Faye S. Taxman

Risk, Need, and Responsivity (RNR): It All Depends

Target populations have always been a thorny issue for correctional programs. In this experiment of seamless treatment for probationers in two sites, offenders were randomly assigned to the seamless model (drug treatment incorporated into probation supervision) or traditional referral model to services in the community. The experiment blocked on risk level to measure the differential effects on rearrest and substance abuse. The seamless system model improved treatment participation with greater gains for the offenders who were high risk in both sites. Yet no main effects were observed on drug use or rearrest, although effect sizes illustrate that small effects can be observed for the offenders who are high risk. Part of the failure to observe main effects is because of instrumentation problems, namely, that most substance abusers in the experiment had low-severity substance abuse problems and were marijuana users. The focus on sound dynamic factors may assist with identifying the appropriate target populations for correctional interventions.

Implementing evidence-based practices in community corrections and addiction treatment

Introduction.- Theories of Organizational Change Approaches.- Determining the Evidence Base for Addiction Treatment Programs.- Technology Transfer Process and Models.- Current State of the Corrections Field.- Current State of the Addiction Treatment Field.- The Nuances of the Correctional and Addiction Treatment Environments.- Substance Abuse Agencies.- A Conceptual Model of Technology Transfer of Evidence-Based treatment to Community Corrections.- Supporting the Model.- The Challenges of Intervention Fidelity.- Expanding the Concept for Evidence-Based Practice.- Adapting to the Environment.- Conclusion and Recommended Next Steps.

Risk, Needs, Responsivity: In Action or Inaction?

It goes without saying that no one correctional program could be expected to work for all offenders. The elements of each intervention must be suited to the specific needs of the clientele, and the most costly and intensive services should be reserved for those individuals who present the most serious challenges to public safety and are apt to be in need of the interventions. Failing to heed these self-evident propositions is almost certain to water down clinical and public safety effects. Worse still, it may force researchers to average their outcome analyses across programs that administered a combination of clinically indicated, clinically irrelevant, and clinically contraindicated services. This virtually ensures that effect sizes will range from statistically insignificant to small. And the results frustrate practitioners. Approximately a decade and a half ago, Don Andrews, James Bonta, and their colleagues (Andrews, Bonta, & Hoge, 1990; Andrews, Zinger, et al., 1990) drew forth the essence of this argument in proposing a sophisticated and comprehensive conceptual framework for correctional programming. Under the rubric of what they termed risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) theory, they specified how an offender’s criminogenic characteristics should drive the selection and implementation of correctional services. These criminogenic characteristics relate both to risk (i.e., to those factors that predispose an individual to commit criminal conduct) and to need (i.e., to those disturbances in biopsychosocial functioning that impinge on an individual’s ability to function stably in society). Needless to say, effective implementation of the RNR model requires, at a minimum, the development and use of valid risk and needs assessment tools as well as the creation of an array of treatment programs that are capable of addressing the mix of risk and need characteristics commonly presented by offenders. Unfortunately, numerous scholars

Treatment as Part of Drug Court: The Impact on Graduation Rates.

Abstract Drug treatment is one of the critical components of drug court programming, yet it has not been thoroughly studied in the drug court literature. Very little is understood about the nature of drug treatment services provided in the drug court setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of selected treatment variables on drug court outcomes. In this study of four drug courts, the researchers explored how drug treatment services were provided using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative measures. Observations of drug treatment counselors found that treatment sessions varied in terms of the content of the sessions with a tendency to cover a broad range of topics. An analysis of graduation rates in drug courts found that participation in drug treatment affects graduation-offenders who participate more tend to graduate from drug court. However, even graduates could not follow the multilayered drug court program requirements. In the multivariate models explaining graduation rates, the length of participation in drug treatment court and services provided by government-run agencies (e.g., health departments) impacted outcomes. Services provided by government-run programs tended to reduce the likelihood of graduation. More research is needed to understand the issue of treatment participation on recidivism and length of time to rearrest.

Racial disparity and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system: exploring consequences for deterrence

Minority (over) representation in the criminal justice system remains a puzzle, both from a policy and an intervention perspective. Cross-sectional reviews of the policies and practices of the criminal justice system often find differential rates of involvement in the criminal justice system that are associated with the nature of the criminal charge/act or characteristics of the offender; however, longitudinal reviews of the race effect often show it to be confounded by procedural and extralegal variables. This review focuses on how the cumulative policies and practices of the criminal justice system contribute to churning, or the recycling of individuals through the system. In conducting our review, we describe how the same criminal justice processes and practices adversely affect select communities. The consequences of policies and procedures that contribute to churning may affect the legitimacy of the criminal justice system as a deterrent to criminal behavior. A research agenda on issues related to legitimacy of the criminal justice system aimed at a better understanding of how this affects individual and community behavior is presented.

Women and the Criminal Justice System

Abstract Proportionately women offenders are growing among the ranks of those involved in the correctional system in the U.S. This paper presents an overview of the characteristics of women offenders, our state of knowledge about programs and services for women, and policy choices regarding how to handle the increasing number of women in the criminal justice system. Using the evidence-based practices literature, the needs of the women are compared to the research on effective practices using the Risk-Needs-Responsivity model. This model purports that low risk offenders should not be the priority for intensive services in the criminal justice system; instead high risk offenders should receive such services. Based on this model, the paper discusses whether services in the criminal justice system are the best option given the consequences of involving the correctional system to assist women who are poor, underskilled, and undereducated to become productive citizens.