Implementing Evidence-Based Principles in Community Corrections: A Case Study of Successes and Challenges in Maine

• NCJ Number: 236572
• Author(s): Mark Rubin; William Ethridge; Michael Rocque
• Date Published: March 2011
• Length: 48 pages
• Contract Number(s): 09PE133GKB2
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Corrections
• Corporate Author: Justice Policy Program, University of Southern Maine
• Sale Source: Justice Policy Program, University of Southern Maine
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation; Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This is a case study of successes and challenges in Maine's pilot effort to demonstrate and test an integrated approach to the implementation of evidence-based principles in community corrections.

Abstract

The stated project goal was to build learning organizations that reduce recidivism through the systemic integration of evidence-based principles in collaboration with community and justice partners. Evidence-based principles (EBP) are a set of rehabilitation program components and characteristics that, when incorporated effectively into the corrections field, reduce the criminogenic attitudes, associations, and behaviors of offenders. Organization development in the integrated model enhances the evidence-based principles of effective offender supervision. Collaboration is the final principle of the integrated model. The principle states that working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the planning and implementation of systemic change in corrections can produce a more coherent continuum of care that uses evidence-based principles to reduce recidivism. The project was designed to provide a series of needs assessment-based interventions focused on the three aforementioned components. This analysis of the Maine experience, however, suggests that this concurrent model may not be a realistic strategy, given its insistence on an integrated focus on evidence-based principles, organizational development, and collaboration. Given the challenges Maine faced in implementing an integrated model, one potential restructuring of the model would be to move away from an integrated, concurrent approach to a stacked model of implementation that focuses first on organizational development and then collaboration before attempting an implementation of the core of evidence-based principles. Although the research is clear about which interventions result in reduced recidivism, new techniques and strategies may emerge that will require the agency to adjust practices quickly. Organizations that do not foster a culture of innovation and practice will fail to embrace these principles quickly. 18 figures, appended retrospective case study research protocol, and 21 references