< PreviousINTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING AND COLLABORATION IN COMMUNITY SUPERVISION: Optimizing Technology, Communication, Identity Transformation, and Desistance with External Partners By Phil Galli, Shawn Trusten, and Jason Mereness31 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS TRAINING PRACTICES, CONTENT, AND DELIVERY INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING AND COLLABORATION IN COMMUNITY SUPERVISION: OPTIMIZING TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATION, IDENTITY TRANSFORMATION, AND DESISTANCE WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS T he world has changed dramatically since early 2020. Necessitated by the worldwide pandemic, individuals were forced to find ways to communicate and work remotely. Absent access to traditional brick-and-mortar buildings, resources, or supervision approaches, some community supervision agencies across the world still found ways to be responsive to their clients’ needs and to meet their promise to promote community safety, though a difficult endeavor (Viglione et al., 2017). Most of these changes in community supervision were built around the use of technology, specifically the use of video and other digital tools to eliminate the need for clients and community correctional officers to be together in time and space (Dominey et al., 2017). Today, digital tools and video conferencing are becoming more commonplace in community supervision offices than in-person, face-to-face visits (Galleguillos et al., 2023). Agencies are finding themselves more accessible to those they supervise and more equitable in how they supervise, and they are eliminating barriers to being truly inclusive (Dauria et al., 2023). For case planning to be truly impactful for a client, it must involve others outside of the formal justice system. That is, discussions surrounding crime cessation and the future must not be limited to a justice system professional and the client. Instead, these conversations must be interdisciplinary, drawing in practitioners from adjacent fields (behavioral health, education, social services, etc.) to best serve client needs. These interdisciplinary teams of individuals must work together, not with an adversarial approach toward each other, in order to provide the client the necessary tools for success. Even before the team starts working with a specific client, this type of interdisciplinary teamwork can develop by means of training and other experience-building opportunities for community correctional professionals. Because of the continued advancement of technology, many of these education opportunities are available remotely in both synchronous and asynchronous formats. It is interesting to look at how these foundational and technological changes to community supervision have translated into the ways we support and train those who do the work as well. To do this, we must ask ourselves the question “How have the changes of the past few years informed how we train community supervision professionals and our partners?” Community supervision professionals are most commonly probation and parole officers, but may also be social workers, case managers, or individuals with other specific job titles who have a court-ordered expectation to supervise or work with individuals in the community. Community partners are the agencies and people who make up the ecosystem of our community supervision and support efforts. These partners include various entities such as social and human services, emergency services, health departments and hospitals, law enforcement, pretrial services, attorneys, courts, and community- based organizations, including local non-profits that provide housing, medical, basic needs, substance use/substance use disorder treatment services, and mental health services. Such efforts to promote the use of technology in supervision and monitoring include offering cross-training and other collaborative efforts involving both community supervision professionals and community partners. Some jurisdictions are bringing in outside vendors to provide cross-training and collaboration, while others are relying on community justice collaborating councils (also known as criminal justice coordinating councils, or CJCCs) to facilitate these cross-agency training and collaborative discussions, bringing in stakeholders who indirectly and directly provide support services to foster increased quality of life and community safety (McLearen et al., 2023; Nugent-Borakove & Beeman, 2013). Many of these opportunities offer the chance to break down some of the traditional solitary “silos” in which departments typically operate (Manchak et al., 2023; Nugent-Borakove & Beeman, 2013) and instead utilize training in the use of technology as conduit for collaboration. While CJCCs more commonly work collaboratively on initiatives that will impact the larger community, including supporting technological advancements to increase connectivity, it can be helpful to think of community correctional professionals collaborating with external service providers in a similar way to support their clients. Consider a situation where multiple agencies (i.e., probation, health, and human services) are involved in the case planning for a particular client. The relevant individuals from each group, if provided with training and technology, can set up a video conference meeting where all members meet with the client at the same time. This can take place without having to physically reserve a space, bring everyone together, or consider commute times, challenges with parking, or potential barriers clients may face in attending