Influencing Policy through Research: Investigations of Correctional Programming and Assessments

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

Criminology is long past the notion of ‘Nothing Works’ in corrections and has progressed past unstructured professional judgements of risks and needs. Indeed, meta-analytic work and repositories of findings have pointed toward a swath of effective evidence-based practices and assessments on these two fronts. However, in practice, rigorous evaluations of programs and risk-need assessments are rarely undertaken. Rarer still, is an understanding of policy and practice changes that follow evidence-based research findings. The purpose of this panel is to advance understanding of evidence-based practices, as well as their subsequent policy-related implications in four presentations that examine: 1) race/ethnicity and gender disparities in risk-prediction across four states; 2) the influence of two institutional violence-reducing programs on misconduct and recidivism; 3) an evaluation of residential- and community-based sex offender programs; and 4) racial disparities found within employment upon reentry for vocational and life skills participants. Each presentation will discuss policy and practice implications within the field of corrections.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 46. Jails & Prisons

Individual Presentations

• Exploring a Generation's Bias: A Multi-State Evaluation of the LSI-R - John Michael Ursino, University of Nebraska Omaha; Zachary Hamilton, University of Nebraska Omaha

• Evaluating Violence Programming in Prison: Comparing Cognitive-Behavioral and Psycho-Educational Approaches - Michael Campagna, University of Nebraska Omaha; John Michael Ursino, University of Nebraska Omaha; Sarah A. Al Falatah, University of Nebraska Omaha; Brian Gildea, Colorado Mesa University

• Sex Offender Treatment: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Prison- and Community-Based Programming - Ryan Spohn, University of Nebraska Omaha; Sarah A. Al Falatah, University of Nebraska Omaha; Jennifer J. Tostlebe, University of Nebraska Omaha; John Michael Ursino, University of Nebraska Omaha

• Vocational Programming on Racial Disparities in Reentry Employment - Abigail Hayes, University of Nebraska Omaha; Katelynn Towne, University of Nebraska Omaha; Ryan Spohn, University of Nebraska Omaha

Discussant

• Zachary Hamilton, University of Nebraska Omaha