Area probation office educating on evidence-based practices

Local judges and commonwealth’s attorneys are getting a more formal education about an internal change at the OAR/Jefferson Area Community Corrections Program that has altered the way they handle local probationers.
For the last five years, the local probation office has been learning about and implementing evidence-based practices, which use scientific research to find the right combination of supervision and treatment for an offender to reduce recidivism. Now the agency and others are giving prosecutors and judges a more comprehensive education about the changes that they have made.

Pat Smith, executive director of OAR, likened evidence-based practices to individual education programs created for students. By following evidence-based practices, local probation officers can fine-tune which programs and level of assistance a person needs.
“The ultimate goal is for the intervention to meet the risk level,” Smith said.
The local OAR and the Virginia Department of Corrections’ District 9 Probation and Parole office both are piloting programs that implement evidence-based practices, which are expected to become a statewide standard. OAR, which handles probation for offenders convicted of misdemeanors and low-level felonies, is one of 10 local probation offices chosen for the program under the Department of Corrections and Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Dave Chapman, Charlottesville commonwealth’s attorney, said he doesn’t think that the probation recommendations made by veteran prosecutors and probation officers are that different. Chapman, who has been attending presentations on evidence-based practices, said he thinks incorporating them into probation and paying more attention to the most at-risk probationers are good ideas.
However, he said a decrease in resources for probation over the years would have an impact on how well evidence-based practices are implemented in the region.
“We have to understand that there is going to be a cost to what we’re doing,” Chapman said. “Are comparatively low-level probation functions going to get done? Are they going to get done as intensively as they are done now?”

The local OAR office hasn’t been given more resources to implement evidence-based practices, relying instead on a training grant, case planning and a “training the trainer” mentality to implement the new program. Ross Carew, assistant director of OAR, said the number of cases assigned to probation officers will depend on offender risk and how much attention they need.
“The pie is the same,” Carew said. “The change is how it is cut up.”
Under the evidence-based practices model, new probationers fill out a risk assessment questionnaire. Once an offender has been categorized as low, medium or high risk, the probation officer increases the offender’s motivation, chooses the appropriate treatments, gives positive reinforcements and then evaluates the offender’s progress.

Evidence-based practices take differences in background into account, Smith said, and probation officers can choose from an array of treatments, which include behavioral or cognitive therapies.
“They’re not all therapeutic,” Smith said. “We decide on them based on key indicators such as family and attitude. For example, anger management might be necessary, but maybe that person needs vocational help.”
Smith said evidence-based practices don’t relieve probationers from their obligations, such as remaining on good behavior and paying any required restitution. Making sure offenders complete these requirements has been a concern of commonwealth’s attorneys and judges, she said, but they have been receptive to the program.
One of OAR’s goals as it implements evidence-based practices is to get rid of specific recommendations detailed in court-ordered probation, Smith said. Eliminating those specific requirements will allow the probation office to implement any treatments that it deems appropriate, even if that treatment isn’t specifically laid out in the court’s order.
How much recidivism will be reduced through local probation isn’t known yet. Nationally, evidence-based practices used in felony populations have shown recidivism reductions of between 5 percent and 10 percent. Carew said OAR is hoping for similar results locally, although he noted that any reduction in recidivism would be beneficial to the community.

Jeff Haislip, Fluvanna County commonwealth’s attorney, said he has left the workshops feeling hopeful about evidence-based practices.
“To see that they are actively looking at their results of their programs and how successful they are is certainly a positive thing,” Haislip said. “I can’t say I’m skeptical about any one part of it. I’m keeping an open mind.”