IMPACT - INTENSIVE MATCHED PROBATION AND AFTER-CARE TREATMENT, VOLUME 1 - THE DESIGN OF THE PROBATION EXPERIMENT AND AN INTERIM EVALUATION

• NCJ Number: 58363
• Author(s): M S FOLKARD; A J FOWLES; B C MACWILLIAMS; W MACWILLIAMS; D D SMITH; D E SMITH; G R WALMSLEY
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 59 pages
• Corporate Author: Her Majesty's Stationery Office
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: HOME OFFICE RESEARCH STUDIES, NO 24

Annotation

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BRITISH INTENSIVE MATCHED PROBATION AND AFTER-CARE TREATMENT PROGRAM IS DESCRIBED, ALONG WITH THE EVALUATION RESEARCH DESIGN. RESULTS OF AN INTERIM EVALUATION ARE PRESENTED.

Abstract

IMPACT (INTENSIVE MATCHED PROBATION AND AFTER-CARE TREATMENT) IS AN EXPERIMENTAL ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT BEING CONDUCTED BY THE BRITISH HOME OFFICE RESEARCH UNIT IN COLLABORATION WITH FOUR PROBATION AND AFTER-CARE SERVICES. THE PROJECT IS BASED ON PREVIOUS RESEARCH FINDINGS WHICH SHOWED THAT MANY PROBATIONERS HAD SITUATIONAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH FAILURE RATES, WHILE PROBATION OFFICERS SPENT LITTLE TIME DEALING WITH SUCH PROBLEMS. IN IMPACT, EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO INTENSIVE SITUATIONAL TREATMENT, FACILITATED BY REDUCED CASELOADS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL OFFICERS AND METHODS OF DIRECT INTERVENTION IN PROBLEMS OF FAMILY, WORK, AND LEISURE. GREATER USE IS ALSO MADE OF ANCILLARY WORKERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND OTHER AGENCIES. THE PROJECT STARTED IN EARLY 1972, AND THE FIELD WORK WAS PLANNED TO TERMINATE IN MARCH OF 1975. THE PRESENT REPORT IS A SYNTHESIS OF TWO INTERIM REPORTS. THE EVALUATION RESEARCH RANDOMLY ALLOCATES CASES TO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS, WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS RECEIVING TREATMENT UNDER LOW CASELOADS AND SITUATIONAL INTERVENTION AND THE CONTROL CASES RECEIVING TRADITIONAL TREATMENT. OUTCOMES WILL BE MEASURED WITH DATA ON VARIABLES RELATING TO FURTHER OFFENSES, VARIABLES OF SITUATIONAL FEATURES, AND VARIABLES DERIVED FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING. IF THE EXPERIMENT IS VIEWED AS A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT, SOME CONCLUSIONS CAN ALREADY BE DRAWN FROM PROGRESS REPORTS, WHICH SHOW THAT THE NEW METHODS OF TREATMENT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED AND ARE FEASIBLE IN OPERATIONAL TERMS. A SURVEY OF PROBATION OFFICERS' ATTITUDES SHOWS, IN SPITE OF SOME INITIAL PROBLEMS, A CONSIDERABLE MEASURE OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE EXPERIMENT. THE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE THUS FAR SUGGESTS THAT IMPACT COULD ORGANIZE ITS RESOURCES TO PROVIDE MORE INTENSIVE TREATMENT. TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED, ALONG WITH NOTES AND REFERENCES. (RCB)