Evidenced-Based
Practices in
Juvenile Corrections
Clarifying Terms
• Best Practices are often based on collective
experience and wisdom of the field rather than
scientifically tested knowledge
• What Works implies linkage to general outcomes but
does not specify the kind of outcomes desired
• Evidenced-Based Practice implies definable
outcomes, is measurable and is defined by practical
realities
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What Are Evidenced Based Practices (EBP)?
EBP focuses on two main questions:
 What “works”?
• Which types of programming, policies and practices
have been effective in producing positive outcomes
(recidivism, post-release employment, costbenefit)?
 For whom does it “work”?
• Are there certain types of offenders for whom a
certain type of program or practice is more or less
effective?
What Are Evidenced Based Practices?
In corrections: Practices in which an agency
systematically finds, appraises, and applies the
most current and valid research findings as the
basis for developing and implementing targeted
interventions and programming proven to
reduce recidivism.
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Historical Perspective
Rehabilitation
1960s
What
Works
2000
Politicization:
Three Strikes
1990s
Just Desserts
Sentencing
Guidelines
1970s
Utilitarian:
Mandatory
Minimums
1980s
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Research Foundation for Evidenced Based Practices
 In the 1980’s research began to appear
supporting the notion that treatment
works to reduce recidivism
 30+ years of over 500 quality research
studies
 Many sophisticated meta-analyses
 Canada, Europe, and United States
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What Works
 Deliver services to higher-risk offenders
 Target criminogenic needs – those factors that can
change over time
 Cognitive-behavioral interventions work best with
appropriate offenders
 Treatment programs are matched to responsivity
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What Does Not Work with Offenders
 Targeting low-risk offenders
 Deterrence alone without treatment
 Targeting non-criminogenic needs; i.e., anxiety,
depression, self-esteem
 Scared straight approaches
 Insight oriented, psychodynamic, non-directive, or clientcentered therapies
 Lack of direct training procedures with an absence of
modeling and role-playing
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Essentials of EBP
Measure Outcomes
Engage Ongoing Support
Increase Positive
Reinforcement
Cognitive Behavioral
Interventions
Target Intervention
Enhance Intrinsic
Motivation
Assess Offender Risk/Needs
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I. Assess Offender Risk/Needs
Assess Offender Risk/Needs
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I. Assess Offender Risk & Need
Dynamic risk factors are linked to criminal
behavior and can be changed
•
•
•
•
•
•
Improved self-control
Increased positive support networks
Engagement in pro-social values
Increased pro-social behaviors
Substance abuse treatment
Reconnection with primary/healthy relationships
I. Assess Offender Risk & Need
Static risk factors that do not predict criminal
behavior
• Age
• Criminal or delinquent history
• Offense
I. Assess Offender Risks and Needs
How do we identity Risk predictors?
 Youth Level-of-Service/Case Management Inventory
(YLS/CMI)
 Juvenile Detention Risk Management
 Juvenile Sex offender assessments
 Chemical assessments
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I. Assess Offender Risk & Need
How do we identify these Need predictors?
Massachusetts Youth Screening
Inventory (MAYSI-2 for mental health)
Problem Oriented Screening Instrument
for Teenagers (POSIT)
Substance Use Screenings
Gambling Screen
Personal Experience Screening
Questionnaire (PESQ)
I. Assess Offender Risks and Needs
 Actuarial risk to
reoffend
 Identifies
criminogenic
needs
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I. Risk Assessment Implementation
Offenders under supervision are assessed to
determine their likelihood to reoffend
Determine level of supervision
by setting cut off scores
Drives the case plan
Targets appropriate
interventions
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II. Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Assess Offender Risk/Need
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II. Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
“The
only people who
truly welcome change
are wet babies”
- Harvey Skinner
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II. Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Motivational Interviewing
 Based on Prochaska’s stages of change:
 Establishes rapport
 Assesses readiness to change
 Centers on engagement and
empowerment
 Utilizes the change process
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II. Stages of Change
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II. Enhance Offender Motivation
For lasting change to occur, there needs to be
a level of intrinsic motivation
Research strongly suggest that motivational
interviewing (MI) effectively enhances
motivation for initiating and maintaining
change behavior.
