Effective Clinical Practices in Treating Clients in the Criminal Justice System

This paper was developed as part of a set of papers focused on the role of system stakeholders in reducing offender recidivism through the use of evidence-based practices in corrections. Award Number: 05C45GJI3 This paper has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NIC has made this federally funded cooperative agreement final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. v The Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) are proud to present a series of seven whitepapers known as the Box Set. The papers are designed to share information with criminal justice system stakeholders about how the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) and a focus on recidivism reduction affect their areas of expertise in pretrial services, judiciary, prosecution, defense, jail, prison, and treatment. This initiative stems from a cooperative agreement established in 2002 between CJI and NIC entitled Implementing Effective Correctional Management of Offenders in the Community. The goal of this project is reduced recidivism through systemic integration of EBP in adult community corrections. The project's integrated model of implementation focuses equally on EBP, organizational development, and collaboration. It was previously piloted in Maine and Illinois, and is currently being implemented in Maricopa County, Arizona and Orange County, California. More information about the project, as well as the Box Set papers, are available on the web sites of CJI (www.cjinstitute.org) and NIC (www.nicic.org). CJI is a nonpartisan nonprofit agency that aims to make criminal justice systems more efficient and cost effective to promote accountability for achieving better outcomes. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, CJI provides consulting, research, and policy analysis services to improve public safety throughout the country. In particular, CJI is a national leader in developing results-oriented strategies and in empowering agencies and communities to implement successful systemic change. The completion of the Box Set papers is due to the contribution of several individuals. It was the original vision of NIC Correctional Program Specialist Dot Faust and myself to create a set of papers for each of the seven criminal justice stakeholders most affected by the implementation of EBP that got the ball rolling. The hard work and dedication of each of the authors to reach this goal deserves …