Rethinking revocations: A study to examine the effects of a coaching model on improving outcomes

Nearly half of all U.S. prison intakes are due to a revocation from probation or parole; more staggering is that 60 percent of these revocations are the result of a technical violation (CSG, 2019). The current study proposes to implement and test the Organizational Coaching Model (OCM) across three probation/parole sites to evaluate the model’s effectiveness. This model draws from RNR, effective community supervision practices, organizational design, and implementation science to change the focus of probation and parole practices from managing individuals to coaching them through the behavioral change process. The OCM is a comprehensive training and redesign model aimed at restructuring both the individual role of the officer as well as the agency’s infrastructure in which they operate. Primary activities in this study will be to develop and implement the OCM across three jurisdictions: Sedgwick County KS (parole), Brazoria County TX (probation), and Michigan DOC (probation/parole). Justice System Partners (JSP) will oversee implementation of the OCM. This will involve establishing a steering committee of NIJ staff, criminal justice stakeholders, people on supervision, national experts, and members from the broader community to help locally implement and test the OCM. Site assessment information will be used to develop a tactical plan for implementing the OCM across each of the three sites. Bowling Green State University (BGSU) will assess and monitor agency fidelity to the OCM via a pre-post evaluation, as well as ongoing surveys, agency artifact reviews, interviews and focus groups; ongoing feedback will be provided to JSP to resolve any fidelity concerns. University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) will conduct a process and impact evaluation of the OCM. A quasi-experimental design will be used with a matched retrospective comparison group. Data sources include stakeholder interviews, officer surveys, audio recordings, officer case notes and administrative data. Recidivism data will include arrest, technical violations and revocations at an 18-month post intake follow-up period. Secondary outcomes will also be identified, including a cost-benefit analysis of the OCM model. Due to the nested nature of the data, the analysis plan is to use a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach. The current project has significant implications for policy and practice in community supervision, as well as impact on prison populations. While the OCM model has shown promise, it has not been empirically tested. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the impact of OCM on reducing technical violations and revocations. CA/NCF