The unsung hero: the community corrections employee. 

This is the 9th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 5b: Increase Positive Reinforcement

Think about the last dog you trained. Opting for praise and treats was not a challenge. Everyone knows that positive reinforcement should outweigh punishment when attempting to train a new behavior. Somehow, it seems we forget this lesson when it comes to people.

Perhaps we expect more out of people than dogs. Maybe it is the years of “tough on crime” mentality. Is it possible that we are hard wired to think of punishment before praise? While diligence is required, it is certainly possible to transform an environment focused on punishment to one centered on “catching them being good.”

Offender treatment research indicates that at a minimum, clients should receive at least four positive reinforcements for each punishment. Some family and marital research indicates that this ratio holds true for parenting and spousal relationships.

This is the 8th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 5a: Establish Structure and Behavioral Accountability

“I am so relieved to be in jail.” I’ve heard hundreds of offenders start an evaluation with this statement. They desperately wanted to get clean. They were motivated and ready to take change seriously. They just could not stop using long enough to create and execute a plan. Unfortunately, with greater emphasis on offender treatment, some tend to believe that structure and behavioral accountability is at best unnecessary and at worst, punitive. 

Structure includes rules, roles, and expectations. Civilized societies are civil and a society due to structure. Many offenders perform perfectly with structure. There are flawless inmates and likeable community corrections clients. While it may be related to neuropsychological deficits, one thing is clear, most offenders need structure. They crave structure but hate it. They know they need it, but resent it. (This is true for me too).

This is the 7th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 4: Skill Train with Directed Practice

Ever wondered why you continue with bad habits even when they serve no purpose other than to create pain? Human nature is frustrating. Sometimes it seems like we are just one big compilation of habits, good and bad. That is partly true.

Most correctional professionals agree that behavioral change starts with acquiring new skills, however we often do a particularly poor job implementing this principle. It is not for a lack of trying. Without a solid foundation in the neuropsychology of habits and behavior change, we typically start with a false assumption. That assumption is that a lack of information is central to the behavior problem. When your assumption of the problem misses the mark, your intervention will too.

Principle 1a: Build the Therapeutic Relationship

The change process is a journey. It has its ups and downs and often feels scary and out of control. It is always easier to approach the unknown with a partner, particularly a partner who has been there before. Most offenders have a long history of failure and are well acquainted with betrayal. Their first question is, “Can I trust this person?” Answering this question can, for some, be a time-consuming process. When you have a long history of hurt, it is wise to be hesitant to trust again. 

“Is this person going to listen to me or just tell me what to do?” “Do they really care about me or are they just going through the motions?” “If I decide to take this leap and start this journey with them, will they be a reliable and supportive partner along the way?” While there is likely to be some testing of the relationship and commitment, no real progress starts until these questions have been answered. One of the reasons that Motivational Interviewing (MI) is so popular with this population is that, done well, MI quickly creates an environment and relationship that allows the client to answer these questions quickly and affirmatively.