Probation and Parole

This guide is designed to “lay out the context, summarize the key issues, highlight the recent research, and provide suggestions about where to find more extensive and detailed resources” about special populations parole boards may have contact with (p. xiii). Seven chapters are contained in this

“This paper provides suggestions and examples about how these key decisionmaking functions of parole [which offenders participate in which programs, when, and for how long] can be shaped to target resources effectively according to the principles of risk, need, and responsivity” (p. viii). Sections

Individuals involved in making sure their parole agency’s goals are being met need to read this paper. It provides guidance for a paroling authority in “defining its vision and mission, assembling information and resources to accomplish its goals, and putting into place appropriate management and

New parole board members and parole executives should read this publication. It “examines information emerging from research on evidence-based practice and decision-making in parole and the implications of these findings for paroling authorities” (p. viii). 

Five chapters comprise this document: 

• evid

New parole board members and parole executives should read this publication. It will introduce them to the core competencies they need to have to effectively execute their public responsibilities. Chapters cover: the broad context of parole work-parole’s function, purpose, and role in the criminal

A “framework that identifies the characteristics and competencies that paroling authorities must have to be effective in implementing evidence-based practices in the context of transition programs and services” is presented (p.8). These sections follow an executive summary: introduction; the impact

"In recent years, interest in high-quality parole decision-making has grown significantly. Paroling authorities are under considerable pressure and subject to substantial public scrutiny as they strive to reach high-quality parole decisions that ensure public safety. In this context, the Legal

The legal liabilities that probation and parole officers face as they perform their duties are explained. Chapters comprising this publication are: an overview of state and federal legal liabilities; civil liability under state law-state tort cases; civil liability under federal law-Section 1983

This guide is designed to “lay out the context, summarize the key issues, highlight the recent research, and provide suggestions about where to find more extensive and detailed resources” about special populations parole boards may have contact with (p. xiii). Seven chapters are contained in this

Individuals involved in making sure their parole agency’s goals are being met need to read this paper. It provides guidance for a paroling authority in “defining its vision and mission, assembling information and resources to accomplish its goals, and putting into place appropriate management and

New parole board members and parole executives should read this publication. It “examines information emerging from research on evidence-based practice and decision-making in parole and the implications of these findings for paroling authorities” (p. viii). 

Five chapters comprise this document: 

• evid

New parole board members and parole executives should read this publication. It will introduce them to the core competencies they need to have to effectively execute their public responsibilities. Chapters cover: the broad context of parole work-parole’s function, purpose, and role in the criminal

"Although home visits are seen as a critical tool employed by probation officers, recent evidence demonstrates that home visits are rarely conducted, even for high-risk offenders who might benefit from them the most ... Because there are costs (such as probation officer time and safety risks)

“The goal of this training program is to provide community corrections officers with information on strategies they can use to enhance their interactions with and services to crime victims. By the conclusion of this training participants will be able to: 

• describe the impacts and implications of

The issue of “offender-funded” probation services is an under-reported and often unknown element of the criminal justice system in the United States. This report is essential reading for anyone interested in the current state of corrections. “Every year US courts sentence several hundred thousand

The impact of evidence-based training on the level of probation officers’ (POs) knowledge of “what works” in effective interventions and also on the POs’ attitudes about providing better service are examined. This study shows that “the training had an immediate effect on several indicators regarding

Access to eight fact sheets “on topics related to crime victims and victims’ needs throughout the community corrections process” is provided. Topics covered are: The Role of Community Corrections in Victim Services; Collaboration and Partnership for Victim Services in Community Corrections; Family

This study’s purpose was to “determine the extent to which people on probation and parole contribute to the demands on the resources of local law enforcement, and to identify what opportunities exist to use data to target their limited resources more effectively” (p. 3). Some of the findings show

The legal liabilities that probation and parole officers face as they perform their duties are explained. Chapters comprising this publication are: an overview of state and federal legal liabilities; civil liability under state law-state tort cases; civil liability under federal law-Section 1983

Few studies have investigated factors that contribute to the mental health of probation and parole officers (PPOs). Addressing the needs of supervises with serious mental illness (SMI) can create unique challenges for PPOs, which in turn may increase job-related stress and impact PPOs’ mental health

This is a great article explaining how and why community corrections officers experience traumatic stress on the job and related efforts to address this problem. Sections cover: stress-it comes with the job; number of primary traumatic incidents for officers-28% experience four or more incidents

"Almost half of the 195,809 federally sentenced individuals in the Bureau of Prisons are serving time for drug trafficking offenses, but little is known about their criminal histories or the nature of their offenses. This brief examines both, finding that many people in federal prison for drug

"The current study focuses attention on a previously understudied topic - transportation deprivation in women offenders. This is a timely and important endeavor given the scale of mass incarceration, number of women on probation and parole, and the numerous barriers women with a criminal record face

“The outcome evaluation [for the Women Offender Case Management Model (WOCMM) implemented in Connecticut probation] focuses on determining whether participation in the project reduces future involvement in the criminal justice system as measured by recidivism over a fixed length follow-up period

This brief "discusses an effort in Texas to divert youth with suspected mental health needs away from juvenile justice processing. The Front-End Diversion Initiative (FEDI) uses specialized juvenile probation officers to link these youth and their families to community services and divert these

This is the first "thorough systematic scan of the U.S. to determine the extent to which these [risk assessment] tools have been adopted across the country" (p. 1). Sections of this report address" statewide uniform assessment; layered/regional assessment; locally administered assessment; and design

“This report articulates 10 essential elements for all probation interventions that involve people with mental illnesses, regardless of the particular program model” (p. vii). The essential elements are: collaborative planning and administration; defining, identifying, and assessing a target

“This guide is organized around policymakers’ common questions about people with mental illnesses under community corrections supervision and the type and effectiveness of strategies designed to respond to this population” (p.3). 

