Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:43 pm
Time: 9:43 pm
Results for offender treatment programs
5 results foundAuthor: McSweeney, Tim Title: Evidence-Based Practice? The National Probation Service's Work with Alcohol-Misusing Offenders Summary: Research summary This process study by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR), King's College London, examined the National Probation Service's work with alcohol-misusing offenders by describing and critically appraising: - the procedures in place for identifying and intervening with offenders who have alcohol problems; - the extent to which this work complied with the principles set out in Models of care for alcohol misusers (MoCAM); and - arrangements for the commissioning and delivery of alcohol treatment requirements. Approach The study had a number of components and made use of a range of primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative data sources. These included data derived from: - a telephone survey completed with the policy lead responsible for substance misuse, or the specialist responsible for co-ordination and delivery of services in 41 (of 42) probation areas in England and Wales; - analysis of all ATR activity data for England and Wales during 2007/08; - analysis of Offender Assessment System (OASys) data for six purposively1 sampled case study sites; - 185 random offender case file reviews in these six sites; and - 64 in-depth interviews with various stakeholders and professionals from across these areas. Results and implications Probation work nationally with alcohol-misusing offenders English and Welsh probation areas were, at the time of fieldwork, offering a broad range of alcohol-related interventions. At a national level, however, it seemed that efforts to ensure more effective commissioning and delivery had been hampered by a lack of: - resources and dedicated funding for the provision of alcohol interventions and treatment; - guidance and protocols to inform the targeting of available interventions; - appropriate and accessible alcohol treatment provision; - probation staff confidence, skills and knowledge around alcohol-related issues; and - success engaging and influencing local commissioners to afford greater priority and resources to work with alcohol-misusing offenders. Being able to effectively deliver, manage and direct alcohol-related interventions should be considered a core offender management skill. However, while there are high levels of alcoholrelated need within NPS caseloads, analysis of OASys data in six case study areas revealed that over 40% of all alcohol-related interventions had yet to start four to six months after a period of supervision had commenced2 - A similar picture emerged at a national level with a sample of OASys-identified 'dependent'3 drinkers under probation supervision. A key priority for policy should be to increase the use of evidence-based alcohol interventions and treatment with offenders whose criminal behaviour is related to their use of alcohol. That priority should be addressed, in the short term, by sharing and disseminating emerging best practice and identifying effective strategies for ensuring more offenders commence and complete those programmes that are available. The longer term emphasis should be on developing the evidence base and then disseminating empirically informed advice and guidance about the appropriate targeting of interventions. Finally, it will be necessary and important to increase further the range, capacity and funding of the NPS's alcohol-related work. Levels of compliance with Models of care for alcohol misusers (MoCAM) Data from both the national survey and in-depth interviews in six case study areas point towards a number of issues which policy makers and senior probation managers will need to address with regards to ensuring greater compliance with MoCAM. These include developing ways to facilitate improvements to: - the quality, accuracy, consistency and timing of alcohol screening and specialist assessment processes; the accessibility of specialist alcohol treatment services to which offenders can be referred (both located within probation settings and externally); the scale and quality of training offered to offender managers to better equip them to more effectively deliver brief interventions to alcohol-misusing offenders; and monitoring of the extent to which probation staff involved in delivering, managing or directing alcohol interventions are trained and competent to the minimum relevant Drugs and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS). The commissioning and delivery of alcohol treatment requirements (ATRs) Demand for ATRs outstripped supply by some considerable margin. Only 8% of drinkers defined as 'dependent' using an OASys sample of offenders commencing community sentences during 2007/08 were estimated to have received an ATR (Moore, 2008)4 - Despite some important caveats associated with using OASys to identify 'dependent' drinkers, this was consistent with stakeholder perspectives which indicated that there was significant scope for expanding ATR provision in order to meet existing levels of need. For example, ensuring treatment coverage for at least one in seven (15%) dependent drinkers is regarded as optimal by Alcohol Concern. Resolving the impasse around ATR funding should be a priority for policy makers and senior managers. However, given that the finances of most English Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are in deficit and probation budgets are expected to face some substantial cuts in the short term, all reasonable options should be explored as a matter of urgency (e.g. expanding the remit of local Pooled Treatment Budgets to include alcohol treatment). There was considerable variability in how the treatment component of an ATR was being delivered. Only one in four of the areas reporting to the national survey that they were delivering ATRs were doing so in a manner consistent with existing guidance. The new NOMS Alcohol Interventions Guidance due for publication in September 2009 will need to add further clarity on this important issue. This will be a difficult task, however, given the limited availability of alcohol treatment services in some areas. ATRs appeared to facilitate engagement with alcohol treatment services and contributed towards reducing alcohol-related needs (based on findings from the random review of case files). However, there also appeared to be scope for further refinement to the process of targeting ATRs and offering more timely interventions through increased treatment capacity. The evidence base and emerging best practice The dearth of British research evidence means there is currently limited scope for developing empirically informed guidance to instruct senior probation managers and practitioners about the effective targeting of interventions within a criminal justice context, or to identify which ones are likely to be most effective for whom (e.g. different offender management tiers and offenders presenting with hazardous, harmful or dependent drinking patterns). These and many other themes and issues (including assessing the impact of ATRs) should be given greater priority in any future research programme. Given the lack of empirical research available to inform work with alcohol-misusing offenders, initiatives of the sort currently being developed by NOMS to provide support and funding (in the region of $250,000 to date to 15 projects) in an effort to help identify, develop and disseminate the numerous examples of emerging best practice should be commended, endorsed and encouraged. Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2009. 86p. Source: Ministry of Justice Research Series; no. 13/09: Accessed April 17, 2018 at: http://lx.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Evidence-based%20practice.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://lx.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Evidence-based%20practice.pdf Shelf Number: 117148 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crimes (U.K.)Alcohol Treatment ProgramsAlcohol-Related Crime, DisorderOffender Treatment Programs |
