NCJ Number
250419
Date Published
2014
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This National Parole Resource Center (NPRC) Action Guide provides information and strategies intended to assist parole boards in improving and strengthening their policymaking and decisionmaking.
Abstract
This is one of a set of action guides that the NPRC plans to use in concert with the Self-Assessment Toolkit for Paroling Authorities, which is an online guide that assists parole boards in considering the full range of their practices. This Action Guide builds on the content of the Self-Assessment Toolkit by examining the parole board's overall vision/mission and the role that evidence-based tools and effective policies should have in achieving the vision/mission. It emphasizes a collaborative understanding of current parole board policies and decisionmaking tools, as well as where there may be a lack of such decisionmaking tools, guidelines, or policies that should be addressed by the parole board. In addition, the Action Guide reviews and analyzes the research evidence and "best practices" that should be considered in determining changes the parole board could make. The Action Guide is presented in six sections that address 1) Guide goals and how to use it; 2) the background and context for decisionmaking tools and policy frameworks in the parole field; 3) dimensions that shape parole guidelines; 4) steps in implementing policy and practice improvements; 5) a plan to measure performance; and 6) references that document the literature and research underlying the Action Guide.