NCJ Number
19848
Date Published
1975
Length
207 pages
Annotation
THIS THREE-YEAR PROJECT WAS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP A TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAIN JUVENILE CASEWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS IN APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS AND THE TECHNIQUE OF CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING.
Abstract
OTHER PROJECT OBJECTIVES INCLUDED DEVELOPING DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS FOR CLIENT AND FIELD AGENT PERFORMANCE AND COMPARING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES WITH THAT OF OTHER STRATEGIES. INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS IN THIS REPORT COVER THE PROJECT PROCEDURE, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CASEWORKERS, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUBJECTS, FIELD IMPLEMENTATION/ CONSULTATION, EXAMPLES OF CLIENT TREATMENT PROGRAMS, IMPACT EVALUATION, AND CLIENT OUTCOME EVALUATION. FOLLOWING A 'TRIADIC' IMPLEMENTATION MODEL, PROJECT STAFF FIRST TRAINED SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL WHO WERE IN TURN RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAINING THEIR OWN STAFF. THIRTY-THREE SUPERVISORS AND 132 FIELD OFFICERS FROM SIXTEEN PROBATION UNITS LOCATED IN EIGHT ADJACENT COUNTIES PARTICIPATED IN THE PROJECT. THEY EACH RECEIVED AT LEAST 40 HOURS OF BASIC TRAINING AND, TOGETHER, APPROXIMATELY 2,000 HOURS OF CONSULTATION IN CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING FROM PROJECT STAFF. PROJECT EVALUATION SHOWED THAT 91 PERCENT OF THE SUPERVISORS AND 77 PERCENT OF THE FIELD OFFICERS ACHIEVED 100 PERCENT OF THE TRAINING OBJECTIVES, ALTHOUGH SUCCESS IN TRAINING WAS NOT PREDICTIVE OF FIELD PERFORMANCE. AMONG THE 412 PROJECT PROBATIONERS, 46 PERCENT OF THE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED AND TARGETED FOR CHANGE WERE IN REMISSION BY THE END OF PROBATION. WHEN BEHAVIORAL CONTRACTING WAS USED, A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER PERCENTAGE OF THE PROBLEM BEHAVIORS WAS RESOLVED - 43 PERCENT BY THE USUAL PROGRAM VERSUS 59 PERCENT BY CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING. HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE SIX-MONTH RECIDIVISM RATES OF CONTRACTED CLIENTS AND NONCONTRASTED WAS NOT STATISCALLY SIGNIFICANT. IN ADDITION, COMPARED WITH REGULAR UNITS, OFFICERS IN SUBSIDY AND SPECIAL LOW-CASELOAD UNITS WROTE MORE CONTRACTS, WROTE MORE HIGH QUALITY CONTRACTS, AND WERE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN REMITTING A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF PROBLEM BEHAVIORS, ALTHOUGH A HIGHER PROPORTION OF CLIENTS FROM SUBSIDY UNITS VIOLATED PROBATION WITHIN SIX MONTHS. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE INCLUDE ADOPTION OF LONG-RANGE PROGRAMS TOWARD THE GOAL OF ESTABLISHING CONTINUOUS EVALUATION PROGRAMS AND REQUIRING THAT ALL CORRECTIONAL PERSONNEL SHOULD HAVE A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS. AN EXTENSIVE APPENDIX CONTAINS COPIES OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS. FOR A TRAINING MANUAL IN CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING, SEE NCJ-19870. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)