Author: Trimboli, Lily Title: Does CREDIT Reduce the Risk of Re-offending? Summary: Aim: To determine whether being referred to the Court Referral of Eligible Defendants into Treatment (CREDIT) pilot program reduces re-offending. Method: Using propensity score matching, adult defendants referred to the CREDIT program, who had their matter finalised in court by 30 June 2011, were matched to control defendants on a large number of socio-demographic, index offence and prior offence characteristics. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted separately for the two CREDIT pilot sites of Tamworth (n = 261) and Burwood (n = 159). Re-offending was measured until 30 June 2012. Results: No significant differences were found between defendants referred to CREDIT and their matched controls in the proportion re-offending within 12 months, the number of court re-appearances within 12 months or the time to the first proven re-offence. Conclusion: These results suggest that defendants referred to the CREDIT program are as likely to re-offend as defendants who are dealt with through the normal court process. However, these results may reflect the very small number of defendants referred to the program over the study period, the short follow-up period involved and the inability to match treatment and control defendants on key variables related to offending (e.g. drug use, mental health issues). Details: Sydney: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2013. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Crime and Justice Bulletin, No. 169: Accessed July 8, 2013 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb169.pdf/$file/cjb169.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb169.pdf/$file/cjb169.pdf Shelf Number: 129277 Keywords: Offender Rehabilitation ProgramsOffender Treatment ProgramsRe-offending (AustraliaRecidivism |
Author: Great Britain. National Offender Management Service Title: Stocktake of Women's Services for Offenders in the Community Summary: - In April 2013, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) provided an additional L3.78 million to Probation Trusts in England & Wales, specifically to enable them to enhance the provision of services they commission or deliver to promote the rehabilitation of female offenders. To assess the impact of this extra investment, we conducted a stocktake of services in the community for female offenders, and this is our report. - NOMS is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The main objectives of the agency are to protect the public and reduce reoffending. Where offenders are given a community sentence by the courts, or released from custody on licence, these objectives are at present taken forward by the 35 Probation Trusts in England and Wales, which are responsible for the delivery of services at local level. - Probation Trusts deliver offender services in partnership with a wide range of public, private and third sector providers. They also commission services - sometimes jointly with partners - from other providers. NOMS has a contract with each Probation Trust. It is through contract management arrangements that NOMS ensures that the intentions and plans put forward by Probation Trusts during commissioning rounds are translated into the practical delivery of services in local communities. - In future, these offender services in the community will be delivered by the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and (for higher-risk offenders) by the new National Probation Service. This stocktake describes how services for female offenders are delivered at present - and new providers will clearly be very interested in the practice it describes. More specifically, the report examines the impact of the additional L3.78 million provided this year. The aim of this extra investment was to enable Trusts to access additional services for women under their local commissioning arrangements, taking into account the requirement to ensure that services contribute to the overall objectives of the National Offender Management Service. - The extra funding does not represent the total spent by Probation Trusts on services for female offenders: Trusts routinely provide these services through their mainstream delivery. While our main aim in this report has been to identify the new initiatives and services funded from the additional provision, we also briefly highlight the way in which Probation Trusts have used their core funding to strengthen and improve services for female offenders. And wherever possible, we have identified resources contributed by other parties - though this is not always easy to do precisely. Details: London: NOMS, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2014 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252837/stocktake-wcs.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252837/stocktake-wcs.pdf Shelf Number: 134248 Keywords: Community Treatment ProgramsFemale Offenders (U.K.)Female ProbationersOffender Treatment ProgramsRehabilitation Programs |
Author: Harris, Aileen Title: Therapeutic Alliance and Offender-Staff Relations in Women's Corrections Summary: What it means The current study demonstrates that healthy working relationships between institutional parole officers (POs) and women offenders may contribute to the overall adjustment of women during their incarceration. Although the findings are preliminary in nature, the results emphasize the importance of positive staff-offender interactions, the practice of dynamic security, and the selection of correctional staff with qualities that foster positive alliances with offenders in promoting correctional objectives. What we found Results of a correlation analysis demonstrated that women's perceived level of bonding with their PO was related to their institutional adjustment. Women with higher bond ratings were less likely to engage in institutional misconducts (r = -.22, p < .05). Interview responses from both staff and offenders further supported the importance of maintaining relational health and positive alliances within the institutional setting. Women consistently highlighted the importance of communication, interpersonal and relational skills that facilitate positive alliances between staff and offenders. Staff demonstrated their knowledge of the construct of therapeutic alliance, its meaning, and its application to the job, while also acknowledging the challenges of establishing alliances with such a diverse population within an environment that requires a focus on both positive interactions and safety/security concerns. The majority of staff and women indicated that dynamic security was being practiced across all of the women's sites. However, both groups also recognized certain operational demands and the provision of resources as obstacles in the maintenance of alliances. Why we did this study The current study emerged in response to an increasing focus in correctional literature on the importance of therapeutic alliance. Therapeutic alliance has been conceptualized as the collaborative and affective rapport established between a treatment provider and his/her client(s). The quality of this alliance is an important variable in the treatment process, affecting rehabilitation outcomes across diverse modes of treatment. Research in this area in correctional settings, particularly in settings with women offenders, is limited. