(This article has reviously appeared in the Advocate).
Happy Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week!
Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week is celebrated nationally during the third week of July each year. As a former probation officer, I know first hand the complexities of the work and the need to recognize these important members of our human service & public safety families.
No matter your role, working with young people in our communities who have had court or system involvement is as challenging as it is rewarding. The work comes with inherent dangers and stressors as well as time and resources challenges. So it is befitting that there is a week set aside to acknowledge the significant contributions, dedication and hard work of all those employed in community supervision.
While thinking about the complex jobs of those employed in community supervision, I thought of my own time as a juvenile probation officer. It was a job I enjoyed immensely and one in which I would like to think I performed well. In truth, however, I would probably receive higher marks if graded on output rather than outcomes. Like most, I entered the field with a genuine interest in helping young people and a belief that they are capable of change. I was well-intentioned and my heart was in the right place, but despite my passion for the work, I admittedly entered the field with limited knowledge about changing behavior.
More recently, however, there have been many opportunities for professionals in our field to gain exposure to information on evidence-based practices and “what works with juvenile offenders”. There have been a number of publications (See: www.VJJA.org/resources.html) and training events dedicated to the subject matter. One such recent occasion was on June 8 when VJJA’s Capital District’s hosted, “What Works in Juvenile Justice: Implementing Evidence-Based Practices and Incorporating the Principles of a Court of Excellence”. More than 230 participants had the opportunity to learn from two well-respected and nationally-recognized speakers, Dr. Faye Taxman and Judge Steve Teske.
During the session on Evidence-Based Practice, Dr. Taxman discussed some of the typical sanctions and interventions used by juvenile justice practitioners. I was taking copious notes and started to star each of the programs I had used while I was a probation officer. At some point I think I even started sitting a little higher in my chair. I was feeling proud that I’d used nearly every sanction on the list. The proud moment was short-lived, however, when I realized the current slide was of the programs and sanctions proven to be ineffective with juvenile offenders.
As a former prison employee I had proudly taken a group of probationers on a fieldtrip to the maximum security prison where I had previously been employed to attend the “Educationally Straight” program. In addition to a tour of the facility, the young men had an opportunity to dialog with the inmates. It was an enjoyable day and one I was convinced would have a lasting impact and affect positive change. Another among the list of ineffective programs I had starred was boot camp. While there was a boot camp in operation in Virginia I referred many young men to the program. Last on my list of programs and sanctions I had used was intensive supervision. I thought it would be the one sanction on my list that would save me, but after giving more thought to how I applied intensive supervision, I realized that wouldn’t be the case. It was before the days of risk-based supervision, and if I am being honest frequency of contacts had more to do with the proximity of the young person’s home to my office than to risk.
And while I’m on a roll with the things I did wrong as a PO, I am not sure that I always spent my time providing direct supervision wisely. The majority of my appointments consisted of reviewing and assessing compliance with rules of supervision and reminding young folks of the consequences of non-compliance. In fact, I probably did the majority of the talking and elicited more yes and no responses than anything that resembled change talk.
At the close of the Capital District’s recent training, I addressed the audience and told them that after hearing Dr. Taxman’s presentation and reviewing her publication, “Tools of the Trade”, I wanted to turn back time about 15 years and start my career over. I was joking of course, but I do re-think old cases from time to time and wonder how much more effective I could have been with a better stocked tool box and more refined skill set.
Other folks who have been in the field for a number of years can undoubtedly relate to developing a style over time through trial and error. But we now have access to a body of literature that removes the guess work and puts us one step ahead of the game. We not only know what works, but also what doesn’t work.
Research tells us that punishment and the threat of punishment do not change behavior and that techniques like motivational interviewing are more effective than confrontational styles. It also tells us that using secure confinement for the wrong population can pull them deeper into the system and increase recidivism. Lastly, we know that using alternatives can curb crime and recidivism better than more restrictive options.
Are you up on the latest research, tools and techniques in our field? Have you read the June 2007 publication: “Motivating Offenders to Change: a Guide for Probation and Parole”? The children of Virginia will be the beneficiaries when we all challenge one another and work together to continuously raise the level of practice in our field.
(In addition to serving as VJJA President, Beth Stinnett works in central administration at the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. Among her responsibilities is serving as the Statewide JDAI Coordinator.)
