SMART Practices in Case Management: A New Approach to a Traditional Process

• In Event: Probation Supervision

Abstract

Traditional case planning and decision-making in correctional settings is generally conducted by authority figures such as counselors, case managers, and probation officers and often excludes the involvement of the criminal justice client in the decision making process. To overcome this gap, researchers developed a self-guided goal-setting and shared decision-making model of supervision, Your Own Reintegration System (YOURS), to test in community supervision settings. The goal of this project is to determine if putting the probationer in the driver’s seat of their supervision experience will lead to successful reentry. This paper uses pilot data collected in two probation settings to facilitate reentry. Data comes from supervising officer’s monthly progress reports, as well as baseline and six month follow-up interviews with 25 probationers enrolled in the study. Researchers will present comparisons between the rating of supervision progress and attitudes toward supervision between probationers and their supervising officers. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses will be presented examining the extent to which YOURS affects probationer’s stability and outcomes on supervision. The implications for implementing a more probationer driven case management process will be discussed.

Author

• Marissa Kiss, George Mason University