Statewide In-Service Training Program for Correctional Personnel - Final Report

• NCJ Number: 72017
• Author(s): J R Stratton; R M Terry
• Date Published: 1969
• Length: 125 pages
• Grant Number(s): 308
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The nature and effectiveness of a statewide in-service training program for Iowa's correctional personnel are discussed.

Abstract

A grant was reeived by the Iowa Division of Corrections in conjunction with the Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Iowa for the primary purpose of developing a 2-year certification program for probation and parole and nonprofessional, nonadministrative correctional institution personnel. The program was designed to supplement and extend existing in-service training programs. The training program was based on the belief that correctional workers need, in addition to specific job skills, an informational backgound that wil enable them to operate more effectively in meeting the multiple goals of the Iowa correctional system. Some of the specific goals included the provision of general information on human behavior, on the nature and scope of the crime problem, on essential features of the correctional process, on communications and conceptual skills, and on the nature of offenders and their backgrounds. The major features of the certification program were a series of short, intensive corrections-oriented training sessions and 12 hours of university course work extending over a 2-year period. After a time lapse of slightly over a month from the conclusion of training, the trainees and a control group in each involved institution were contacted by a staff member from that institution and were asked to fill out a followup questionnaire. The control group questionnaire contained a series of attitudinal questions. The questionnaire administered to the trainees combined the same items with a series of questions designed to elicit their reactions to the training sessions. In general, the trainees reacted to the training program favorably, with no significant change in attitudes when compared with the control groups. Suggestions for improving the training are offered. Materials used in the training and evaluation are appended, along with tabular data.