NCJ Number
207640
Date Published
2004
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines two British probation interventions -- the Basic Skills Pathfinder and the Employment Pathfinder -- which are designed to improve the basic skills and employment potential of adult offenders.
Abstract
The Basic Skills Pathfinder operated between 2000 and 2002, and the Employment Pathfinder operated between 2001 and 2003. The Basic Skills Pathfinder, which was conducted as a pilot program in seven probation areas throughout England, was intended to measure the effectiveness of improving offenders' literacy and mathematical skills and the program's effectiveness in reducing reoffending rates. The primary objective of the employment Pathfinder was to improve means for getting offenders jobs in order to reduce reoffending, with the targeted offenders being habitual, hard-to-place offenders with a medium to medium-high risk of reoffending, and who had previously completed a general cognitive offending behavior program. The National Probation Service experienced difficulties in implementing the two programs within a community supervision framework, due largely to high attrition rates. The number of offenders who participated in the programs was low compared to expectations, which in turn limited the evaluations of the programs' effectiveness. Possible reasons for low participation are discussed. Issues addressed are where and why attrition occurred, offenders' characteristics and motivation, case management practice and staff motivation, and the implications of attrition. The evaluation findings for both programs expose the need to develop an order of priorities in working with offenders who have multiple problems, which involves designing a sequence of interventions for meeting various offender needs under a time table. 29 references