III. Target Interventions
Target Interventions
Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Assess Offender Risk Need
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III. Target Interventions
Risk
Need
Responsivity
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III. Target Interventions
Risk
 Determine the risk to re-offend through use of
validated, reliable “risk assessment” tools
 Work with moderate to high risk offenders; leave low
risk offenders alone
 Use interventions that directly address offender
characteristics associated with criminal behavior
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III. Target Interventions
Need
 Criminogenic needs can change over time
 Anti-social attitudes, anti-social associates,
anti-social thinking patterns, anti-social
behaviors i.e., substance abuse
 Criminogenic needs are identified through
assessment tools and targeted through
interventions
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III. Target Interventions
Responsivity
Responsive to temperament, learning style,
gender, culture when assigning programs
Matching offender to the appropriate
interventions given their risk level and
crimnogenic needs
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III. Target Interventions
 Relies on motivational interviewing
 Targets risk factors that lead to recidivism
 SMART case plan goals are:
Small, measureable, attainable, realistic, timely
 Strength-based
 Gender, culturally, developmentally responsive
 Follows offender through the system
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IV. Use Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
Use Cognitive Behavioral
Interventions
Target Interventions
Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Assess Offender Risk/Needs
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IV. Use Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
Treatment Principles:
• Treatment, particularly cognitive-behavioral
(CBT) is most effective with offenders
• Proactive and strategic case planning
• Targeted, timely treatment provides the
greatest long term benefit
• Applying treatment to lower risk offenders can
have detrimental effects
IV. Use Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
 Target criminal thinking
 Use cognitive-behavioral learning approaches
• Modeling
• Reinforcement
• Role play
• Coaching
• Structured curricula
 Targeted treatment
• Sex offender treatment
• Chemical dependency treatment
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V. Measure Outcomes
Measure Outcomes
Provide Ongoing Support
Increase Positive Reinforcement
Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
Target Interventions
Enhance Intrinsic Motivation
Assess Offender Risk/Needs
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V. Measurement
Are there more effective ways to use taxpayer
$ to achieve particular public outcomes
Recidivism is the gold standard for better and
for worse
All the EBPs are shown to
reduce recidivism
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V. Measures are Tied to Mission
Protect the public by:
 Providing for core correctional care
 Holding offenders accountable
 Changing offender behavior
 Restoring justice to victims
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V. Examples of Corrections Outcome Measures
 Recidivism while under supervision
 Reduction in risk assessment score
 Restitution ordered and collected
 Recidivism three years post release
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V. Types of Measurement
Program Evaluation
– Outcome Measures
– Performance Measures
Research using quasi or experimental design
Cost Analysis
– Cost Utility Analysis
– Cost Effectiveness Analysis
– Cost/Benefit Analysis
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V. Cost/Benefit Analysis
Evaluation of alternatives according to a comparison
of both their costs and benefits when each is
measured in monetary terms.
Rigorous economic methodology using
compounding and discounting
Alternatives must show benefits in excess of costs
Useful when benefits can be readily converted
into monetary values
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Keys to Successful Implementation of EBP’s
Outside In Approach
Adopting research-supported program models
Minimizes “re-inventing the wheel”
Must Implement with fidelity
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Keys to Successful Implementation of EBP’s
Inside Out Approach
Develop and maintain internal information
controls when implementing new practices
Offender measures
Operational measures
Staff measures
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Washington Institute of Public Policy
www.wsipp.wa.gov
2006 Washington State faced need to construct several
new prisons
Legislature directed Institute to explore the use of
evidenced-based options to reduce future need & crime
rates
Systematic review of 545 comparison group evaluations
of adult, juvenile, prevention programs to reduce crime
Estimated costs and benefits and developed portfolios
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Evidenced Based Programs in Juvenile
 Cognitive-Behavioral Curricula
 Coordination of Services
 Functional Family Therapy
 Family Integrated Transitions
 Multi-Systemic Therapy
 Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care
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Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
Aggression Replacement Training (ART)
 An example of cognitive-behavioral curriculum
 10 weeks, 30 hours
 Groups of 10 moderate to high risk youth
 3 times/week
 Instructor and co-instructor/session
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Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
(ART)
 Improved attendance with transportation incentives and
community locations
 Provided by probation officers or private contractors
 Anger control, life skills, moral reasoning
 Best used when all staff are trained
 Program Cost: $785/youth Benefits Minus Costs: $14,660
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Coordination of Services (COS)
 13 hours of educational classes
 Groups of 10 low risk juvenile offenders and parents
 Community outreach component to enable
coordination
 Delivered by probation officers
 Program Cost: $229/youth
$5493
Benefits minus Cost:
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Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
 Structured home-based family intervention for high risk
youth
 Trained FFT therapists with caseloads of 10 to 12 families
 12 visits during a 12 week period
 FFT will reduce recidivism if properly implemented
 Program Cost: $2,609 Benefits Minus Costs: $33,632
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Family Integrated Transitions (FIT)
 Structured home-based family intervention
 High-risk youth with the co-occurring mental illness and CD
disorders
 Integrates Multi-Systemic Therapy, Motivational
Enhancement Therapy, Relapse Prevention, and Dialectical
Behavior Therapy
 Caseloads of 4 to 6 families for a 20 week period
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Family Integrated Transitions (FIT)
 24/7 availability by therapist
 FIT therapist participates on a team with clinicians,
psychiatrist
 Program Cost: $9,938 Benefits Minus Costs: $36,117
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Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)
 Structured home-based family intervention for highrisk youth
 Trained MST therapists with caseload of 4 to 6 families
for 16 week period
 24/7 availability by therapist
 Therapist participates on team of clinicians
 Program Cost: $6,416 Benefits Minus Costs: $17,440
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Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care
(MTFC)
 Delinquents with chronic disruptive behavior
 Used as an alternative to placement
 Foster parents - highly trained, ongoing support,
 $43.70 savings for every dollar spend
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Victim Offender Mediation (VOM)
 Both offender and the victim agree to a face-to-face
meeting with a trained, neutral, mediator
 Purpose is to discuss the effects of the crime, and to
determine what can be done to make amends to the
victim and the community
 Program Cost: $880 Benefits Minus Costs: $7,067
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Keys to Successful Implementation of EBP’s
 Cost shifting
 Fidelity
 Training, training, and re-training
 Organizational reinforcement
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Presented by
Deputy Commissioner Chris Bray, Ph.D., LP
Community Services Division
October 2010
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