Community Corrections with Professor Byrne

Community Corrections
44.351

TITLE DESCRIPTION

Tools of the Trade: A Guide to Incorporating Science Into Practice Required text. The application of evidence-based research findings to the practice of offender supervision is explained. Sections of this manual include: introduction -- supervision as a behavioral management process to reduce recidivism; behavior and change; assessment and planning; communication tools; information tools; incentives to shape offender behavior; service tools; offender types; and guiding principles.

Federal Probation: Special issue on Prisoner Reentry The September 2004 issue of Federal Probationis devoted entirely to the prisoner reentry. The issue begins with a summary of "What Works in Prisoner Reentry" by Joan Petersilia. Other articles cover such topics as the costs and benefits of correctional treatment, a civic engagement model of reentry, a description of NIC's Transition from Prison to Community Initiative, engaging offenders as active participants in their reintegration, and the emerging role of information technology in reentry initiatives. The guest editor of this special issue was Professor James Byrne, from the University of Massachusett, Lowell. See links to individual articles below.

Editor's Introduction: The Emperor's New Clothes
The Offender and Reentry: Supporting Active Participation in Reintegration
Improving Offender Success and Public Safety Through System Reform
A Civic Engagement Model of Reentry
Role of Police in Offender Re-Entry
The Offender and Reentry: Supporting Active Participation in Reintegration
Emerging Role of Information Technology in Reentry
The Effects of Serious Mental Illness on Offender Re-Entry

Probation and Parole in the US Reports the number of persons on probation and parole, by State, at yearend 2003 and compares the totals with yearend 1995 and 2002. It lists the States with the largest and smallest parole and probation populations and the largest and smallest rates of community supervision, and identifies the States with the largest increases. The Bulletin also describes the race and gender of these populations and reports the percentages of parolees and probationers completing community supervision successfully, or failing because of a rule violation or a new offense.
Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can't We Reform Our Criminals? Video and related article. Early this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal sentencing guidelines are optional, renewing interest in sentencing legislation and criminal recidivism. As Congress looks for new strategies to combat increasing prisoner recidivism rates, a new book by UCLA research psychologist, David Farabee, warns of the pitfalls of returning to certain implementations of the "social programs" approach (e.g. prisoner visitation, life-skills, cognitive-behavioral) that was favored in the 1960s and 1970s, and appears to be re-emerging now. In Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can’t We Reform Our Criminals (AEI Press, 2005), Farabee reviews the most common forms of offender rehabilitation, outlines their underlying assumptions about the causes of crime, and provides a contrasting perspective that emphasizes closer monitoring, indefinite community supervision, and increased personal responsibility. A discussion will further explore the issue, featuring panelists Amy Solomon of the Urban Institute, John Laub of the University of Maryland, Jessica Nickel from the office of Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and James Q. Wilson of AEI and Pepperdine University.

Reintegrating the Concept of Community into Community-Based Corrections Note: This document is more than 2MB, and may take a while to download.Police administrators across the country are developing a range of community-oriented policing strategies at a time when community corrections administrators are moving in the opposite direction by applying traditional, offender-based policing concepts to probation and parole practice. I highlight the limitations of this new wave of intermediate sanction programs and then discuss the importance of community context (i.e., community attitudes, tolerance, support, and structure) to the development of effective adult supervision strategies. I conclude by describing the four key characteristics of a community-oriented approach to probation and parole supervision: (1) service brokerage, (2) advocacy for offenders and victims, (3) triage, and (4) location in the community.

State Is Joining Shift on Prisons Assigned March 29. By insisting that California make rehabilitation a focus of prison life, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining a national movement of political leaders who believe it is time for a new approach to incarceration.

Problem-Solving Probation: An Examination of Four Community-Based Experiments Assigned March 30. A detailed look at efforts to reform probation using the principles of community justice in Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona and Oregon. Published in Texas Journal of Corrections (August 2001), Vol. 27, No. 3, Executive Exchange of the National Association of Probation Executives (Spring 2001), and Perspectives, the Journal of the American Probation and Parole Association (Winter 2002).

Day Reporting Centers Assigned April 7. (May take a few minutes to load) In 1994 researchers visited four day reporting programs, each reflecting common features of DRC' s as well as distinct individual characteristics (such as, large size, State or local level of operation, and colocation of services). This section presents a look at the development and operation of these programs.

Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp Performance Analysis and Evaluation Results from an assessment of a motivational boot camp are presented. Following an overview and highlights, this report provided information regarding: the Quehanna population; boot camps at work and outcomes; recidivism; cost savings; programmatic achievements; program assessment of program quality and integrity; improving program integrity and performance; security; and the future. The six month recidivism rate for program graduates is 28% lower than for non-participants (respectively 9.5 compared to 13.2). Cost savings per diverted inmate is $16,330.

