Take the American Probation and Parole Association’s Free Online Course Focused on Reducing Recidivism

In partnership with the National Reentry Resource Center, the American Probation and Parole Association recently released a no-cost online course, “Ten Steps to Transforming Probation Departments To Reduce Recidivism.” The virtual course is geared to helping managers and leaders at probation departments working on change efforts to reduce recidivism in their jurisdictions. Participants will acquire methods to help their agencies transform more effectively as they work toward their goals. The course will cover the following topics:

• Listing the ten steps of the transformation process for recidivism issues;
• Identifying key stakeholders throughout the probation department’s transformation process;
• Reviewing and evaluating departmental policies and practices at the beginning of the transformation process;
• Forming subcommittees that can help with moving the transformation process forward;
• Examining issues related to the department’s use of screening and assessment;
• Aligning supervision plans with screening and assessment results;
• Redesigning the incentive and sanctioning process to meet probation requirements;
• Listing recommended topics for staff recidivism reduction training;
• Differentiating between process and outcome measures for the transformation process;
• Retooling the personnel evaluation system to reinforce agency-wide recidivism reduction efforts; and
• Planning for ongoing evaluation for continuous improvement.

The course draws from the Council of State Governments Justice Center’s publication on the same topic. Registration is not required for this online course. Participants may attend the course at any time. Access the online course today.