NCJ Number
253823
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 62 Issue: 13 Dated: 2018 Pages: 4295-4313
Date Published
2018
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Since the specific responsivity principle advocates providing offenders with treatment that takes into account their responsiveness to treatment, such as their learning style, motivation, and gender, the current study examined challenges to service engagement and attendance in a community-based program in a reentry setting, considering their support for the specific responsivity principle.
Abstract
Drawing on qualitative accounts of parolee engagement in services provided by parolees, service providers, case managers, and parole officers, the study identified some difficulties clients faced. These included logistical factors that affect clients' physical ability to enroll in or attend programming (such as documentation, employment needs, and transportation problems), as well as elements of program and service delivery (such as client-provider matching, therapeutic style, and curriculum factors). The study concludes that planners of offender treatment programs should look beyond responsivity and consider logistical factors in addition to psychological and dispositional factors in facilitating client engagement in the context of reentry. (publisher abstract modified)