NCJ Number
221180
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 69 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2007 Pages: 34-36
Date Published
December 2007
Length
3 pages
Annotation
In this discussion of strategic planning for implementing evidence-based corrections practices (practices previously shown to be effective by evaluation research), this article focuses on the first three of six stages outlined by Dean Fixsen and his colleagues in their synthesis of the implementation literature: exploration and adoption, program installation, and initial implementation.
Abstract
This article uses experiences from the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDC) to provide examples of strategies that can be used in these stages. During the exploration and adoption stage of implementation, Fixsen et al. explain that an organization surveys existing practices for addressing the client need of interest (e.g., reoffending reduction) and whether the identified practices are feasible for the inquiring organization. At the completion of this phase, the VDC identified four new practices for implementation: motivational interviewing by all probation officers, a standardized risk/needs assessment tool, risk/need-driven case plan agreements, and risk-based supervision caseload assignments. In the installation phase for these evidence-based practices, the VDC selected pilot probation office sites for field testing the new practices, collecting information from the field officers about what worked and what additions were needed in order to fully implement the new practices. During the program installation phase, probation officers were trained in motivational interviewing, a new risk/needs assessment instrument was field-tested, and case-plan agreements were initiated. During the initial implementation, VDC staff learned that the new practices were receiving both support and criticism from probation personnel. The VDC then used "concept mapping" as a means of collecting group suggestions and applying quantitative methods in order to develop a list of priorities. This resulted in a detailed checklist that guided the VDC's implementation of the new practices. 1 table