NCJ Number
105337
Date Published
1987
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses principles and practice in change management within the context of the implementation of an intensive probation supervison (IPS) program by the Massachusetts Probation Agency.
Abstract
At the time of program implementation in 1985, the agency had three focal concerns: risk control and community protection, centralized State authority, and probation by standards. At this time, officers worked within a case classification system that had been continually refined and reevaluated. This system, coupled with legislative initiatives and a growing crisis in corrections, facilitated implementation of an IPS that emphasized careful assessment and planning, strict enforcement of probation conditions, mandatory referrals, greater use of community resources, and surveillance and control with strict client accountability. In implementing the IPS program, the agency followed five major principles of change management. It made change a policy, anticipated the future impact of change, accepted resistance as normal, developed a strategy for change, and conducted change as an experiment. 15 references.