Probation Program Research Articles

Firing up and burning out: The personal and professional impact of working in domestic violence offender programmes

The term vicarious or secondary trauma describes the negative impact on professionals' emotions resulting from painful experiences in their practice. This study of practitioners involved in UK probation programmes for domestic violence perpetrators suggests that the emotional consequences are considerable and may differ for male and female practitioners, with potential implications for the nature of their relationships and intervention with men on such programmes. The study also concludes that current training is based on a knowledge base which may be outmoded, and that ongoing support from management and colleagues for staff engaged in this work is insufficient and may be preoccupied with managerial concerns to the neglect of professional practice.

The Emerging Paradigm in Probation and Parole in the United States

ABSTRACT There is an emerging paradigm in probation and parole in the United States. That new outlook encompasses a realization that these forms of supervision of offenders must meet the challenges of an increasing number of parolees and probationers. Recidivism continues to be the primary outcome measure for probation, as it is for all corrections programs. To implement effective probation programs, several steps appear necessary. State lawmakers can enact policies that can institute evidence-based criminal justice policy changes that can better meet the goals of sentencing. There is a need for the redefinition of the purposes of parole revocations.

An Experimental Juvenile Probation Program

In an effort to provide a wider range of services to youth and their families than is traditionally available in routine probation, the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP) employed a team approach to service delivery of an intensive probation program. The researchers interviewed juveniles who were randomly assigned to either the SOCP experimental condition or the control condition of a routine probation program. The intensive probation program, among other goals, focused on improving parent–child relationships and teaching youth how to choose better peers. At 1 year post random assignment, experimental and control youth were not significantly different on key family or peer relationship measures. Level of program intensity, implementation issues, and other problems inherent in doing this type of research are provided as possible explanations for the lack of differences. These null findings are examined in light of the recent movement toward parental involvement legislation.

The effects of an experimental intensive juvenile probation program on self-reported delinquency and drug use

In the late 1990s Ventura County, California, USA, implemented the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), designed to provide intensive, multi-agency services to youth on probation. SOCP built their program guided by Clear’s “corrections of place” model, which argued that community corrections could decrease offender risk by focusing on restorative principles rather than on coercion. SOCP was designed as a randomized experiment, comparing youths in the experimental group with those on routine probation. Researchers interviewed youths in both the experimental and control groups 1 year after random assignment. This article reports on self-reported crime and drug use, finding few significant differences across groups. Specifically, we find that SOCP youths were significantly more likely to indicate that they had committed a violent crime generally, although a majority of both groups indicated they had done so. We found that those in SOCP who robbed people also did so significantly more often than did the comparison group. In the control group, youths reported committing homicide significantly more often, but this was a rare event. Among those youths who reported taking part in gang or posse fights, those in the control group did so significantly more often. Finally, youths in the control group were significantly more likely to have used ecstasy on more days during the previous month than were those in the SOCP.

Understanding and Preventing Criminal Recidivism Among Adults With Psychotic Disorders

Understanding and Preventing Criminal Recidivism Among Adults With Psychotic Disorders

Comparing the Effects of Treatment on Female Juvenile Gang and Non-Gang Members

Most research indicates that males comprise the greatest proportion of gang members. Since the 1990s, however, there has been an increasing interest in female gangs and gang members. The current study builds on this research interest by examining differences between female gang members and non-gang members who participated in a juvenile probation program designed to identify and intervene with youth considered to be high risk for subsequent criminal and delinquent activity. The results of a logistic regression analysis revealed that two factors significantly influenced a female offender's likelihood of being rearrested: she did not complete the program, and she did not live with her natural parent(s). We conclude that the significant results do support findings from previous research in this area; we also discuss possible explanations as to why other factors were not significantly related to rearrests.

