Self-Paced Online Courses

EBP Course 2 - Risk Assessment and Classification: Fundamentals for Criminal Justice Professionals. 
This is course two in NIC’s six-course Evidence Based Practices in a Correctional Setting program. The main purpose of this course is to introduce you to actuarial risk assessments and describe how they are utilized as a tool within criminal justice professions. NIC offers this course free of charge. 
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Using Assessment Tools 
Being a community supervision officer presents a variety of challenges. However, it can be an extremely rewarding profession when you are presented with the right tools and training to do your job effectively. Your time is a scarce and important resource. Assessments can assist you with a number of decisions in the case management process and in the allocation of your valuable time. Furthermore, done properly, assessments can assist with reducing the likelihood of future crime committed by individuals under your supervision—a win-win situation for everyone. Drawing upon material from the National Institute of Corrections’Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Community Corrections: The Principles of Effective Intervention curriculum, this course is designed to educate entry-level community corrections personnel on evidence-based practices. Specifically, you will learn how assessment tools can be used to enhance the decision-making process and guide the development of more effective community supervision and treatment plans for offenders. The combination of experiential exercises, instructive information, and detailed case examples in this course gives you the tools you need to effectively use the most appropriate assessment tools in your own setting. 
https://appa.academy.reliaslearning.com/Using-Assessment-Tools--EL-UAT-CORR-APPA.aspx (cost: $32) 

Understanding Responsivity 
Evidenced-based practices (EBP) are currently the most talked about change within community corrections. Of the three core principles of EBP, responsivity is the least understood. This course will explain to you the evidence-based principle of responsivity. Responsivity requires that community corrections professionals consider characteristics specific to the individual under supervision when matching him/her to specific interventions and treatment services. The process of understanding someone’s learning style, motivation, etc. can be difficult, yet when these factors are addressed, outcomes with persons under supervision are more successful. The information in this course will provide you with an overview of evidence-based practice principles, as well as specific responsivity factors, including those within a contact. You will be exposed to a variety of case scenarios to better understand these concepts. The goal of this course is to help community corrections personnel identify “responsivity factors” and learn how to apply them to individuals on their caseload. Drawing upon information from Bonta’s "The Responsivity Principle and Offender Rehabilitation," this course will be helpful for any case bearing community corrections officer at any stage of his or her career. 
https://appa.academy.reliaslearning.com/Understanding-Responsivity--EL-URESP-CORR-APPA.aspx (cost: $32).

Facilitating Offender Success with Effective Case Planning 
Individuals under supervision often have an assortment of problems and issues to address. Sometimes these issues seem incredibly difficult to identify and address. Even when offender problems are known, how do you know which issues are relevant to supervision? How do you know what to prioritize in the supervision plan? Which issues will be addressed through programming or treatment? Moreover, which issues, if any, can be ignored or put on the back-burner? These questions are constant struggles for community supervision officers. Some days, it feels as if there is not enough time to address everything that seems significant. However, when properly used, assessment tools and supervision plans can help you answer these important questions and assist with the supervision process. Drawing upon material from The Probation and Parole Treatment Planner and other scholarly research material, such as information from the National Institute of Corrections, this course is designed to educate entry-level, community corrections personnel on criminogenic needs found in evidence-based practices literature and associated with an offender's delinquent or criminal behavior. The information in this training discusses how these specific domains contribute to criminal and antisocial behavior. Further, using interactive exercises, detailed case illustrations, and informative material, you will explore how to address each of these specific domains in the supervision plan. 
https://appa.academy.reliaslearning.com/Facilitating-Offender-Success-with-Effective-Case-Planning--EL-FOSECP-CORR-APPA.aspx (cost: $40) 

Webinar:  Addressing Responsivity Issues for American Indian/Alaska Native Individuals on Community Supervision 
The responsivity principle suggests that an individual's characteristics affect how he or she responds to treatment and interventions. Characteristics such as learning style, personality, culture, gender, education level, etc. should play an important part in choosing which services and interventions a justice-involved individual is assigned to. In this era where practitioners are encouraged to incorporate strategies and practices that are “evidence-based,” we should be cautious not to discount indigenous, tribal or culture-based interventions that could work more effectively with American Indian/Alaska Native populations, even though they have not been evaluated and labeled as “evidence-based.” 
https://appa.academy.reliaslearning.com/Addressing-Responsivity-Issues-for-American-Indian-Alaska-Native-Individuals-on-Community-Supervisi-.aspx