Why Do This Step?
People on probation accumulate dosage hours by participating in cognitive behavioral interventions that address their criminogenic needs and skill deficits. People can complete cognitive behavioral interventions in three ways: (1) during one-on-one interactions with their probation agent, (2) as take-home assignments, and (3) through programs delivered by the probation agency and/or community service providers.
In most jurisdictions, community-based programming contributes the largest portion of people's dosage hours. Many probation agencies operate with limited resources, hindering the delivery of sufficient dosage hours through one-on-one appointments, take-home assignments, and in-house programming. To fill the gap, agencies often depend on community service providers to offer the amount and type of programming needed to help people achieve their 100-, 200-, or 300-hour dosage targets and earn early discharge as efficiently as possible. For this reason, partnering with community service providers is considered essential to successfully implementing the dosage probation model.
A critical step in conducting the dosage probation readiness assessment is determining community service providers' interest in partnering around dosage probation and their capacity to deliver evidence-based dosage hours. This section guides you in assessing the position of your community service providers to support the implementation of dosage probation in your jurisdiction.
TO DO
- Conduct a dosage probation orientation session
- Gather and assess information from community service providers
- Complete the relevant portion of the readiness assessment rating form
Prepare and Conduct Your Community Service Provider Orientation
The first step in assessing community service providers' interest is to conduct an orientation to dosage probation. The orientation serves several purposes. It is an opportunity for community providers to learn about the dosage probation model and what to expect from a dosage probation partnership. It brings together providers in one place and time (in person or virtually) to receive accurate and consistent information. It also outlines the next steps for providers interested in exploring a partnership.
QUOTE
“In Washington County, we decided to hold one-on-one meetings with service providers instead of conducting a group orientation. We wanted to avoid any potential competition dynamics that could shift focus away from our goal of providing information and building interest. Individual meetings helped us gain buy-in and trust from providers to share information about their programming, which, in turn, helped us determine eligible dosage program hours. I recommend that only one or two people with a solid understanding of dosage probation conduct the meetings to ensure providers get accurate and consistent information.” – Ren Clinton, Deputy Director, Washington County Community Corrections
Decide Whom to Invite
The community service providers you invite to the orientation are at your discretion. However, it is recommended that you invite, at a minimum, those whom you know deliver evidence-based programs; with whom your probation agency or jurisdiction has a good working relationship, memorandums of understanding, or established contracts; and to whom your agency regularly refers people for programs addressing the
Some probation agencies invite all community service providers, regardless of the criminogenic needs their programs address, to get the word out about the agency’s dosage probation initiative and to foster the potential for future partnership growth. For instance, providers delivering services primarily targeting employment, education, or leisure/recreation may be interested in partnering around dosage probation and willing to implement new programs that incorporate cognitive behavioral or structured skill building interventions addressing the underlying causes of problems in those need areas (i.e., one or more of the five most influential criminogenic needs). Agencies taking this approach may not prioritize partnering with these providers over those addressing the five most influential criminogenic needs upon implementation. Still, they can work with them over time to build the community’s capacity to deliver dosage-eligible programs.
TIP
Regardless of your approach, it is recommended that you identify the criminogenic needs your community providers address before you send invitations to the orientation. This knowledge will help you begin thinking strategically about the landscape of dosage-eligible programs in your community and with whom your agency may or may not prioritize partnerships.
Review and Customize the Orientation Materials
You may start preparing for the orientation by reviewing the Dosage Probation Orientation for Community Service Providers Invitation Template (.doc). The letter offers suggested language and resources to acquaint community providers with the concept of dosage probation and to invite them to the orientation. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to best suit your needs.
You might also review the Dosage Probation Orientation for Community Service Providers Agenda Template (.doc). It includes the recommended meeting goals, topics, and discussion points to be covered and the time frames for each, totaling 90 minutes. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet your needs.
