NCJ Number
225187
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 72 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 15-21
Date Published
September 2008
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article presents a brief history of the Federal probation system’s efforts to become an outcome-driven agency where resources are focused on achieving goals of protection and recidivism reduction, as well as the current action plan and future strategy that guides the transformation of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Federal probation system.
Abstract
In 2002, the Federal probation system under the leadership of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) began a major philosophical shift. No longer is Federal probation interested primarily in measuring traditional probation outputs. Instead, it has made a firm commitment to becoming an outcome-driven agency that focuses its resources on achieving the goals of public protection and recidivism reduction. This article first reviews the early and current steps in this philosophical shift. Current efforts designed to promote the desired change have involved education and the AO’s financial and technical assistance in implementing evidence-based probation initiatives. An internal grant program, entitled Research to Results, was developed as a mechanism for providing support to pilot districts that were organizationally ready to take the next step in the evolution of probation supervision. Grant requirements focused on effective risk and needs assessment, cognitive-behavioral interventions, effective communication/motivational interviewing, and a willingness to examine and test emerging practices. For most of the pilot districts, implementation of evidence-based practices has involved radical change in the way they manage offenders, specifically, changing from enforcement of probation conditions to behavioral management. In making this organizational change, the AO has emphasized a transformational model of organizational development. This article describes the features of the model, called the “Rand model for management change” (Paul Light, 2005). In addition to outcomes, the AO has recently begun a multiyear project to develop and implement a national risk/needs tool. 20 references and appended Probation and Pretrial Services Request for Applications for Funding