Every field has its own terms and the correctional field is no exception. This section defined a number of basic terms used in this module. These terms have been highlighted in purple throughout the module, allowing you to rollover the term to see the definition.

Boundary spanners:

“Individuals who can facilitate communication across agencies and profession to coordinate policies and services.”¹

Efficacy:

The power to produce an effect.

Fidelity:

A measure of the degree to which a given intervention is actually applied or carried out as intended.

Logic model:

“A picture of how your organization does its work—the theory and assumptions underlying the program. A program logic model links outcomes (both short- and long-term) with program activities/processes and the theoretical assumptions/principles of the program.”²

Long-term public safety:

Differing from simple public safety, which is enhanced for the short term while an offender is incarcerated, long-term public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public, and sustains this desired state over a significant period of time after an offender is released from jail.

Partnership:

“A formal agreement between two or more parties that have agreed to work together in the pursuit of common goals.”³ Within the criminal justice system, partnership requires that system stakeholders put aside past differences or competition in favor of a mutually agreed upon or shared mission.  

Public safety:

The prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public such as crimes or disasters.

Stakeholders:

People, practitioners, or actors within the system of criminal justice as well as those employed outside the system or within the community who share interest in or offer service to transitioning offenders.