In addition, you might review the Dosage Probation Orientation for Community Service Providers Presentation Template (.ppt).The presentation follows and expands on the information in the agenda and contains suggested talking points. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet your needs. In particular, you will need to insert specific information on the slide about the next steps for providers interested in further exploring a dosage probation partnership (see "Gather and Assess Information from Community Service Providers" below). The modifications you make to the presentation may require changes to the agenda and vice versa.
TIP
Before you conduct the orientation, familiarize yourself with the community service provider information and activities presented in the Dosage Probation Toolkit. The more you know about how your probation agency will identify community service provider partners and align community-based services with the dosage probation model, the more comprehensively you can speak to these processes during the orientation.
The following handouts supplement the information in the invitation letter, agenda, and presentation: Dosage Probation: Rethinking the Structure of Probation Sentences (.pdf), Dosage Probation: A Prescription Based on Two Pilot Sites' Experiences (.pdf), and Dosage Probation Model Fundamentals (.pdf). Attach these handouts to your invitation letter so community service providers can familiarize themselves with the information before the orientation.
Consider the following questions to help you complete a successful orientation. You may need to address other issues specific to your jurisdiction or community service providers.
- Who is best suited to deliver the orientation? Does it make sense to have copresenters? Who best represents the probation agency (or other entity) spearheading the readiness assessment? Is there anyone in particular with whom community service providers are most familiar or have a good working relationship? Who is best suited to field concerns and questions from providers?
- If you have copresenters, which sections will each person cover? What other responsibilities might each person have in preparing for or delivering the orientation (e.g., coordinating the orientation time and logistics, reaching out to participants, preparing materials)?
- Which community service providers will you invite to the orientation? Do probation agents suggest anyone in particular? Does your jurisdiction run a specialty court or other programs regularly referring people to or having contracts with specific providers? Are there any new providers serving your area? Who attends your locality's regular community service provider meetings?
- How will you ensure the best attendance? Will you contact anyone by phone or in person to personally invite them to the orientation? What is the orientation's best format (in person or virtual) and timing? Do you want to offer a beverage or light snack if delivered in person? If virtual, will you record the orientation and, if so, do you want to advertise this information or share it only as needed to encourage live attendance? Are there days of the week that generally work best for providers? Do you want to "poll" providers for their availability?
- Who from your agency will be the point of contact to answer providers' follow-up questions, coordinate next steps, and share additional dosage-related materials (e.g., someone you expect will chair or be involved in the community service provider subcommittee in the following implementation phases)?
Gather and Assess Information from Community Service Providers
In addition to reviewing and customizing the orientation materials above, you will want to prepare for the next steps that service providers interested in further exploring a dosage probation partnership will follow. At the end of the orientation, interested providers will be asked to share specific information about their organizations and programs.
IMPORTANT
"Further exploring" means that the providers who share information after the orientation express interest in a possible partnership and are not committing themselves or their organization to team up with your agency to implement dosage probation. During the next (preparation) phase of implementation, your agency will establish a community service provider subcommittee to continue engaging interested providers. By the end of the preparation phase, the subcommittee will identify those best positioned to partner around the delivery of evidence-based dosage hours depending on your agency's and dosage probation population's programming needs. In other words, your agency may initially partner with only some interested providers.
These next steps are an opportunity to do the following:
- Assess the level of interest in dosage probation among your community service providers
- Assess providers’ willingness to engage in a partnership around dosage probation
- Gather preliminary information from interested providers to assess their ability to deliver—or their capacity to deliver—evidence-based dosage hours
You may prepare by reviewing the Readiness Assessment Community Service Provider Information Template (.doc). The document contains instructions, introductory language, and questions for gathering information from interested providers about their organizations and programs. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet your needs. For efficiency purposes, it is recommended that you transfer the template into an electronically accessible form or survey that automatically populates responses into one spreadsheet (e.g., Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Smartsheet). Agencies that cannot access web-based programs like these may consider gathering information from providers via email or interview instead. Regardless of how information is collected, it should be compiled into one spreadsheet for easy reference—which your future community service provider subcommittee will also appreciate.