Implementing “Corrections of Place” Ideas

Restorative justice has recently become popular among practitioners, but there have been few rigorous evaluations of programs. For approximately 5 years, Ventura County, California, probation staff and other local organizations worked together on the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), a juvenile probation program designed to implement Clear’s “corrections of place” (COP) ideas. The program is evaluated using a randomized experimental design and the results of surveys with youth clients, staff, and the youths’ caregivers regarding the effectiveness of the SOCP in reaching COP-related goals are reported. Results reflect that there were few differences between SOCP clients and routine probationers’ perceptions of their experiences. SOCP staff members were significantly more likely to believe they were reaching COP goals than were routine probation officers. Caregivers believed the SOCP was more helpful than routine probation.

Science, Social Work, Prevention: Finding the Intersections

Over the past 25 years the science of prevention of adolescent health and behavior problems has matured as a result of longitudinal studies of predictors of these problems and controlled studies of preventive interventions focused on those predictors that have revealed efficacious prevention strategies. This article builds on three Aaron Rosen lectures: Aaron Rosen's call for the use of evidence-based practice in the first lecture in this series, Mark Fraser's call for more intervention research in social work, and Claudia Coulton's explorations of Place of Community in SocialWork Practice Research. It documents key developments in prevention science over the past 25 years and explores what these developments could mean for social work education and research over the next few years. KEY WORDS: evidence-based practice; prevention science; research; social work ********** In my early working days, I lived in a rural fishing community off the coast of Washington. I , was the county's juvenile probation officer. I had a position subsidized by the state through the intensive probation subsidy program. That program provided money for probation officers in Washington counties to do intensive counseling with reduced caseloads in hopes of sending fewer young people to state institutions. I mention this here because it was as a probation officer that I first became convinced of the importance of preventing adolescent behavior problems before young people encounter the juvenile justice system. I worked with young people ages 12 to 17 referred for delinquent behavior and drug possession. Over time, I came to see my job as akin to operating an ambulance service at the bottom of a cliff. We were the emergency workers patching up those who fell over the edge. That experience convinced me that we must broaden crime reduction efforts beyond the justice system to include prevention. I will return to the intensive probation program later in this article. Before 1980 there was little evidence that delinquency or adolescent drug abuse could be prevented. School-based drug prevention programs that were evaluated were found to be largely ineffective (Elmquist, 1995; Hansen, 1992; Moskowitz, 1989). Some studies found that school-based drug information programs were associated with increased drug use among teenagers (Tobler, 1986). In 1980 a review of the delinquency experiments conducted in the United States to that year identified nine well-controlled trials (Berleman, 1980). None of them was effective in preventing delinquency. Perhaps the most notable was the Cambridge Somerville Study, a program of wrap-around services for high-risk boys. Dr. Richard Cabot of Harvard believed that the intervention of a friendly, socialized adult with a vulnerable when the child was still young might lead the child to a normal nondelinquent life. In 1935 he funded a nonprofit foundation that sustained the delinquency prevention study for 10 years. Cabot employed community-based counselors who worked predominantly in the field in this economically disadvantaged community. Services were individualized for each and his parents. The model was casework with the individual boy (Berleman, p. 130). Counselors used their practice wisdom to address needs they encountered. The randomized controlled trial of this intervention showed that the program had no effects on police contacts for delinquency or commitments to state institutions. A long-term follow-up of the program conducted by McCord (1992) found that youths exposed to the program were more likely than the control group to develop serious behavior problems, alcoholism, and mental health problems over their lives. The Hippocratic oath requires that physicians never do harm to anyone. This is our responsibility as social workers as well. Our best conceived interventions could do harm. We must evaluate our ideas to know what outcomes they produce. …

Examining Delinquent Nongang Members and Delinquent Gang Members

This study examines differences between juvenile gang and nongang members participating in a juvenile probation program designed to identify and intervene with youth considered to be high risk for subsequent criminal and delinquent activity. After participating in the Multidisciplinary Team Program, both gang and nongang members significantly improved their grade point average, lowered the number of classes missed, and reduced the number of suspensions. Both groups also improved on family functioning and a decrease in reported alcohol and substance abuse. There were also improvements for gang and nongang members concerning subsequent delinquent activity. The results suggest that at some levels, gang affiliation is not an impediment to treatment programming. A limitation to the study was that gang membership was based on self-report and law enforcement identification, which results in false positive and false negative designations. Additionally, the nongang group may have included youths who escaped being identified as gang members.