multiple appointments, among others. Team members might also be trained on the use of “break-out rooms” within the meeting, allowing individual discussions with a client to take place privately, between each provider. However, the reality is most of these changes and technological advances are happening in relative isolation, without coordination. In partner-to-partner, agency-to-agency, department-to-department, and division-to- division interactions, we often find ourselves doing similar things but separate from one another. Compound this with the fact that our community supervision professionals and partners often do not know what each other is doing, and you have a recipe for misunderstanding, miscommunication, and less client success. Training and collaboration throughout the world have become more dependent on technology--specifically, the video and digital tools described above. We are also seeing an increase in the amount of asynchronous training being made available; especially outside of college institutions and universities who have optimized asynchronous distance learning for well over a decade now (Kimura et al., 2023). Asynchronous is defined as (a) of two or more objects or events not existing or happening at the same time and (b) computing-telecommunications of/or requiring a form of computer control timing protocol in which a specific operation begins upon receipt of an indication (signal) that the preceding operation has been completed (Varkey et al., 2022). This is promising news at face value. Since departments no longer need to consider the expense of physically sending someone for training or, as has been necessary in the past, have the training completed at the specific set time when it is offered, resources are freed up and schedules optimized. The transportation, housing, and per diem costs are not necessary with technology and remote training. Some may argue that a key piece of our work is lost with remote training, as the networking and socializing that takes place at local, regional, and state conferences cannot be replicated in a digital or distance format. While some of this may be true, training and collaboration are becoming more inclusive and available to resource-strapped agencies, and these advantages may outweigh any shortcomings. The answer, overall, may be to offer both in- person, online, and hybrid formats when offering training, putting 32 PERSPECTIVESVOLUME 48, NUMBER 1 INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS TRAINING PRACTICES, CONTENT, AND DELIVERY on conferences, staffing client cases, or providing a way for clients to meet with their team of providers. This represents a responsive or individualized approach--meeting people where they are. If we are to be successful in our community supervision efforts and to promote identity transformation and “desistance” (very generally, the process of ceasing criminal activity) for clients, we need to be working in collaboration with, and providing training for, our community supervision professionals and partners (Appleton, 2023; Rocque, 2021). PROVIDING EDUCATION ON DESISTANCE TO ALL Research suggests that increasing both social and human capital and supporting client identity transformation (Paternoster & Bushway, 2009; Best et al., 2017) are most likely to lead a client to desist from offending. To increase the likelihood of desistance occurring, we can assist clients in finding long-term personal support (social capital), skill development (human capital), and reasons to start viewing themselves differently in their individual lives (identity transformation), that will carry them forward post- supervision (Appleton, 2023). One area in which our field can improve client outcomes is by ensuring that desistance-related information is shared among community correctional professionals and service providers who support our clients. Probation and parole staff and agencies might benefit from asking themselves some pertinent questions in this regard. For example, what do your system and community partners know about the desistance process? What do the client and their prosocial family and friends know about the desistance process? Have you explicitly shared with them the important role they will play? One proposal is that community supervision agencies reach out to other departments and people who can support the client across all three areas, beginning a dialogue--that includes the client--on how to successfully desist. Because the process is individualized, it is incumbent on us as practitioners to collaborate with the clients to find out what may work for them and then seek out avenues to have those needs met. For example, if a client is lacking in prosocial support, it makes sense to seek mentorship programs in the community. However, instead of taking time to broker the service and then check in with the client, what if agencies proactively contacted such programs and shared how they can be a source of social capital for a client? At the very least, imagine a world where all community partners were familiar with terms like social capital, human capital, and desistance, a world in which community correctional professionals and service providers spoke the same “language.” What could it mean to a client to be in a space with their probation officer, chemical dependency counselor, and a family member, with all of them discussing not just the requirements from the court but, arguably more important, who the client could reach out to in, say, two years if an urge to relapse emerged? Moreover, if all the individuals in that space cannot name someone, they can collectively plan to find such a person. This