Smarter Supervision: The Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department’s Efforts to Implement and Sustain RNR Informed Practices

• In Event: Smart Supervision

Abstract

The Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department (APPD) promotes public safety by using evidence-based practices to intervene in the lives of its offenders. Since 2013 and with the assistance of a Smart Supervision Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the APPD has made great efforts to adhere to Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) principles. Working with its partners from George Mason and Temple Universities, the agency accomplished this by building a foundation of knowledge in evidence-based practices, criminogenic needs and engagement techniques. Then it piloted and implemented a customized needs assessment tool and complementary case plan, which officers use in tandem to help structure the supervision periods of probationers and parolees. This paper details the process through which the APPD achieved these goals. Special emphasis is placed on the adjustments that the team made to promote the effectiveness and feasibility of the new procedures. It concludes with a discussion of how the APPD intends to sustain its progress and provides suggestions for other criminal justice agencies and researchers seeking to realize similar objectives.

Author

• Jillian Eidson, Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole