Why Do This Step?
When planning for implementation, it is crucial to put the proper infrastructure (organizational support and leadership) in place to ensure community-based programs meet the highest standards of quality and effectiveness to count as dosage.
To count as dosage, programs must meet the standards of evidence-based practices (EBP) for reducing recidivism, including those for effective cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI), as discussed in the Identify Your Community Service Provider Partners section of the Dosage Probation Toolkit. Yet, many programs serving correctional populations lack optimal fidelity, often focusing on disease or medical treatment outcomes rather than recidivism reduction.
In the previous (preparation) phase of implementation, your probation agency’s community service provider subcommittee worked diligently to identify the partners with whom your agency will initially team up to provide dosage through community-based programming. Now, in the planning phase, the subcommittee will work closely with these chosen partners and others to establish mutual policies, procedures, and expectations supporting a fully aligned dosage probation community-based services model. By helping providers build their capacity to deliver high-fidelity programs through shared agreements, policies, EBP fidelity assessments, education, and other assistance, agencies can rest assured that dosage probation and those benefiting from it are achieving the best possible outcomes.
This section helps the community service provider subcommittee prepare your probation agency and community service providers to launch dosage probation in your jurisdiction.
TO DO
- Familiarize yourself with a fully aligned dosage probation community-based services model
- Get started on your work plan
- Administer EBP fidelity assessments and develop action plans
- Develop shared policies and procedures
- Establish dosage probation partnership agreements with community provider partners
- Get ready for the next steps
What Does a “Fully Aligned Dosage Probation Community-Based Services Model” Look Like?
Below is a community services model that fully aligns with (adheres to) the evidence-based principles of the dosage probation model. Many probation agencies have yet to work or have only partially worked hand-in-glove with community providers and vice versa, as envisioned by the model.
As you read the description, begin thinking about how your agency, probation staff, and provider partners could improve their work together to ensure people on probation receive the most effective community-based treatment possible.
| Probation agencies and community service providers share responsibility for accessible and effective recidivism-reduction programs in the community. | Probation staff refer people to vetted community-based programs based on individual case plans. | Community service providers share substantive information with probation staff to determine the amount of dosage earned. |
|---|---|---|
| Agencies and providers establish agreed-upon roles, responsibilities, services, policies, and procedures of a dosage probation partnership. Agreed-upon expectations include informal or formal agreements (e.g., memorandums of understanding, paid service contracts, or similar) and the completion of EBP fidelity assessments and corrective action plans (e.g., Evidence-Based Correctional Program Checklist or equivalent). Agencies and providers further support each other by providing and engaging in ongoing education and communication around EBP and possibly other opportunities like training on a specific program curriculum or securing funding or new program locations (e.g., jails or rural hubs such as libraries or community centers). | Highly skilled staff develop collaborative case plans with the people on their caseloads. The case plans direct evidence-based intervention strategies involving participation in treatment, one-on-one probation appointments, and homework to be completed between appointments based on the person’s assessed likelihood of recidivism, most influential criminogenic needs, and responsivity or stabilization factors. Staff use case plans to prioritize treatment needs and referrals to dosage-approved service providers. | Each program has a vetted number of dosage hours that can be accrued based on the manualized curriculum and time spent learning and practicing new skills and debriefing homework (as opposed to checking in or engaging in administrative, housekeeping, or other tasks that do not count as dosage). Providers send predetermined information to staff about program participants’ level of engagement and progress at agreed-upon intervals. Staff use the information to decide if the person is engaging in the program (i.e., actively learning and practicing skills rather than simply attending) to earn those dosage hours. To help with this decision, staff may also ask the person to share what they are learning and how they use or benefit from it. |
Get Started on Your Work Plan
Preparing your provider partners and probation agency to deliver and support community-based dosage depends on various factors, such as your agency's operational structure, current policies and practices, available resources, relationships with providers, and the current state of programming in your community.
QUOTE
“Expanding our in-house cognitive skills programming provided us an opportunity to ensure our clients had access to evidence-based interventions in both in-person and virtual programs, including in our jail. This extension to virtual programming also created opportunities to offer programming to clients in rural areas with limited transportation resources. Additionally, our efforts gave us time to re-establish and improve key relationships with community providers so we could assess their program content for crossover with our own efforts.” –Erin Johnson, Development Specialist, Dodge & Olmsted Community Corrections.
To initiate a work plan, all subcommittee members should meet to review the above-described elements of a fully aligned dosage probation community-based services model and answer the questions below (in addition to others that may arise). Your subcommittee may need to meet more than once and assign members to gather information beforehand or in the interim.
- Which elements (e.g., agreements, referrals, information sharing) are currently in place, and which are missing?
- How will we ensure that the elements currently in place meet the needs of our agency and providers under the dosage probation model?
- How can we help our agency complete EBP fidelity assessments and action plans with our provider partners?
- How can we help our provider partners get ready to deliver dosage?
- What bases must we cover to ensure probation staff are ready to play their part?
- What must be done to ensure accessible, timely, and effective programming in our community?
- What written policies and supporting documents must we develop (e.g., partnership agreements, presentations, flyers, forms)?
- What smaller steps must we take to put each element in place?
- What do we need to start working on right away?
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Reviewing the completed Community Service Provider Inventory Template (.xls) from the previous implementation phase can be helpful. Noting strengths, concerns, or issues needing further attention among the providers you’ve chosen may help you address the questions above and make informed decisions about how to proceed.
In addition to answering the questions above, your subcommittee will benefit from reviewing the rest of the guidance in this section before completing any activities. It will assist you in collaborating with your fellow probation staff and provider partners to establish shared policies, procedures, and expectations that support the delivery of high-fidelity community-based dosage.
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Don’t forget to add relevant activities and deadlines and assign leads to your subcommittee’s action plan developed in the previous implementation phase. You may need to work on several activities at the same time to keep pace with your jurisdiction’s expected implementation date.
Administer EBP Fidelity Assessments and Develop Action Plans
In the last two phases of implementation, your agency was advised to select an EBP fidelity assessment (e.g., the University of Cincinnati's Evidence-Based Correctional Program Checklist (CPC) or another empirically validated assessment) and prepare to complete it with your provider partners in this (the third) implementation phase. Your agency may have chosen local or state personnel (possibly including your subcommittee members) to complete the necessary assessor training and certification. Or, your agency may have partnered with a certified entity, such as another agency, office, or consultant.
Assessors typically undergo training and certification to carry out three primary responsibilities: preparing the organization (in this case, your provider partners) for the assessment, conducting the assessment, and following up with the organization to discuss recommendations based on the results. In some cases, assessors also work with the organization to create an individualized action plan that capitalizes on areas of strength and addresses areas needing improvement.
Depending on how your agency prepared for the assessments, your subcommittee may or may not be responsible for completing them. In the latter case, it would be best to work with the certified assessors to determine the best way to initiate the assessments with your provider partners. Additionally, you will want to agree on how you can support the assessors, how to exchange assessment results, and who will work with the providers to develop relevant action plans. It is also recommended that your subcommittee stay connected with your provider partners to encourage and support them throughout the assessment.
Consider using the Fidelity Assessment Action Plan Template (.doc) to guide conversations with provider partners about how they plan to strengthen their programs following their assessment recommendations. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet the needs of your agency or provider partners.
QUOTE
“The providers you’ve chosen to partner with may not fully adhere to EBP yet. But don’t worry; it’s not uncommon to see a gap between the research on recidivism reduction and the programming available in communities. Practically speaking, as long as programs meet the criteria for effective cognitive behavioral intervention and providers consistently work to achieve fidelity with EBP, you can feel confident counting those dosage hours.” –Jenna Mackey, dosage probation technical assistance provider, Center for Effective Public Policy.
Develop Shared Policies and Procedures
To establish a fully aligned dosage probation community-based services model, experience from the dosage probation pilot sites suggests focusing on four policy areas (although you may identify additional policy needs):
- Dosage Hours
- Referrals
- Information Sharing
- Fidelity Assessment
Subcommittee members may begin by familiarizing themselves with the policy areas and their decision points described below. Ultimately, your subcommittee will want to develop written policies, procedures, and supplemental documents that are accessible in one central location, such as your agency’s dosage probation manual, handbook, or similar, to help communicate expectations clearly and streamline processes.
Remember that collaboration is crucial. Once familiar with the policy areas, your subcommittee will want to plan whom to involve in the policymaking process and how. Consider choosing those who hold authority or influence over your agency’s policies and procedures, those you will depend on to follow or support your community-based dosage policies, and those who can best help generate ideas or design solutions. It can also be helpful to have community service provider partners identify a point of contact or representative to work with you in developing policies and procedures.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing collaborative relationships and policies, some common strategies include: and These methods are recommended to allow probation and service providers to work together by providing input, asking questions, expressing concerns, and offering feedback and solutions.
IMPORTANT
All probation staff should receive training in the policies and procedures your subcommittee puts into place. Staff meetings, lunch-and-learns, or other informational sessions can be good ways to convey this information and address questions. These are also excellent opportunities to pinpoint and fill any gaps in written policy before implementation. Don’t forget to add these activities to your subcommittee’s action plan.
Dosage Hours
Your subcommittee will want to create a comprehensive policy specifying the dosage amount that can be accrued for each dosage-eligible program your provider partners deliver. Additionally, the policy should tell probation staff how to document the accrued time or point them to instructions if found elsewhere in your agency’s dosage probation manual, handbook, or similar.
You may start by reviewing the Community-Based Dosage Hours Policy Questions (.pdf). The document contains essential decision points to create written policies and procedures for recording dosage hours through community-based programs. You may need to connect with others (e.g., those overseeing case management or data management) or logic model subcommittees to share information and avoid duplication of efforts related to counting or tracking dosage hours.