Prisoner Reentry in Massachusetts This report describes prisoner reentry in Massachusetts by examining the trends in incarceration and prisoner releases in the state, the characteristics of the state’s returning adult and juvenile inmates, the geographic distribution of returning inmates, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning inmates. This document consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Massachusetts inmates released in 2002. The data used for this report were derived from several sources, including the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Massachusetts Division of Youth Services, the Massachusetts State Parole Board, the Suffolk County House of Correction, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Graphics & Design by: Thomas Pimental & Michelle Christman
In Association with: CLASS Connections

TITLE	DESCRIPTION
Tools of the Trade: A Guide to Incorporating Science Into Practice	Required text. The application of evidence-based research findings to the practice of offender supervision is explained. Sections of this manual include: introduction -- supervision as a behavioral management process to reduce recidivism; behavior and change; assessment and planning; communication tools; information tools; incentives to shape offender behavior; service tools; offender types; and guiding principles.
Federal Probation: Special issue on Prisoner Reentry	The September 2004 issue of Federal Probationis devoted entirely to the prisoner reentry. The issue begins with a summary of "What Works in Prisoner Reentry" by Joan Petersilia. Other articles cover such topics as the costs and benefits of correctional treatment, a civic engagement model of reentry, a description of NIC's Transition from Prison to Community Initiative, engaging offenders as active participants in their reintegration, and the emerging role of information technology in reentry initiatives. The guest editor of this special issue was Professor James Byrne, from the University of Massachusett, Lowell. See links to individual articles below. Editor's Introduction: The Emperor's New Clothes The Offender and Reentry: Supporting Active Participation in Reintegration Improving Offender Success and Public Safety Through System Reform A Civic Engagement Model of Reentry Role of Police in Offender Re-Entry The Offender and Reentry: Supporting Active Participation in Reintegration Emerging Role of Information Technology in Reentry The Effects of Serious Mental Illness on Offender Re-Entry
Probation and Parole in the US	Reports the number of persons on probation and parole, by State, at yearend 2003 and compares the totals with yearend 1995 and 2002. It lists the States with the largest and smallest parole and probation populations and the largest and smallest rates of community supervision, and identifies the States with the largest increases. The Bulletin also describes the race and gender of these populations and reports the percentages of parolees and probationers completing community supervision successfully, or failing because of a rule violation or a new offense.
Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can't We Reform Our Criminals?	Video and related article. Early this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal sentencing guidelines are optional, renewing interest in sentencing legislation and criminal recidivism. As Congress looks for new strategies to combat increasing prisoner recidivism rates, a new book by UCLA research psychologist, David Farabee, warns of the pitfalls of returning to certain implementations of the "social programs" approach (e.g. prisoner visitation, life-skills, cognitive-behavioral) that was favored in the 1960s and 1970s, and appears to be re-emerging now. In Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can’t We Reform Our Criminals (AEI Press, 2005), Farabee reviews the most common forms of offender rehabilitation, outlines their underlying assumptions about the causes of crime, and provides a contrasting perspective that emphasizes closer monitoring, indefinite community supervision, and increased personal responsibility. A discussion will further explore the issue, featuring panelists Amy Solomon of the Urban Institute, John Laub of the University of Maryland, Jessica Nickel from the office of Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and James Q. Wilson of AEI and Pepperdine University.
Reintegrating the Concept of Community into Community-Based Corrections	Note: This document is more than 2MB, and may take a while to download.Police administrators across the country are developing a range of community-oriented policing strategies at a time when community corrections administrators are moving in the opposite direction by applying traditional, offender-based policing concepts to probation and parole practice. I highlight the limitations of this new wave of intermediate sanction programs and then discuss the importance of community context (i.e., community attitudes, tolerance, support, and structure) to the development of effective adult supervision strategies. I conclude by describing the four key characteristics of a community-oriented approach to probation and parole supervision: (1) service brokerage, (2) advocacy for offenders and victims, (3) triage, and (4) location in the community.
State Is Joining Shift on Prisons	Assigned March 29. By insisting that California make rehabilitation a focus of prison life, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining a national movement of political leaders who believe it is time for a new approach to incarceration.
Problem-Solving Probation: An Examination of Four Community-Based Experiments	Assigned March 30. A detailed look at efforts to reform probation using the principles of community justice in Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona and Oregon. Published in Texas Journal of Corrections (August 2001), Vol. 27, No. 3, Executive Exchange of the National Association of Probation Executives (Spring 2001), and Perspectives, the Journal of the American Probation and Parole Association (Winter 2002).
Day Reporting Centers	Assigned April 7. (May take a few minutes to load) In 1994 researchers visited four day reporting programs, each reflecting common features of DRC' s as well as distinct individual characteristics (such as, large size, State or local level of operation, and colocation of services). This section presents a look at the development and operation of these programs.
Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp Performance Analysis and Evaluation	Results from an assessment of a motivational boot camp are presented. Following an overview and highlights, this report provided information regarding: the Quehanna population; boot camps at work and outcomes; recidivism; cost savings; programmatic achievements; program assessment of program quality and integrity; improving program integrity and performance; security; and the future. The six month recidivism rate for program graduates is 28% lower than for non-participants (respectively 9.5 compared to 13.2). Cost savings per diverted inmate is $16,330.
Prisoner Reentry in Massachusetts	This report describes prisoner reentry in Massachusetts by examining the trends in incarceration and prisoner releases in the state, the characteristics of the state’s returning adult and juvenile inmates, the geographic distribution of returning inmates, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning inmates. This document consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Massachusetts inmates released in 2002. The data used for this report were derived from several sources, including the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Massachusetts Division of Youth Services, the Massachusetts State Parole Board, the Suffolk County House of Correction, and the U.S. Census Bureau.