BJA NTTAC is offering resources to the Massachusetts Office of the Commissioner of Probation to facilitate training and technical assistance in the delivery of the Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement, or HOPE model, in Worcester County. The HOPE model of probation expedites and alters the judicial process for people who have been released from prison and are on parole establishing swift, certain, and measured sanctions for probation violations.
Dr. Jonathan Kulick, senior project director at Pepperdine University, and Judge Steven Alm, creator of the Hawaii Opportunity Probation with Enforcement program, worked with each level of the Worcester County court system, including judges, probation officers, clerks, district and defense attorneys, as well as law enforcement to implement the HOPE model. The implementation includes training on adopting the probation model and requires the ongoing development of new policies and procedures including regular random drug testing, immediate arrests, and an expedited bench-warrant process.
To learn more about the implementation of the HOPE model in Worcester County, click here.