Referrals
Your subcommittee will want to create a comprehensive policy that assists probation staff in referring people to dosage-eligible programs offered by your provider partners based on each person’s needs. Additionally, the policy should address your provider partners’ efficient handling of referrals.
You may start by reviewing the Community-Based Dosage Program Referral Policy Questions(.pdf). The document contains essential decision points to create written policies and procedures for referring people to community-based dosage programs. You may need to connect with others (e.g., those overseeing case management, training, coaching, or data management) or logic model subcommittees to share information and avoid duplication of efforts related to making and managing referrals.
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Wright County created a Community Service Provider Referral Template (.pdf), including a Release of Information (ROI) to be signed, for supervision agents to complete and send to approved provider partners. You might find this example helpful when creating your own form.
Information Sharing
Your subcommittee will want to create a comprehensive policy that addresses your agency’s expectations of provider partners regarding the type of information they share about program participants and how they share it. The policy should also assist probation staff in using the information to determine whether a person has genuinely earned their dosage hours and, if so, how many hours they have earned.
You may start by reviewing the Community-Based Dosage Information-Sharing Policy Questions (.pdf). The document contains essential decision points to create written policies and procedures that guide the sharing of information about program participants and how that information should be used to determine dosage hours. You may need to connect with others (e.g., those overseeing case management or data management) or logic model subcommittees to share information and avoid duplication of efforts related to counting or tracking dosage hours.
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Wright County created a Monthly Progress Report Template (.pdf) for providers to complete regarding individuals' program participation. You might find this example helpful when creating your own form.
IMPORTANT
It is recommended that all provider partners adopt the same referral and information-sharing procedures to the extent possible. Too many different procedures can be complicated for staff and, eventually, those ensuring quality assurance to track. Although collaboration may require some degree of compromise, your subcommittee should strive to establish a consistent set of guidelines that all parties agree upon.
Fidelity Assessment
Your subcommittee will want to develop a comprehensive policy that outlines your agency's approach to evaluating how well community-based programs adhere to EBP for reducing recidivism. Furthermore, the policy should detail the process your agency will use to help provider partners enhance the fidelity of their programs based on the results of their evaluations.
You may start by reviewing the Community-Based EBP Fidelity Assessment Policy Questions (.pdf). The document contains essential decision points to create written policies and procedures that guide the fidelity assessment process with your provider partners.
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Policy decisions today may change as implementation progresses, and that’s perfectly fine. Policies that evolve with experiences, lessons learned, and feedback from others are ultimately more effective and sustainable. It’s important to be flexible and adapt these decisions in ways that make sense for everyone.
Establish Partnership Agreements
An essential step in mobilizing a dosage probation partnership between your agency and its provider partners is to develop shared expectations regarding each party’s role and responsibilities in delivering dosage-eligible programs in the community. Common partnership agreements include, but are not limited to, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), service contracts, or similar agreements. Regardless of the type of agreement, collaboration is necessary to develop one that fits each party’s operations, resources, and local or state regulations that govern working relationships with other entities.
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Choosing the right time to negotiate agreements with your provider partners can make all the difference. One possible approach is to start by collaboratively developing policies and procedures that will help determine what will be included in the agreements. Alternatively, if you need to update an agreement, you may make those modifications earlier.
Your subcommittee will want to ensure existing agreements are amended, or new ones are established, to meet your agency’s dosage probation needs and comply with local or state regulations. You may need to involve, coordinate, delegate, or defer to others with specific authority or expertise, such as probation leadership or personnel in your local or state administrative, legal, or budgeting offices. For example, specific information or forms may require approval through official channels. Consider designating a single person from your subcommittee or agency to oversee this process.
You may use the Dosage Probation Partnership Agreement Template (.doc) to develop or modify agreements with your provider partners. It contains the most common terms of a partnership agreement. You must customize the [bracketed] information and will likely need to make further adjustments to meet the needs of your agency, provider partners, and any regulatory requirements.
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If your agency is interested in creating or updating MOUs, the Dodge & Olmsted Community Corrections Dosage Probation MOU (.pdf) may contain helpful information.
Get Ready for Next Steps
Your subcommittee has achieved a significant milestone! Take a moment to celebrate your hard work and accomplishments.
As your agency gets ready to implement and evaluate dosage probation, now is the perfect time to start thinking about what your subcommittee can do to build on your success and ensure your hard work pays off.
You may start by reviewing the Sustaining Community Service Provider Partnerships Checklist(.pdf). The checklist includes essential considerations for supporting your probation agency and provider partners during the initial months of implementation and developing a long-term strategy for maintaining and expanding partnerships. Share this checklist with probation leadership to involve them in the planning process as they consider the sustainability of dosage probation in the following implementation phase.
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Add post-implementation activities and deadlines and assign leads to your subcommittee’s action plan or create a new one. Whether or not your subcommittee is responsible for these tasks, having them in a central location will help keep these efforts on track to ensure successful dosage probation partnerships with service providers long into the future.