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to investigate the extent to which relationships between women offenders and institutional staff in the federal correctional system are characterized by healthy connections while exploring the construct of the therapeutic alliance. What we did Participants consisted of 124 women offenders and 88 correctional staff from all six women's federal facilities in Canada. Measures of alliance and relational health were used as predictors of institutional misconducts. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information regarding staff and offender perceptions of alliances overall within the facility as well as the impact of the operational environment (dynamic/static security) on the development of such alliances. Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service of Canada, 2014. 1p. (Summary report). Full report is available upon request. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report No. R-305: Accessed April 1, 2015 at: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/005/008/092/005008-0305-eng.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/005/008/092/005008-0305-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 135120 Keywords: Corrections OfficersFemale InmatesFemale OffendersOffender Treatment ProgramsParole OfficersParolees |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation Title: A joint inspection of the treatment of offenders with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system Summary: The needs of many people with learning disabilities are going unnoticed when they are arrested by police, go to court and are sentenced, according to independent inspectors. They have published a report of a joint inspection into people with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system which said their needs should be recognised and addressed. The report, 'A joint inspection of the treatment of offenders with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system: phase 1 from arrest to sentence', reflects the findings of HM Inspectorate of Probation, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Care Quality Commission. The inspection covered activity at police stations, the prosecution and court process, pre-sentence report preparation and the assessment and planning undertaken at the start of the community order An accurate estimate of the number of people with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system is impossible because of poor interpretations, about what constitutes a learning disability and a failure to properly identify and record this issue by all the key agencies at all points in the criminal justice process. The specific findings of this inspection are to a great extent a manifestation of these problems of definition and identification. As a result, the needs of offenders with learning disabilities are often overlooked and, although there were some pockets of good practice and examples of practitioners 'going the extra mile' to ensure that these offenders received the support and treatment they needed, examples of good practice were the exception rather than the norm. Offenders with learning disabilities were not always afforded the level of service appropriate to the risk of harm they presented or their needs. Problems included a failure to recognise a learning disability, and failure to refer the offender to specialist services for assessment. We regularly found an absence of access to specialist support that would address their offending behaviour and manage the risk of harm posed to the public. We were particularly concerned to find that the processes, absence of services or a simple lack of knowledge and training often led to offenders with a learning disability being perceived as a problem to be processed, rather than an individual with particular needs requiring individual treatment. Specific findings Police custody Contact with the police is the first stage in the criminal justice system and for the majority of offenders with learning difficulties provides the first opportunity to assess their needs. Identification of learning disabilities by police custody staff is based on a combination of judgement drawn from experience, a risk assessment that does not specifically examine learning disabilities and the availability of historical information held on police systems. Risk assessment processes normally consisted of asking the detainee a series of set questions on arrival in custody. Questions regarding learning disabilities were usually general about whether the detainee had any problems with reading or writing or any mental health problems. Problems identifying learning disabilities were compounded by the physical layout of custody units. The custody facilities we saw were mainly open plan units, which afforded little privacy for detainees and reduced the likelihood of them disclosing a learning disability. We found a variety of Appropriate Adult schemes in the police forces visited; some were run by charities whilst others relied on adult social care services or commercial provision. Police forces are individually responsible for the arrangement of Appropriate Adult services, with no statutory obligation on any agency to provide them. In some areas custody sergeants said Appropriate Adults were not always available to assist with cases. Only one of the police forces we visited had a mechanism to divert offenders from custody before arrest on the grounds of identified mental health problems or a learning disability. A Community Psychiatric Nurse worked alongside officers responding to reported incidents involving people with mental health or learning difficulties, and could access medical histories and services to divert suspects away from arrest where this was appropriate. In the other areas, diversion schemes were implemented within the court building rather than before or at arrest. Earlier interventions might have avoided the need for a costly and stressful court process in some cases. Details: London: Criminal Justice Joint Inspection, 2014. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://www.pwd.org.au/documents/pubs/adjc/2014-Jan-LearningDisabilities.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.pwd.org.au/documents/pubs/adjc/2014-Jan-LearningDisabilities.pdf Shelf Number: 135279 Keywords: Learning DisabilitiesLearning Disabled Offenders (U.K.)Offender Treatment Programs |