Are judicial status hearings a “key component” of drug court?: Six and twelve months outcomes

Substantial evidence indicates that drug courts can be superior to traditional probation programs for enhancing treatment retention and reducing substance use and crime among drug offenders. Few studies have isolated the effects of the hypothesized “key components” of drug courts to determine their contributions to outcomes. This article presents outcomes at 6 and 12 months post-admission for misdemeanor drug court clients who were randomly assigned to different dosages of judicial status hearings. Although earlier work [Festinger, D.S., Marlowe, D.B., Lee, P.A., Kirby, K.C., Bovasso, G., McLellan, A.T., 2002. Status hearings in drug court: when more is less and less is more. Drug Alcohol Depend. 68, 151–157] revealed superior during-treatment effects for high-risk participants who were assigned to more frequent bi-weekly hearings, those effects did not extend post-treatment. The results did reveal significant pre-to-post improvements for participants, as a whole, in self-reported drug use, alcohol use, and criminal recidivism; however, lacking a no-drug court control condition, it is not possible to discern the magnitude of the effect of the drug court program. Approximately, half of the participants resumed drug or alcohol use within 12 months of admission to drug court, and approximately 10–15% resumed illegal activities. These findings lend credence to the potential effectiveness of drug courts; however, continuing-care strategies are required to extend the effects of drug courts beyond the initial active phases of the program.

Evaluating an Experimental Intensive Juvenile Probation Program: Supervision and Official Outcomes

In 1996, California provided funding to 14 county probation agencies to implement multiagency, comprehensive services to keep troubled youths from recommitting crime and progressing farther into the justice system. We report results of a randomized experiment used to evaluate Ventura County’s 4-year demonstration project called the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP). We followed youths for more than 2 years after random assignment to SOCP or routine probation. We found no significant differences between SOCP and routine juvenile probationers on recidivism or other official-record outcomes. Although most youths were rearrested, most did not receive a sustained petition or incarceration. The modest additional services did not affect outcomes.

MINOR CRIME IN A QUAINT SETTING: PRACTICES, OUTCOMES, AND LIMITS OF VERMONT REPARATIVE PROBATION BOARDS

Research Summary:We performed the first outcome evaluation of Vermont's Reparative Probation Program by studying a sample of reparative cases terminated in the 2000 calendar year through a content analysis of case files and surveys of victims and community service sites. The evaluation was performed along four goals of the program: that communities are involved, victims’ needs are addressed, communities are restored, and offenders behave responsibly.Policy Implications:The program has been largely successful in meeting its program goals. Community involvement in probation programs with a focus on repairing harm and offender reintegration is growing. The evaluation shows that Vermont Reparative Probation was able to recruit and maintain a large volunteer pool, and involve these volunteers in sanctioning decisions. Whether this can be achieved in other settings, and whether volunteers can effectively work with more serious offenders are important questions for policy. While most cases processed in this program dealt with victimless crimes (such as drunk driving and underage drinking), victims did not participate as much as predicted, replicating results from other board evaluations. Because victim involvement is low, this practice may be less “restorative” for victims than other restorative justice models. Community service was a common sanction, offenders tended to comply with service obligations, and service sites were satisfied by their work. Despite a focus on offender reintegration, regular inclusion of reintegrative tasks, and reasonably high completion rates, this program made little use of effective correctional treatments or tasks that would develop strong attachments to the community.

