< Previous40 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Adding steps and procedures to the hiring process can be time consuming and expensive. However, strategically adding elements known to add incremental validity to the overall process cannot only improve a hiring agency’s odds in hiring top performers but also can result in significant cost savings. For example, one business saw a 50% reduction in terminations historically caused by employee misconduct such as theft, illegal drug use, and violence over a five-year period after implementing integrity tests into its application and hiring process (Brown, Jones, Terris, & Steffy, 1987). This reduction in turnover through terminations has implications for considerable cost savings for correctional agencies. The cost of replacing a poor performer could be approximately 30% of that employee’s first-year earnings (Fatemi, 2016). With the average annual salary for probation and correctional officers ranging between $43,540 and $56,630 (United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017), that cost is significant. Moreover, these figures do not include direct costs such as potential legal fees and settlement costs or indirect costs such as lost productivity, strained morale, and fractured public trust often associated with turnover and terminations. The above financial considerations underscore the value of taking extra care in hiring decisions. Enhancing an existing hiring process by including an integrity test that has been validated for use with correctional officers makes sense. Doing so can significantly add to the ability to predict high performers, reduce the odds for costly mis-hire expenses, and help increase an agency’s odds at hiring that “one in a million” employee. REFERENCES Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, § 2, 104 Stat. 328 (1991). Berry, C. M., Sackett, P. R., & Wiemann, S. (2007). A review of recent developments in integrity test research. Personnel Psychology, 60(2), 271-301. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00074.x Brown, T. S., Jones, W. J., Terris, W., & Steffy, B. D. (1987). The impact of pre-employment integrity testing on employee turnover and inventory shrinkage losses. Journal of Business and Psychology, 2(2), 136-149. doi.org/10.1007/BF01014208 Cunningham, M. R., & Jones, J. W. (2008). Impacting key business indicators in the United States: Why attitude and behavior assessments are better predictors of effective hiring decisions than personality tests. Chicago: Vangent Human Capital Sciences White Paper. Fine, S. (2013). A look at cross-cultural integrity testing in three banks. Personnel Review, 42(3), 266- 280. doi: 10.1108/00483481311320408 Fine, S., Horowitz, I., Weigler, H., & Basis, L. (2010). Is good character good enough? The effects of situational variables on the relationship between integrity and counterproductive work behaviors. Human Resource Management Review, 20(1), 73-84. doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2009.03.010 Garbarino, S., Chiorri, C., Magnavita, N., Piattino, S., & Cuomo, G. (2012). Personality profiles of special force police officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 27, 99-110. doi: 10.1007/ s11896-011-9099-641 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION Jones, J. W., Cunningham, M. R., & Dages, K. D. (2010). Pre-offer police integrity testing: Scientific foundations and professional issues. In P. A. Weiss (Ed.), Personality Assessment in Police Psychology: A 21st Century Perspective (pp. 159-187). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher. Karraker v Rent-A-Center, Inc., 239 F. Supp. 2d 828 (C.D. Ill. 2003). Marcus, B., Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2013) A note on the incremental validity of integrity tests beyond standard personality inventories for the criterion of counterproductive behaviour. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 30(1), 18-25. doi 10.1002/cjas.1235 Ones, D. S., Viswesvaran, C., & Schmidt, F. (1993). Comprehensive meta-analysis of integrity test validities: Findings and implications for personnel selection and theories of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph, 78(4), 679-703. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi: 10.1037/0033- 2909.124.2.262 Sellbom, M., Fischler, G., & Ben-Porath, Y. (2007). Identifying MMPI-2 predictors of police officer integrity and misconduct. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(8), 985-1004. Tatman, A. W., Kreamer, S., & Dix, M. (2014). Employee Screening and Selection in Community Corrections: A Comprehensive Process. Perspectives, 38(4), 116-126. Tatman, A. W., Kreamer, S., & Reynoldson, J. (August 5, 2014). Employees… Your Most Valuable Resource: Finding, Screening, and Coaching your Future Top Performers. Presentation for the American Probation and Parole 39th Annual Training Institute Conference. New Orleans, LA. Wanek, J. E. (1999). Integrity and honesty testing: What do we know? How do we use it? International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 7(4), 183-195. doi: 10.1111/1468-2389.00118 Wells, L., Johnson, S., & Sundt, J (2018). Human resource to support the use of evidence-based practices: Reducing recidivism through the hiring process. Perspectives, 42(3), 18-25. