The information presented in this layer of the model is designed for individuals who supervise others providing direct services to persons on supervision. Supervisors’ responsibilities within a community supervision agency include providing performance feedback, supporting problem solving, ensuring compliance with agency policies and procedures, influencing organizational culture, leading and supporting implementation efforts, and engaging community stakeholders. Supervisors are the backbone of organizations and are often the catalysts for improvements.

Functional Competencies for Supervisors: Connection

Engaging staff. Positive relationships with community supervision staff make supervisors more effective. Strong working alliances enhance staff functioning and ensure that supervision services are delivered with fidelity and quality and conform to agency policies. 

Like staff, supervisors play dual roles. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that staff follow agency requirements. The other role is helping staff develop and refine their skills through performance feedback, coaching, mentoring, and consulting. Regular, personal contact with staff is essential for supervisors. This includes scheduled case reviews and caseload conferences, as well as unscheduled discussions and problem-solving sessions. 

Facilitating community engagement. Many community supervision staff will be unfamiliar with using community supports as a formal part of supervision. Supervisors must ensure that staff understand the concept and work with them to encourage their use of community engagement. Supervisors can help with recruitment and training of natural supports such as family, coworkers, and mentors. Supervisors also can play a role in engaging community organizations for support and services. 

Functional Competencies for Supervisors: Assessment

Reviewing assessments. Supervisors monitor fidelity and quality in the process of assessing persons on supervision, ensuring that community supervision staff comply with policies, directives, and practices. Supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving initial assessments conducted by staff, including reviewing the scoring of risk and needs assessments and approving override requests. Supervisors also review and approve other assessment tools that staff have used. In addition, supervisors review case records to ensure that staff have identified and considered specific responsivity factors. 

Evaluating staff skills. In reviewing assessments, supervisors evaluate skill levels of community supervision staff, provide feedback, and note any areas where coaching, additional skill development or training are needed. Supervisors should note staff strengths and exemplary skills and offer appropriate feedback. 

Functional Competencies for Supervisors: Planning

Reviewing case plans. The supervisor reviews case conceptualizations developed by community supervision staff and considers the following questions:

• Do they adequately reflect the assessments, the conditions of supervision, any risk management factors, effective supervision strategies, treatment and services needed, and available resources? 
• Do the case strategies and goals address major needs and risk factors? 
• Are the frequency and types of contacts planned adequate to address the needs of persons on supervision, risk concerns and agency policies? 

Supervisors should discuss case conceptualizations with staff, provide feedback, suggest alternatives if needed, and ensure that staff have done a comprehensive job. 

Supervisors also review case plans, ensuring that behavioral objectives for persons on supervision meet SMART criteria, are clearly linked to case goals, and target criminogenic factors. Supervisors will approve plans that meet the requirements, and they will become the action plans for supervision. Otherwise, supervisors should offer feedback to staff about how to improve case plans. 

Professional development planning. Supervisors are responsible for developing a professional development plan for each community supervision staff member. This plan provides a regular forum for feedback on performance, skills, and competencies. It summarizes and formalizes feedback provided over the designated period, recognizes high performance and accomplishments, and provides suggestions about how to build skills and competencies through coaching, skill practice, and training. 

Functional Competencies for Supervisors: Supervision

Developing staff capabilities. Supervisors are significantly involved in the professional development of community supervision staff. Supervision of staff should include direct observation of staff in action, both in the office and in the field, and in-person meetings for ongoing feedback and coaching. In the professional development process, supervisors play several roles in relation to staff, including teacher (e.g., imparting new skills and techniques), coach (e.g., assessing strengths and needs, suggesting techniques and approaches, providing feedback), mentor (e.g., being a role model, sounding board, adviser), and consultant (e.g., providing alternative interpretations, suggesting different approaches, offering performance feedback). 

Ensuring policy compliance, fidelity, and quality. Successful implementation of EBPs requires ongoing supervision of community supervision staff. Supervisors must ensure that staff successfully integrate EBPs into supervision activities. Supervisors monitor activities to ensure that staff comply with agency policies and procedures. They also monitor to ensure fidelity, seeing that staff practices conform closely to the prescriptions of evidence-based assessment and supervision practices. EBPs will not be effective without fidelity.  

Supervisors also monitor the quality of services provided and work with staff to maintain and improve quality. Community supervision agencies have an obligation to provide quality services to persons on supervision.