NCJ Number
222582
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 69 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 56-59
Date Published
February 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Focusing on the mutual benefits to the partnerships between corrections professionals/agencies and research psychology, this article discusses a process by which academic, research-oriented psychologists can seek out corrections professionals/agencies to establish partnerships to enhance the quality of services delivered in a correctional setting.
Abstract
Partnerships between universities and correctional agencies have numerous mutual advantages which include the improved measurement of correctional service delivery and effectiveness, a better “real world” view of corrections for university researchers and graduate trainees, enhanced training opportunities for doctoral students, improved ecological validity in research, and improved national and international exposure for correctional systems through conference presentations and publications. Committing resources efficiently to produce better correctional services is certainly a goal that can be facilitated through academic-corrections partnerships. A prototypical model for a partnership between academic psychology and corrections can work when the “academic psychology” unit is a university department of psychology with one or two faculty members interested in research on assessment and rehabilitation in correctional settings and when there is a doctoral training program in clinical psychology with a specialty concentration in forensic psychology. The development of specialty areas within applied psychology, such as correctional psychology and forensic psychology, offer clear evidence that the field of psychology has taken a serious interest in corrections and can offer important contributions. This article discusses the utility of academic psychology and corrections partnerships and the process under the prototypical model in which to attain a partnership.