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ANTHONY W. TATMAN, Ph.D. is the owner and founder of Critical Hire, PLC. He specializes in pre-employment psychological and integrity testing for law enforcement and correctional officers. Correspondence may be directed to Anthony “Tony” Tatman at 500 Hickman Rd., Waukee, Iowa 50263-7713, PO Box 813; Email: 42 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 GENDER-RESPONSIVE POLICIES AND PRACTICES IMPROVE OUTCOMES Over the past 30 years, there has been a profound change in women’s criminal justice system involvement. Women represent the fastest growing correctional population nationwide, and the vast majority of these women are under community supervision. In fact, the number of women on parole or probation has almost doubled since 1990 to more than 1 million. Unfortunately, most women and girls committee update BY DEANNE BENOS AND ALYSSA BENEDICT supervision models were designed for men and do not address women’s unique risks, strengths and needs. They are less effective with women, create unnecessary stress for staff, limit positive outcomes, and waste precious human and fiscal resources. Research on women has provided critically important information on the types of strategies that promote women’s successful outcomes, increase their rates of supervision completion, and reduce their revocations, re-arrests and re-43 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION BY DEANNE BENOS AND ALYSSA BENEDICT incarceration. For example, most justice-involved women and girls are trauma survivors. This information has not sufficiently impacted supervision practices and agencies are missing opportunities to improve outcomes and save limited resources. Research demonstrates that gender responsive and trauma-informed approaches with women improve outcomes, increase their rates of supervision completion, and reduce their revocations, re-arrests and re-incarceration. The Women and Girls Committee is focused on transforming justice practices and outcomes with women and emphasizing the steps that individual members, agencies and systems can take to build their capacity to meet the needs of women and girls, including the development of gender-responsive and trauma-informed policies and the effective engagement of justice system stakeholders, directly impacted women and their families, and community leaders. THE COMMITTEE’S PIONEERING AGENDA The work of the Committee represents a robust response and a national call to improve policies, practices and programs with women and girls on community supervision. Implementing gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches across community corrections agencies offers opportunities to improve supervision outcomes among women, enhance public safety, reduce incarceration, and ensure responsible use of precious and increasingly limited human and fiscal resources. The pioneering work of the Committee is helping APPA to become an influencer regarding the effective approaches with women and girls involved with the justice system. RECENT COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS At APPA’s 44th Annual Training Institute in San Francisco, the Committee celebrated the success of its ambitious and timely project to assess field readiness and capacity to address the dramatic rise in the number of women involved in the justice systems across the nation. Building from an APPA policy statement endorsing the use of evidence- based, gender-responsive practices, the Committee launched a survey of probation and parole professionals across the country to determine the greatest challenges and opportunities they face in implementing practices proven to be more effective with impacted women and girls. The survey results were compelling and demonstrated that the field is looking for support and guidance in their efforts to better address the risks, strengths, and needs of women and girls. With the consultation and support of the APPA Research and Review Committee, we collected a total of 355 surveys from association members representing urban, rural, 44 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 44 and suburban areas around the country between 12/3/18 and 1/22/19. Forty-four states were represented, and respondents included a mix of agents/officers, supervisors and directors. While 70% of respondents reported that they believe community corrections staff who work with women/girls should use a gender-responsive approach, the survey revealed that: • Only 43% of probation/parole agencies reported using programs designed to address the needs of women and girls. • Only 23% of agencies seek input from women and girls with lived experience in building policies/programs. • Only 41% of agencies provide training to staff on gender-responsive approaches with women and girls. • Only 25% of agencies use an assessment that has been specifically designed for women and girls. Respondents identified the following barriers to implementation of gender-responsive policies, practices and programs: • Lack of funding • Lack of training and information • Small size of the female population • Lack of buy-in from leadership and staff • Limited resources such as gender-specific programming, housing and transportation Respondents requested the following supports: • Training and consultation on working with women and girls • A compendium of best practices for working with women and girls • Ways to expand partnerships