NCJ Number
223944
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Dated: 2008 Pages: 271-289
Date Published
2008
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This research study seeks to determine whether paroling agencies that employ parole officers with distinctly enforcement or surveillance-oriented attitudes are more likely to be resistant to organizational change, and whether a lack of consistency among supervisor and line officer attitudes toward change and organizational culture impacts the ability of the agency to affect change.
Abstract
The results indicate that in a variety of domains, attitude and supervision orientation are actively impacting staff and administrators’ opinions and their collective ability to implement evidence-based practices. Implications for advancing parole practice including the difficulties associated with implementing organizational change are discussed. Previous research found that parole officer attitudes and orientation could impact offender outcome and jurisdictions that employed a balanced approach to supervision including graduated responses and treatment and services resulted in more favorable offender outcomes. Therefore, a critical evaluation of the attitudes and beliefs of the staff and supervisors employed by a paroling authority in the process of implementing evidence-based practices is not only beneficial, but prudent. This analysis sought to establish baseline attitudes and beliefs on a number of different aspects of parole supervision and to evaluate differences in attitudes and orientation within and between staff and supervisors employed by a paroling authority in a northeastern State. Tables and references