The last twelve months have provided a lot for PPCJI to celebrate. The goals we set together resulted in a variety of successes:

• Held virtual stakeholder forums with approximately 300 county stakeholders in attendance.
• Conducted regional planning workshops with 42 counties attending with a team of stakeholders.
• Created a network of certified motivational interviewing trainers.
• Enabled over 145 Chiefs, Deputy Chiefs, and supervisors to complete an Implementation Leadership Academy
• Completed numerous printed and video resources for staff and stakeholders.

There were also some goals that weren’t met yet this year. Some of the goals are still in progress, others have been revised, and a few have been identified as no longer valuable. All of these situations are common when implementing change. Below are a few of in-progress goals:

• Develop a manual on effective correctional programs, including in-house, community-based, and online programs.
• Produce and distribute a monograph on best practices with respect to reinforcements and responses to noncompliance.
• Develop and implement an ORAS-based, Pennsylvania-specific case planning/success planning training curriculum for both supervisors/management staff and officers.
• Develop curriculum-specific virtual forums (trainer networks) at least quarterly (initially) to allow for collaboration and standardized interpretation of each curriculum.
• Develop templates and supporting procedures (e.g., for responses to violations, for PSIs, etc.) that use risk-needs-responsivity principles and strength-based language.

Maintaining momentum and achieving success by establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals is a 2024 priority.

Specific: Actions to be taken and what will be accomplished should be as specific as possible.

Measurable: Ensuring the goal can be easily measured using trusted data helps to demonstrate the effectiveness of the goal(s).

Achievable: Setting goals that can be met with existing resources and skills is critical. Relevant: Goals should align with mission, vision, and agency objectives.

Time-bound: Identifying a feasible deadline to meet the goal(s) is important because most people want to know the end goal is in sight.

As we identify 2024 goals and wrap-up 2023 goals, ensuring all goals are SMART is top of mind. From the state level to the County level, evaluating, revising, and setting SMART goals is best practice.

Collecting, Analyzing, and Sharing Data

Systems that yield better outcomes often do so because their policy discussions, performance measures, and other decisions are informed by data. The outcomes and indicators connected to the data can help evaluate the following:

• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Satisfaction and Quality
• Timeliness

Additional information about collecting, analyzing, and sharing data to meet agency goals is outlined in the new EBP Brief: Collecting, Analyzing, and Sharing Data.

Next Month: Stage One of Implementation: Getting started and putting SMART goals into action.

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.