with other agencies and with community resources Survey results and committee-led conversations with association members around the country demonstrate that the field wants and needs support in their efforts to women and girls committee update45 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION 45 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION implement and expand gender-responsive policies, practices and programs so they can improve supervision outcomes among their female clients. As a follow up to the survey, the Committee hosted a dynamic, multi- media session at the training institute in San Francisco. Committee co-chairs, Deanne Benos and Alyssa Benedict, shared the results of the survey. Dynamic panelists helped shape and influence the success of the session including Topeka Sam, Founder of Ladies of Hope Ministries and The Probation & Parole Accountability Project, National Dignity Campaign Director, #cut50; and Katie Roller, Parole and Probation Supervisor, Multnomah County Community Justice. The session featured the cutting edge work these women are doing with their colleagues, featured the experiences of impacted women using video and storytelling, discussed the implications of the survey, and ended with a powerful dialogue among attendees where association members from around the country shared critical actions they have taken to implement evidence-based, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed interventions for women, including cutting-edge training, assessment, housing and community service network development and more. The session was followed by an engaging committee meeting where members solidified a plan to respond to the results of the survey by working with association members and women with lived experiences to develop concrete tools for the field that will assist community corrections professionals, administrators and agencies in their efforts to implement evidence-based approaches with women and girls. EXCITING NEXT STEPS Through an innovative partnership with the Women’s Justice Institute, the Committee will inform the development of field guidance to association members across the nation to reduce technical violations and improve outcomes among women on probation and parole supervision by including the voices of women who are on supervision, as well as those who work with them directly. To learn more about this exciting new initiative, members are welcome to join the committee at the 2020 APPA Winter Training Institute in New Orleans. ABOUT THE AUTHORS DEANNE BENOS is Co-Founder of the Women’s Justice Institute. She can be reached at BENEDICT, MPH, is the Executive Director of CORE Associates. She can be reached in APPA’s Justice Involved Women and Girls Committee.46 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 appa project update The community corrections field is ready for transformational changes brought about by sharing ideas, learning what is working for others, and considering new options for service delivery. This requires understanding what others are doing in the arena of community supervision. Globally, we know some countries provide supervision programs and some do not, but there is no international system that collects information and documents current practices and outcomes. The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) and Community Supervision Solutions (CSS) began exploring this issue at the 2nd World Congress on Community Corrections by interviewing administrators from various countries about local supervision practices. Their interesting comments were presented in the Winter 2017 issue of Perspectives. SUPERVISION AROUND THE WORLD (SAW) PROJECT 47 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION To continue this effort of tracking correctional practices in other countries, the Supervision Around the World (SAW) Project began in the spring of 2017 as a collaboration between the APPA and CSS. The intent of the SAW Project is to document global community supervision practices and provide that information via a user-friendly website. We will glean from other countries what is working for them so that we may further promote research-informed practices and share those details to support the continuation and growth of successful programs. The website will contain examples of existing services and will present program data with measurable outcomes. It will also share administrator contact information in order to encourage collaborative efforts. The Advisory Committee to the SAW Project includes members from the United States, the European Union, and international agencies. This group is in the process of collecting information from different countries via interviews and designing the website for data reporting. Information regarding the SAW Project has been presented to conference audiences hosted by: • American Corrections Association • American Probation and Parole Association • International Corrections and Prisons Association • UN Crime Congress Kyoto 2020, Planning Committee Letters of support have been received from: • Association of Paroling Authorities International • International Community Corrections Association • Penal Reform International If you would also like to support this exciting project, please contact Julie Truschel, President of Community Supervision Solutions and SAW Project Director at Next >