Bridging Evidence and Practice in Adult Probation: History, Decisions & Use

• In Event: Adopting and Sustaining Evidence Based Practices in Corrections

Abstract

Growing empirical research finds that a correctional system devoted to punishment is ineffective and may result in criminogenic effects (Nagin, Cullen & Johnson 2009). As a result, justice organizations, including probation, encourage adopting evidence-based practices (EBPs) that move away from emphasizing punishment and towards rehabilative practices. EBP implementation requires justice organizations to adopt new protocols and change work practices. This falls heavily on street-level workers, like probation officers, as they adopt, adapt, and implement policy and practice changes. Lipsky’s (1980) street-level bureaucracy theory describes street-level workers as front-line policy interpreters with primary responsibility for policy implementation. Other scholars note the prevalence of discretionary decision making present in street-level work (e.g., Feldman 1992; Maynard-Moody & Musheno 2000) that affects new policy interpretation and implementation. Thus, the potential for EBPs to improve probation practice and better serve offenders and communities is dependent on the way EBPs operate at the street-level. Using a mixed method approach, this study examines: 1) how POs understand, define and adapt new practices to their existing organizational routines; 2) the conditions under which POs make adaptations to policy, and 3) the role organizational culture and institutional history plays in shaping adaptation decisions, which influences POs’ practices and outcomes.

Author

• Jill Viglione, George Mason University