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Adolescents Who Sexually Offend and Their Families: Individual and Family Applications in a Collaborative Outpatient Program

SUMMARY This article describes an outpatient treatment program for adolescent sexual abusers that was established by a mental health agency in collaboration with a specialized probation program in the juvenile court. Individualized treatment is based on a comprehensive clinical assessment with the youth and guardian, for which examples are provided. Given the heterogeneity of this population, we describe several treatment strategies directed to various individual or family clinical targets, including psychiatric disorders, sexual deviance and sexuality, normal adolescent development and adaptive skills, and parent and family relationships. Ongoing collaborative and coordination issues are also reviewed. The integration of mental health and probationary services provides a balanced approach to the community management and treatment of the low-risk, primarily first-time, adolescent sexual offender.

Horticultural Therapy Improves Vocational Skills, Self-esteem, and Environmental Awareness of Criminal Offenders in a Community Corrections Setting

At the Lamar County Adult Probation Program in Paris, Texas, a three-year study (Spring 2001-Fall 2003) involving 376 probationers was conducted to investigate the rehabilitative effects on probationers of a horticulture vocational training program. Data were collected on 189 adults who were randomly assigned to a horticulture group doing greenhouse plant production and vegetable gardening activities. The horticulture group was compared with 187 adults who were in a non-horticulture community service group doing trash clean-up and janitorial work. Within the horticulture group, significant improvement occurred in horticultural knowledge (KSU General and Specific Horticulture Exams), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and environmental awareness (Environmental Response Inventory). These changes did not occur within the non-horticulture community service group. Future research will examine recidivism rates and vocational placements of probationers from both groups.

An analysis of the relationship between probation caseloads and property crime rates in California counties

Each year more offenders are sentenced to probation than to any other sanction in the criminal justice system. In spite of the saliency of probation programs, the evidence is mixed concerning their effectiveness. In order to address this important gap in the research, the authors sought to determine if probation was effective in achieving one of its stated goals: protecting public safety. In doing so, they conducted a macro-level analysis, exploring the relationship between probation caseloads and property crime rates in each county in California over a nine-year period. Results from a two-way fixed effects regression model suggested that as probation loads increased, so did crime. While additional research into the effectiveness of probation is clearly needed, the results of the analysis nevertheless indicated that improvements in public safety could be expected if probation caseloads were reduced.

Monitored Probation: A Program That Works

Universities have recognized student attrition as a problem for some years, and measures to improve this critical issue are being sought. One such effort used at Lamar University is the Monitored Probation (MP) program. The MP program is a comprehensive early intervention academic retention program intended to assist with the academic success of students who have been placed on academic probation or suspension. This article describes this multi-component program and includes evaluative data on two groups of freshmen on academic probation, a group of probationary General Studies students on monitored probation and a group of non-General Studies probationary students as the control group. At the conclusion of the year in which the interventions occurred, statistically significant differences were found in grade point averages between the two groups and in satisfaction with their university experiences.

A recidivism analysis of Maryland's community probation program

This study employed a type of quasi-experimental research design that compared a sample of offenders who underwent community supervision (HotSpot) with a matched sample of offenders who underwent “normal” probation supervision (presample) in Maryland. In addition to examining the recidivism pattern of both offender groups, specific attention was also devoted to the potential inhibiting effects of social bonds. Twelve months of recidivism information was collected to include both rearrest and technical violations. Results suggested that the survival distribution (for both rearrest and technical violation) of HotSpot probationers was not significantly different from the survival distribution for pre-HotSpot probationers. In addition, probationer's level of “stakes in conformity” served to inhibit both measures of recidivism, suggesting that offenders with more social bonds were less likely to incur a rearrest or citation for a technical violation. Theoretical and policy implications are highlighted, as are directions for future research.