TIP
You may wish to review the Community Service Provider Inventory Template (.xls) that your future community service provider subcommittee will complete for all interested providers. The spreadsheet contains the organizational and program elements valuable for understanding the landscape of programs in your community and for identifying the providers best positioned to partner with your agency around dosage probation. Some of the spreadsheet's items are also included in the above information template for the purpose of the readiness assessment.
Consider the following questions to help you gather and assess the information shared by community service providers about their organizations and programs. You may need to address other issues specific to your jurisdiction or community service providers.
- By what date do you want to receive responses from interested providers? How much time is sufficient for them to gather the requested information? When do you plan to review it?
- Who will follow up with providers who may have expressed interest but did not submit their information by the deadline? When and how will the follow-up occur?
- How many providers are willing versus unwilling to collaborate with your probation agency around dosage probation, share information about a person's program participation, and participate in the fidelity assessment process? Do you need to follow up with any providers who may be unsure about one or more of these partnership elements? Overall, would you say providers are interested or uninterested in a dosage probation partnership?
- Do any providers deliver programs addressing one or more criminogenic needs? One or more of the five most influential criminogenic needs? Do you notice any gaps between the need areas currently addressed and those your probation agency would likely need addressed? What data might you have to help identify potential gaps?
- Do any providers use structured curricula? Are you or others familiar with the curricula? Is it considered evidence-based (i.e., research demonstrates that the curriculum/program reduces recidivism or the likelihood of recidivism)? Evidence-informed (i.e., no research exists on the outcomes of the curriculum/program itself, but it includes cognitive behavioral or structured skill building techniques demonstrated by the research to be effective)? You may find it helpful to reference the National Institute of Justice's Crimesolutions.gov, a searchable database of criminal justice programs, interventions, and practices rated on a continuum of evidence ranging from effective to promising, inconclusive, or no effect.
- Do you have any concerns related to the accessibility of programs (e.g., location, transportation, when and how frequently the program is offered, waitlists, funding to continue the program)?
- What are the strengths of your community-based programs? What are areas for improvement? What, if anything, needs further exploration now or in the next implementation phase?
- What might your probation agency need to do in future implementation phases to help providers build their capacity to deliver evidence-based dosage hours (e.g., consulting with or training providers on evidence-based curricula, helping to secure funding, conducting evidence-based practices education sessions)? Does your agency have, or could it acquire, the resources to carry out the possible strategies you identified?
- Is it possible that your probation agency will need to implement new in-house cognitive behavioral programs to supplement gaps in community-based programs? Could your agency support the delivery of in-house programs if necessary?
Complete the Readiness Assessment Rating Form
Once the above-described activities have been accomplished, complete Part 3 of the Dosage Probation Readiness Assessment: Jurisdiction Rating Form (.doc). Use your assessment of the information gathered from community service providers to help you determine whether their interest and willingness to deliver or build their capacity to deliver dosage programming hours are an area of strength, are an area for improvement, or pose significant challenges to implementing dosage probation in your jurisdiction.
IMPORTANT
A critical activity in the third (planning) implementation phase is conducting fidelity assessments to ensure community-based programs adhere to the known principles of effective intervention (i.e., are effective at reducing recidivism) and can be counted as dosage. The University of Cincinnati's Evidence-Based Correctional Program Checklist (CPC) is a well-known fidelity assessment with weighted scoring across several domains correlated with recidivism: (1) leadership and development, (2) staff characteristics, (3) quality assurance, (4) assessment, and (5) treatment characteristics. It is recommended that you begin familiarizing yourself with the CPC and planning for its training process and cost. Other evidence-based practices fidelity assessments may be available. If you choose another fidelity assessment, give it your due diligence to ensure it is empirically validated.