keeps the client (and everyone else involved in the planning) future focused, which is essential for desistance. It shows clients that the finish line for their supervision is not simply to “get them off paper,” but that client success goes beyond simply no longer being under community supervision—that success extends to having a successful life. The idea of reaching out to businesses, employers, and schools in the clients’ community is even more compelling. How many employers near where your clients reside are aware of the importance of a client’s view of themselves shifting from that of an “outlaw” or “outcast” to that of a “parent” or “employee”? How many are aware that they should seek to provide ten positive pieces of feedback for every one negative, because that leads to behavior change (Wodahl et al., 2011)? The way these questions are posed here may come across as tongue-in-cheek, but they are in fact significant. All practitioners have seen clients who may be on supervision and who are actively engaged in the identity transformation process needed to desist. It is important to provide education to employers about what identity transformation means and how to find the client a prosocial mentor at a job to provide social support for the human capital they are learning from their employer. TRANSFORMATION IN ACTION A recent study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Human Services about the experiences of those receiving mental health, addiction recovery, and specialty medical care via video or telephone found that most of the respondents were satisfied with those services received. Additionally, researchers discovered that several of barriers to treatment attendance, such as transportation and access to services, were removed. According to one study, “Two-thirds of survey respondents who received telehealth services in the past year (65%) said that telehealth made it possible for them to access the health care they otherwise would not have received” (Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2023, p. 8). Most probation officers would agree that transportation and access to services are similar barriers to our clients’ successes. Given the personal nature of the work in mental health, addiction recovery, and specialty medical care, one could argue that the successes found in this study could transfer to our field. One proposal is not to merely view the necessary adjustments we all made during the COVID-19 pandemic as a temporary period in our history and practices but, instead, to view them as an opportunity and a source of new approaches on which we can capitalize to better serve our clients and the communities in which they reside. Likewise, transportation and childcare costs are consistent issues for the clients we serve. We have all observed that the traditional brick- and-mortar approach to providing services to clients has shifted and that services can be individualized and thereby responsive to client needs and barriers. However, one critical aspect of implementing technology in the workplace is the ability for clients to receive no- cost, or at least low-cost, access to technology to support their journey of desistance. Digital equity is more important than ever when it comes to accessing resources such as programming and training (Aguilar, 2020). Instead of lamenting these facts and hoping it will shift back, we must be proactive and seek ways to support our clients and community partners, as they will need to be digitally connected now more than ever. Most of us utilized video visiting during the pandemic. Most of us use smartphones to communicate with friends, family, and co- workers daily. Nonetheless, some staff, clients, and community partners may have just a rudimentary understanding of the full potential of these digital tools, and others might even be using these technologies for the first time. Ensuring that the necessary skills are developed and utilized is important, because clients deserve the best services possible–services that meet their needs and reduce barriers to participating and achieving success. This is dependent on the interdisciplinary training, collaboration across adjacent fields, and use of the technology outlined above. The bottom line is that using technology in community supervision to connect with clients and external service providers is both possible and valuable. This much has been shown to be true as we have advanced on over four years from that abrupt early pivot to remote work and learning caused by the pandemic. We must 33 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS TRAINING PRACTICES, CONTENT, AND DELIVERY continue to increase our understanding of how to maximize the beneficial aspects of the tools at our disposal. We must continue to advance in connecting with clients and community partners remotely, in using technology to cross train with mental health professionals and others working in adjacent fields, and in taking advantage of interdisciplinary teamwork to build case plans that best meet the needs of clients. The years ahead will reflect our best efforts in this regard, hopefully quite positively. REFERENCES Aguilar, S. J. (2020). Guidelines and tools for promoting digital equity.Information and Learning Sciences,121(5/6), 285-299. Appleton, C. (2023). Forging a Path Forward: How incorporating desistance research can inform innovations in community supervision. Perspectives, 47(3), 10-15 Best, D., Irving, J., & Albertson, K. (2017). Recovery and desistance: What the emerging recovery movement in the alcohol and drug area can learn from models of desistance from offending.Addiction Research & Theory,25(1), 