Sections include: 

• executive summary; 
• introduction; 
• the extent and

The assessment, treatment, and risk management of persons who have sexually offended is of considerable interest to a wide variety of stakeholder groups, including legislators and policymakers, court and law enforcement personnel, corrections and community supervision staff, mental health clinicians

Results are presented from "a national survey of stakeholders invested in the successful reentry of adults convicted of sexual offenses ... The survey findings reveal variability regarding the extent to which respondents’ beliefs about various sex offender-related matters align with current research

“The Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS) is a statistically-derived dynamic measure designed to aid clinicians, correctional caseworkers, and probation and parole officers in assessing risk, treatment and supervision needs, and progress among adult males who have been

“This report chronicles the racial disparity that permeates every stage of the United States criminal justice system, from arrest to trial to sentencing. In particular, the report highlights the influence of implicit racial bias and recounts the findings of the burgeoning scholarship on the role of

"While victims are not the primary client for you as a tribal probation officer [TPO], you are in a unique position to provide them with critical information and link them with services. This bulletin is designed to provide TPOs with a brief overview of victims’ rights, tips to help coordinate and

"This fact sheet is designed to serve as an overview of two family tools that help people visualize the connections within families and the connections families have to their community: genograms and ecomaps. This fact sheet also provides ideas for tribal probation officers about how they can

Anyone working with Native American offenders should read this article. Its purpose is to "increase the level of understanding of correctional professionals about how the responsivity issues of Native American (NA) individuals can be effectively addressed. NA offenders are involved in criminal and

"[D]irection to tribal jurisdictions interested in conducting a justice system assessment for the purposes of addressing systemic issues raised in the development of detention and correctional facilities" is provided (p. 7). This guide is comprised of the following sections: introduction; what a

"This report compiles-in a convenient format-the results of a yearlong research project on the laws relating to probation revocation in 21 American states. By leafing through the four-page “legal profiles” presented in this volume, readers can easily see how much variation exists in statewide laws

In order to ensure that limited jail and prison beds are maintained for high-risk offenders while lower-risk offenders are placed in more effective and cheaper options, the Louisiana legislature passed a law that limits the incarceration time of first-time probation or parole violators to 90 days.

"Racial and ethnic disparity is pervasive in the American criminal justice system. This is particularly stark for blacks, who despite constituting just 13 percent of the US population, account for 30 percent of adult probationers, 37 percent of jail inmates, 38 percent of prisoners, and 40 percent

The author describes the experiences of probation and parole agencies from across the country that worked with NIC on developing innovative approaches to probation and parole violations and revocations. The document identifies critical issues emerging from these experiences, and discusses the impact

"Hawai'i’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) Hawai'i’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement probation relies on a regimen of regular, random drug testing tied to swift and certain, but modest, sanctions to motivate probationer compliance. In two 2007 studies in Hawai'i, a comparison

The “effectiveness of early termination as a measure that permits probation offices to focus supervision resources on persons most likely to recidivate, without compromising the statutory purposes of probation and supervised release” is examined. There is only a 5.9% new arrest rate for offenders

“A risk-based Incentives and Sanctions program is an evidence-based intervention where supervising officers apply sanctions or rewards in response to specific behaviors of the offender. The goal is to increase positive behavior change related to behavior such as reducing drug use or applying for

“Most assessment systems target high-risk offenders. However, standard risk and needs assessments do not necessarily identify needs that are truly criminogenic for each individual; nor do they address responsivity. This is because these systems do not inherently identify either specific strategies

"The New York City Department of Probation (DOP)-the second largest probation department in the country-is advancing a process to infuse evidence-based policies and practices (EBPP) throughout the organization ... What is significant for the purpose of this story is that the Federal agencies were

Results are presented from a comprehensive Probation Review of Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish. These are especially helpful if your probation department is considering revamping operations in order to achieve better efficiency and reduced recidivism. Sections of this report include: implementation

This report describes efforts of Kansas to implement justice reinvestment-"a data-driven approach designed to reduce corrections spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can reduce recidivism and improve public safety". Kansas's justice reinvestment policy framework "designed to strengthen

"Faced with a prison system at 159 percent of capacity and expected to grow to 170 percent of capacity by FY2020, state leaders in Nebraska pursued justice reinvestment. After extensive analyses identified key challenges in the state’s criminal justice system, policymakers developed a policy

This is a great introduction to a new probation strategy which links “the duration of probation supervision to the optimal amount of intervention an offender needs in order to reduce risk of reoffense”.

This monograph “provides a policy and practice framework upon which this new model of

“Using effective strategies to keep probationers and parolees crime- and drug-free and curb their revocation rates is among the most important issues facing our community corrections supervision system ... Based on solid research, two key strategies that many agencies have begun to implement are the

“This article is about the relationship between recidivism rates and supervision skills used by probation officers (or others who supervise offenders on community-based orders or parole). It focuses on routine day-to-day supervision rather than on intensive supervision programs or other specialized

Implementation of the Family Support Approach for Community Supervision is explained. This publication includes the following sections: introduction and overview; guiding principles for putting this system into practice; tools and techniques for putting this approach into practice; practical