Experimental Test of Rehabilitative Field Work for Moderate-to-High Risk Adults

The applicant proposes to conduct a multi-site, mixed method evaluation, including a randomized controlled trial (RCT), of the use of rehabilitative practices during community supervision contacts. Using a blocked individual random assignment experimental design, the applicant will test the effect of rehabilitative practices used during a field contacts relative to compliance-only field contacts with adults on community supervision who have a moderate-to-high risk of re-offending on multiple measures of recidivism.

This study also includes a cost-effectiveness evaluation to determine if there is added benefit to spending additional resources on rehabilitative-oriented field contacts versus strictly compliance checks in the field. Project sites include the Adult Parole Authority (APA) in Ohio and Anoka County Community Corrections (Anoka CCA) in Minnesota. The estimated treatment sample in APA includes 800 and 300 for Anoka. The applicant will collect a diverse set of data points - demographics, criminal history, offense type and level, supervision start date, risk assessment scores and dates, supervising officer, number and date of office contacts, field contacts, phone contacts, missed contacts, and a variety of miscellaneous contact types – to assess outcomes, including rearrest, reincarceration, and technical violations. Data will be collected within the first month of the recruitment period, and every three months following to ensure compliance with study conditions and check for balance. Data will also be collected one year after the end of the randomization period in order to conduct a preliminary estimate of the impact of rehabilitative field contacts on one-year re-arrest rates for the interim research report.

Data will also be collected at two- and three-years. Analysis: an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis: assignment to the treatment or control condition is based on the intended field contact activities, rather than strict adherence to each condition. Outcomes will be examined with an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis: assignment to the treatment or control condition is based on the intended field contact activities, rather than strict adherence to each condition. Separate analyses will be conducted for each site.
"Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law." See 2 CFR 200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF