Utilize case planning and evidence-based interventions to improve interactions, optimize learning, and empower behavioral change.
Understanding and recognizing conditions and traits that directly impact the decision(s) one made, which resulted in justice system involvement, is integral to case planning that helps people change their behavior and live a life without justice involvement.
The following resources are intended to build evidence-based practices and knowledge among justice professionals and, subsequently, improve outcomes for persons with justice involvement.
Identify Criminogenic Needs to Reduce Recidivism by People Who are Moderate to High Risk
By identifying criminogenic needs, using a risk/needs assessment like the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS), justice professionals are better able to focus on the circumstances that contribute to a person engaging in illegal acts. With this knowledge, justice professionals can help those involved in the justice system understand their behaviors, develop new skills and ways of thinking that influence positive behaviors, and improve relationships.
While responsivity is often misunderstood and/or unaddressed when using the risk-need-responsivity model, it is an approach that makes a lot of sense: interventions should be tailored/responsive to the traits and circumstances of each person. When responding with cognitive behavioral interventions that match the person’s circumstances, the chances for promoting engagement, optimizing learning, and affecting positive change are much greater.
Learn the three components of specific responsivity and the approaches justice professionals can implement to facilitate engagement and behavioral change by reading the Responsivity Principles EBP brief.
Using Trauma-informed Care to Reduce Resistance and Increase Resiliency
Adverse childhood experiences and lifetime trauma, common among people with justice involvement, can have lasting negative effects on a person. To improve interactions with people who have experienced trauma, and to prevent retraumatization, justice professionals must be able to recognize and understand trauma, as well as respond appropriately.
Build your trauma-informed care skills by reviewing the five key principles of trauma-informed care and ideas for transforming those ideas into practice, detailed in the Trauma-Informed Care EBP brief.
Bringing Balance to Unstable Circumstances
All of us experience moments in our lives when it seems, no matter what we do, things are unbalanced. For a person reentering the community, many things may feel unbalanced and one of the most difficult risk factors they’ll face is housing insecurity. The stress of fulfilling court-ordered requirements can easily be exacerbated and enhance instability when other factors come into play such as lack of transportation, inability to find and/or maintain employment, or health concerns.
By assessing and addressing stabilization factors, with guidance from our Stabilization EBP brief, justice system professionals can help people find balance and be better positioned to engage more fully in intervention and activities that reduce their risk of returning to the justice system.
Webinar: Behavioral Change Through the Use of Success Plans
Success planning (commonly known as case planning) is a strategy that is correlated with reductions in violations, enhanced perceptions of fairness, and improved collaboration. This 60-minute webinar will provide a brief overview of the success planning process, introduce the PPCJI template, demonstrate the use of the tool, and provide tips. Whether your department is already developing success plans or wanting to gain a better understanding, the webinar will help drive alignment across the state and create connections with the individuals with whom we work.
Registration is required and limited to 500 participants. The webinar will be recorded, and the PowerPoint and the recording will be posted on the website: ccappoap.com.
Note: Webinar is a primer and is not meant to replace formal training and skill practice required to effectively develop success plans. Participants are encouraged to review the success/case plan policy and template prior to the webinar.
The purpose of the Success/Case Plan Policy is to establish uniform guidelines for conducting an assessment-driven success/case plan for improved supervised outcomes. The Success/Case Plan Template was designed by PPCJI to assist counties with the implementation of a written document that is individualized, performance-based and:
Articulates goals and activities that link a validated risk and needs assessment tool with services aimed to improve competencies and reduce recidivism
Aligns with individual’s criminogenic needs and meets the specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound (SMART) objectives
Focuses on the top two-three criminogenic needs that are likely the driving force of the individual’s antisocial behavior
Outlines specific goals and activities/action steps designed to manage the individual’s risk, address criminogenic needs, and enhances or develops strengths
Next month: The June newsletter will focus on relationships, building rapport, dealing with resistance, and using motivational interviewing to promote positive change.
Positive change is possible for everyone in Pennsylvania. We look forward to continuing to enhance your EBP knowledge and invite you to submit education/resource requests to askppcji@gmail.com.