1-10. Dauria, E., Clemenzi-Allen, A., Nowotny, K., Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Williams, B., & Wurcel, A. (2023). Increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccine to older adults under community supervision.International Journal of Prisoner Health,19(1), 88-94. Dominey, J., Coley, D., Devitt, K. E., & Lawrence, J. (2021). Putting a face to a name: telephone contact as part of a blended approach to probation supervision.Probation Journal,68(4), 394-410. Galleguillos, S., Schwalbe, C., & Koetzle, D. (2023). Building accountability and client–officer relationships through videoconferencing: Exploring best practices for community corrections.European Journal of Probation,1-23. Kimura, R., Matsunaga, M., Barroga, E., & Hayashi, N. (2023). Asynchronous e-learning with technology-enabled and enhanced training for continuing education of nurses: A scoping review.BMC Medical Education,23(1), 505. Manchak, S. M., Warner, J. J., Farringer, A. J., Pate, S., & Anderson, V. R. (2023). Interpersonal process features of collaboration between probation and behavioral health practitioners.Psychological Services, 1-9. Minnesota Department of Human Services. (2023). Assessing telehealth utilization and experiences among adult Medical Assistance (MA) enrollees in Minnesota: Findings from a mixed methods study of enrollees and providers. Retrieved from https:// www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2023/mandated/231387.pdf McLearen, A. M., Busby, H., Braxton, R., & Green, K. (2023). National standards for criminal justice coordinating councils. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, The National Network of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils. National Institute of Justice. (2021). Desistance from crime: Implications for research, policy, and practice. Author. Nugent-Borakove, M. E. & Beeman, M. (2013). Fostering and sustaining criminal just system reform: The potential of criminal justice coordinating councils. Arlington, VA: The Justice Management Institute. Paternoster, R., & Bushway, S. (2009). Desistance and the “feared self”: Toward an identity theory of criminal desistance.The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1103-1156. Rocque, M. (2021). “But what does it mean? Defining, measuring, and analyzing desistance from crime in criminal justice,” NCJ 301498, in Desistance from crime: Implications for research, policy, and practice. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. Varkey, T. C., Varkey, J. A., Ding, J. B., Varkey, P. K., Zeitler, C., Nguyen, A. M., Merhavy, Z. I., & Thomas, C. R. (2022). Asynchronous learning: A general review of best practices for the 21st century.Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning,16(1), 4-16. Viglione, J., Rudes, D. S., & Taxman, F. S. (2017). Probation officer use of client-centered communication strategies in adult probation settings.Journal of Offender Rehabilitation,56(1), 38-60. Wodahl, E. J., Garland, B., Culhane, S. E., & McCarty, W. P. (2011). Utilizing behavioral interventions to improve supervision outcomes in community-based corrections.Criminal Justice and Behavior,38(4), 386-405. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES Phil Galli is the Director of Justice Support Services for St. Croix County (WI), overseeing the Adult Treatment Court, Pretrial Division, and Community Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC). Prior to this, Phil taught criminology at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls and was a probation officer in Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. Phil has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, an M.A. in Administration of Justice from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO, and a Ph.D. in Criminology & Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. Shawn Trusten has worked in the field of Community Corrections for over 20 years as a Probation Officer and is currently a Planning Specialist working on field service-based reform efforts for the Ramsey County Community Corrections Department. He is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Criminology Department of the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. His research interests include the risk-need-responsivity principles and desistance. He and a peer authored “An Exploratory Study of Self-Report Levels of Social Support in Two Justice-Involved Groups,” which appeared in the 2021 edition of the Federal Probation Journal. He has a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Criminology, and a post-graduate certificate in Project Management. He has also completed the ACJI Implementation Leadership Academy. Jason Mereness has over two decades of dedicated service in Community Corrections and currently serves as an Adult Probation Supervisor for Ramsey County Community Corrections in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jason also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Human Services at Concordia University, St. Paul. Jason possesses a wealth of knowledge in secure detention, residential treatment, evidence- based practices, strategic planning, innovation, technology, and probation field services. Jason is a graduate of the prestigious American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) Leadership Institute (2021) and a recipient of the distinguished Minnesota Corrections Association (MCA) “Technology Award” (2022) for his groundbreaking efforts in developing remote probation supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic.Membership Application YES! 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