20171027-105922-53

While on site in September, CJI met with staff from Probation and Parole (P&P) to discuss training officers on the JRI changes. During CJI’s previous visit, CJI offered to create a training about JRI changes for P&P, and during this visit, CJI reviewed that training and made revisions to it based on feedback from a small committee of P&P staff. The training presented an overview of JRI, as well as more in-depth details about how JRI will affect officer’s jobs. At the end of the month, that training was delivered to P&P supervisors by that committee, who will then train their own staff (see curriculum attached).

While on site in February, CJI noticed that, while Probation and Parole (P&P) have been making a good faith effort to implement JRI, there seems to be a lack of understanding of the “why” behind the reforms. This makes sense, as only the high level P&P leadership were involved in the Phase I process, and thus only the high level staff learned about the research and best practices behind JRI. CJI spoke with the Secretary of the DOC and head of P&P about this, and decided it would be helpful for middle managers in P&P to learn more about the “why” behind JRI. CJI and DOC scheduled a time for this presentation in April. CJI will work to create this presentation next month.

In March CJI scheduled a time to deliver a presentation to middle manager in P&P to learn more about the “why” behind JRI. CJI and DOC scheduled a time for this presentation in April. CJI worked to create this presentation this month.

This month, CJI prepared and delivered a training on the research and data behind JRI to a group of P&P District Administrators (middle management). The presentation went well, and, later, CJI heard from DOC leadership that it was helpful and well received. The DOC Secretary was able to come for part of the presentation, and spoke with staff after about the important work they are doing to help make JRI work.

CJI has been working with Maria Toups, who is in charge of training for Probation and Parole officers, to discuss plans for P&P trainings. She was excited about the possibility of further training on evidence based practices and further skills training for the officers. The state does not currently offer training on EBPs (aside from some limited Motivational Interviewing training), and Maria has been eager to expand those offerings for a while. CJI will continue to work closely with her to develop a training plan for P&P trainings, which are tentatively scheduled to roll out in April or May.

CJI also talked with Facility staff about training their officers. Facility and Community leadership like the idea of training their staff together to foster communication and consistency between the branches. In November, CJI prepared a plan for creating and rolling out skills training to community and facility officers. CJI is now working with leadership from both divisions to settle on training dates that work for both groups.

From January to March, CJI continued to work with DOC to prepare for skills trainings for community and facility POs. CJI and DOC finalized dates for the trainings, which will begin in the spring. In the coming months, CJI will work to customize trainings for Louisiana. As part of this preparation, during a March site trip, CJI met with several Transition Specialists and Probation and Parole (P&P) officers to get a better sense of their day to day work, which is essential for customizing the trainings.

In April CJI delivered the first of two sets of trainings to a group of 13 P&P officers and Transition Specialists (the equivalent of a P&P officer in the local jails). The group was trained in the Principles of Effective Intervention and Core Correctional Practices. The group was engaged throughout the two day training, and seemed excited about getting some practical tools to use in their work. They also expressed excitement over having both community and facility POs in the same room, as it allowed them to get to know each other and the work each side does better. This was the first step in a Train the Trainer process.

In May, CJI trainers took the next step in the process. CJI trainers travelled to Louisiana in May to observe those who participated in the PEI and CCP training using the skills learned in the training in the field and provide coaching. CJI’s trainers then compiled and set their feedback from those observations to each participant.

The last step in the process took place in June, when CJI trainers delivered a Train the Trainer on PEI and CCP. The participants in this TTT process are now qualified to teach their colleagues in this curriculum.

CJI completed a Train the Trainer process on Principles of Effective Intervention (PEI) and Core Correctional Practices (CCP). After speaking with staff and administrators about the best way to create buy in with these trainings (and the larger JRI shift in general), they recommended starting with supervisors. CJI worked with DOC to create training sessions in these curricula just for supervisors, conducted by the newly trained state trainers but with a CJI trainer present in case the new trainers got stuck. CJI also opened each training with a short module on the important role supervisor’s play in organizational change.

Three of the four sets of these supervisor trainings were conducted in this month. The supervisors seemed to appreciate being trained first, so they will better be able to prepare their staff for these changes. They also seemed to appreciate the chance to discuss any concerns or fears with the trainers and their peers.

The last of the four sets of these supervisor trainings were conducted in March 2019. The supervisors seemed to appreciate being trained first, so they will better be able to prepare their staff for these changes. They also seemed to appreciate the chance to discuss any concerns or fears with the trainers and their peers.

CJI and P&P administration are both interested in culture change within the agency. This training was one step in that process, but it will be an ongoing discussion (involving staff at all levels of P&P’s structure). While on site this month, CJI met with P&P leadership again to talk about how to tackle hurdles and further culture change.

After PEI and CCP, CJI is planning to train LA institutional and community staff on Effective Case Management (ECM) and Graduated Responses (GR). In June, CJI began to work with LA to schedule dates in the fall for this series of training.

To help improve supervision and case management within DOC, CJI delivered skills trainings for community and facility case managers. In this period, CJI completed the Train the Trainer process on Effective Case Management (ECM) and Graduated Responses (GR).

CJI also continued to work with DOC to ensure these trainings, along with the others’ Louisiana previously completed the Train the Trainer process in, are rolled out to all DOC staff. CJI heard from several staff that the best way to ensure staff get on board with the trainings is to train office supervisors first, so CJI worked with DOC over to create a plan to conduct a round of training explicitly for supervisors first. This training began with a short module on organization change, prepared by CJI, to help supervisors understand the importance of their role in this training roll out.

CJI and P&P administration are both interested in culture change within the agency. This training was one step in that process, but it will be an ongoing discussion (involving staff at all levels of P&P’s structure). In this period, CJI has had multiple conversations with P&P leadership to talk about how to tackle hurdles and further culture change.