A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism
This publication from The Council of State Governments Justice Center outlines four core practices probation leaders and policymakers should follow when working to reduce recidivism and improve public safety in their communities, which are: (1) effectively assessing peoples' criminogenic risk and needs, (2) employing smart, tailored supervision strategies, (3) using incentives and graduated sanctions, and (4) implementing performance-driven personnel management practices that promote and reward recidivism reduction.
A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism also describes how officials can engage key stakeholders, evaluate agency policies, and develop a strategic plan for implementing reform; provides recommendations for redesigning departmental policies and practices; and includes steps for making a department transformation permanent. Included are numerous examples of how these steps were used in the Travis County, Texas, probation department, which saw felony probation revocations decline by 20 percent and one-year rearrest rates fall by 17 percent after implementing practices outlined in the guide.
Online Course
In 2019, the American Probation and Parole Association released an online course designed in partnership with the National Reentry Resource Center. Based on A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism, the course provides a ten-step action plan to help a probation department visualize transformation of its practices from beginning to end, and to align it with the four practices of recidivism reduction.
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A “Once in a Generation Opportunity” to Improve Reentry for Nearly 2 Million People
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First-of-its-Kind Plan for States to Support Children and Families with Incarcerated Parents
Our plan—developed with the National Resource Center on Children & Families of the Incarcerated at Rutgers University-Camden and the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at UConn—provides evidence-based, trauma-informed strategies for corrections leaders and policymakers to strengthen parent-child connections and reduce recidivism.
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Involuntary Treatment for Patients in the Justice System: Q&A with Dr. Marvin Swartz
"AOT is a complex community intervention that can be effective or not depending on how it is implemented. The question about its effectiveness is better phrased as: for whom and under what conditions can AOT be effective?"
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