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Adherence to the Risk, Need, and Fidelity Principles: Examining the Impact of Dosage in Correctional Programming

Bechtel, Kristin

Abstract Details

2016, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice.
Every single day in the United States, correctional agencies release individuals back into the community. Depending on the state, many of these individuals may be placed in halfway houses as a mechanism for transitioning the offender back into the community. There is no set model for halfway houses, and even within the same state or operated by the same provider, the programs and services, if available, will vary. Perhaps the only requirement that all halfway houses share focuses on public safety and adopting efforts to monitor and enforce community supervision conditions. Despite this common thread, the costs for treatment and programming are often limited and allocations for effective programming and interventions can be a challenge for community supervision. The current study examined the impact of dosage, use of modeling and role playing, application of core correctional practices, and targeting of criminogenic needs on a sample of 3281 Pennsylvania parolees who were directed to halfway houses following their release from prison. While this sample is unique and this group of offenders experienced high rates of recidivism, a few findings emerged that offers empirical support for dosage and criminogenic needs. In particular, adopting three to nine months of programming and targeting the strongest dynamic predictors (e.g., antisocial attitudes, antisocial peers, and antisocial personality) produced the greatest impact on recidivism. This study also offered insight into the common targets of community programming and supervision (e.g., employment, education, substance abuse) that are relevant stabilizing factors for offenders, but collectively were unable to produce the reductions in recidivism that were likely hoped for. The implications for the current research may offer more lessons learned for practitioners and policy makers about what practices to avoid rather than adopt, or more ideally, what efforts should take priority in order to improve offender outcomes.
Edward Latessa, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Francis Cullen, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christopher Lowenkamp, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Paula Smith, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
248 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bechtel, K. (2016). Adherence to the Risk, Need, and Fidelity Principles: Examining the Impact of Dosage in Correctional Programming [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470044131

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bechtel, Kristin. Adherence to the Risk, Need, and Fidelity Principles: Examining the Impact of Dosage in Correctional Programming. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470044131.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bechtel, Kristin. "Adherence to the Risk, Need, and Fidelity Principles: Examining the Impact of Dosage in Correctional Programming." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470044131

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)