Ten Models for Probation Supervision Compared Across Eight Dimensions

ABSTRACT The literature on probation services for adult offenders points to significant differences in their basic assumptions, policies, and practices. It describes a variety of probational practices and offers a range of suggestions for ideal probation programs. This paper attempts to organize the range of theoretical and actual programs under ten alternative models, which differ from one another in their underlying perception of the causes of crime and philosophy of punishment, in the aims they assign to probation, the clients they envision for change and protection, their basic strategies, and the role of the probation officer. The models can serve as an aid in defining, characterizing, and comparing the wide variety of approaches to probation along the same dimensions, in locating and identifying any changes in approach, and in defining a desired probation policy or practice.

Forgiveness and public deliberation: The practice of restorative justice

It is not easy to define the way we should be angry, with whom, about what, for how long. (1) Introduction Is forgiveness a social good that communities can further through mediated public dialogue between victims of crimes and offenders? Though commonly and rightly thought of as dependent upon personal feelings, in particular dependent upon the deliberate relaxing of the feeling of resentment, forgiveness has communicative and social dimensions. (2) These dimensions of forgiveness are at the forefront of the theory and practice of the restorative justice reform movement. Originating in just a few states in the 1970s, restorative justice programs are now quite common at the state and local level in the United States, handling mostly property offenses and minor assaults committed by juveniles. (3) The goal of restorative justice is to foster, through voluntary public dialogue, interpersonal reconciliation between victims and offenders as well as social reconciliation between offenders and the community. Trained facilitators encourage victims to express their feelings and to communicate to offenders the impact of their acts; facilitators also elicit communication from offenders about their life-situations and about their feelings of remorse or shame. The social dimension in restorative justice is furthered, in some programs, by the participation of community volunteers who symbolize the community's interest in reconciling victim and offender and in reintegrating offenders. The restorative justice movement is of interest to political theorists and ethicists because it raises key questions about the link between public dialogue and positive emotional states like the relaxing of resentment experienced in forgiveness. Though we understand how public dialogue contributes to clarification of practical choices, we know much less about how it helps us transform our emotional responses toward others. (4) The movement is interesting, too, as a challenge to general normative theories of criminal justice. In the first part of the paper, we analyze the theoretical justification for restorative justice, develop the central ideal of restorative communication, and outline the public procedures required for this ideal. In this section, we describe the views held by restorative justice theorists without assessing their philosophical soundness or their empirical validity. Then we briefly turn to one case description of restorative justice, Vermont's reparative probation program. In both sections we are guided by simple questions: What is the ideal of restorative communication at the heart of theories of restorative justice? Why is such communication needed? What are its goals, exactly? What are its practical requirements? What is the function of its public, community-oriented dimensions? Our description of the goals and structure of Vermont's attempt to institute restorative communication leads, in the third section of the paper, to a more general discussion of the implications of seeing forgiveness as the central goal of criminal justice. Even if restorative justice theorists are right that forgiveness is a social good we can foster through public deliberation, just how important is this good? Is forgiveness in tension with other goods we wish to pursue through the criminal justice system? We believe that we should announce our objectives up front. Restorative justice is a multifaceted critique of mainstream criminal justice theory and practice, a critique with which we are partly sympathetic. Further, we see the ideal of restorative communication, and especially the goal of greater public participation in criminal justice administration, as rich theoretically and worthy of more empirical study. Our analysis and case description are meant to help focus such empirical assessment of restorative justice programs. Nonetheless, we are inclined to be quite skeptical as to whether the criminal justice system should seek to place forgiveness and restoration ahead of other objectives. …

An evaluation of a private alternative probation and counseling program: Predicting program outcomes from client characteristics

The purpose of this evaluation was to determine if client characteristics affected selected program outcomes. The sample consisted of 475 clients admitted into a for-profit, private alternative probation and counseling program between November 1, 1998 and February 28, 1999. Multiple regression analyses identified race, previous alcohol and drug treatment, and employment status as significant predictor variables of client compliance. Being able to target client characteristics that are associated with successful program outcomes can help programs fulfill their goals of diversion and costeffectiveness, thus making the most effective use of scarce resources.