nonnormative relationships as potential sources of risk, and the supervised women, as they develop community release plans.

Enhancing probation practice and safety with smartphone applications

As technology continues to improve and become more intertwined with our everyday activities, more and more opportunities present themselves for using technology to enhance the work that we do. This article outlines the introduction of Samsung smartphones to a large number of the Department of Corrections’ workforce, as well as giving details on two applications that are being used to improve the day-to-day operations and safety of our community corrections staff in New Zealand. In early 2014, The New Zealand Department of Corrections rolled out Samsung smartphones to over 3000 staff, to aid them with their day-to-day work operations. The idea behind providing staff with smartphones was to allow staff to use their work email and calendar on-the-go, as well as to access the internet when out of the office. The introduction of smartphones represented a marked leap forward in staff mobility and productivity.

To Carry or not to Carry: Predictors of Support for Allowing Probation/Parole Officers to Carry Firearms

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to explore predictors of community corrections staff’s opinions on allowing probation/parole officers to carry firearms on the job. Using a sample of nearly 300 probation/parole and residential officers, the authors analyze the role of demographic factors, job characteristics (e.g., job tenure), and workplace perceptions (e.g., dangerousness, threat of harm) in determining opinions on this issue. Findings indicate that predictors of support for firearms carrying among probation/parole officers differ by gender and tenure, as well as by perceptions of job dangerousness and role orientation.

Secondary trauma among community corrections staff: An exploratory study

ABSTRACTThis article explores the demographic factors, background characteristics, and workplace perceptions that predict secondary trauma among probation/parole and residential officers. Our results indicate that probation/parole officers were more likely to report secondary trauma than residential officers. Additionally, we found that officers who reported better health, better job training, and fewer contact hours with offenders were also less likely to report secondary trauma. These results fill a much-needed gap in the literature, as well as provide information that may be utilized by the department of corrections to minimize symptoms of secondary trauma among community corrections staff.

A cluster randomized trial of an organizational linkage intervention for offenders with substance use disorders: study protocol.

BackgroundSubstance use disorders are highly prevalent in community correctional populations, yet these settings frequently are ill-equipped to identify and refer offenders to community-based treatment services. In particular, community corrections staff are often opposed to the use of medication in addiction treatment because of inadequate knowledge, resources, and organizational structures to facilitate client linkages to evidence-based services.Methods/designEach of the NIDA-funded Research Centers recruited 2 criminal justice agencies to participate in the study. Eligibility rules required study sites that were focused on community corrections (i.e., probation or parole), had few or no formal relationships with treatment providers for referring clients to medication-assisted treatment, and had no state or local policies prohibiting such relationships. Sites under the oversight of the same parent agency were eligible only if they were in geographically distinct catchment areas, and could be assigned to different study arms without cross-contamination at any level. The 18 clusters consisted of community corrections officers and their offender caseloads nested within agencies, each of which was partnered with at least one community-based substance abuse treatment program. Randomization was blocked by Research Center, within which one cluster was randomly assigned to a training-only condition (comparison) and the other to training followed by a strategic organizational linkage process (intervention). Line staff received a scientifically-grounded, systematically-delivered training session that addresses gaps in existing knowledge, perceptions, and information about medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and local availability of MAT services. Key decision-makers subsequently were asked to collaborate in a strategic planning process to enhance formal and informal linkages between criminal justice agencies and local MAT providers. It was hypothesized that the two implementation intervention components together would be more likely than staff training alone to improve the process of referring opioid- and alcohol-dependent adults under community supervision to appropriate addiction pharmacotherapy. Outcomes were measured at the client (referrals), line staff (attitudes), and organizational (linkage) levels.DiscussionThrough closer collaboration among criminal justice agencies and treatment providers, improved linkages to effective substance abuse treatment should yield significant clinical, public health and public safety benefits.Trial registrationClinical Trials gov registration number NCT01344122.

Practitioner Compliance With Risk/Needs Assessment Tools

This study examines practitioners’ compliance and noncompliance with risk/needs assessment tools, using a national survey of frontline community corrections staff. Focusing on respondents required to complete tools and make decisions based on them, analysis showed that tools were mostly filled out when required, but decisions were not always based on the tool result. Latent class analysis suggests about half of the tool-using subgroup were “substantive” compliers who completed tools carefully and honestly and tended to use them for decision making. The remaining tool users were “formal” in their compliance: filling out the tools, but often making decisions that did not correspond with tool results, and in some cases even manipulating the information included in them. Multivariate analysis suggests that practitioners’ belief in risk/needs tools, agency monitoring and training, perceptions of agency procedural justice, and agencies’ projected confidence in their local risk/need tool may help explain patterns of compliance and noncompliance.