INTENSIVE SESSIONS | 49th Annual Training Institute

Registration for the following intensive sessions is an additional fee of $50 per session: If you wish to attend any of these intensive sessions, you can select them under "Optional Event Fees" when you register.

INTENSIVE SESSION

Friday, June 28
SESSION I 8:00am – 12:00pm EST | SESSION II 12:30pm – 4:30pm EST

We are pleased to announce two intensive sessions from VALOR. These intensive sessions will take place from 8:00am to 12:00pm and from 12:30pm to 4:30pm on June 28, 2024. These two topics will be offered during each presentation time slot. Fit for Duty: Physical Health for Officer Safety (two hours) followed by Safety through Mental Wellness and Resilience (two hours).

Fit for Duty: Physical Health for Officer Safety
(two hours)

As officers, we regularly place ourselves in harm’s way to protect others. Too often, however, we do a poor job of addressing our own well-being. This course will use a data-driven approach to identify potential long-term health risks that come from working in law enforcement. This course will focus on the physical aspects of officer health and identify purposeful actions that we can take to attain and maintain optimal health and fitness.

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Safety through Mental Wellness and Resilience
(two hours)

This training examines the leading cause of officer death—suicide. This reality emphasizes the importance of investing in your mental wellness. Learn how to take back control and be responsible for your health and wellness. Mental wellness will enhance your officer safety, agency goals, and personal satisfaction through a work-life balance.

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FREE INTENSIVE SESSION

Using the Impaired Driving Assessment: Certification Training

Friday, June 28 | 12:30pm – 4:30pm EST

Community Supervision Prevention

Session Description: This event will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to properly administer and use the Impaired Driving Assessment (IDA) with supervisees convicted of an impaired-driving offense. Upon completion, participants will gain full access to all IDA materials to use with supervisees within their respective jurisdictions. The IDA acts as a tool to provide an estimate risk level among supervisees, identify their potential service needs, assess their responsivity to intervention efforts, and considers the degree to which their behaviors have compromised traffic and public safety. It was developed by APPA in collaboration with experts in the assessment field with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Training Objectives:
• Understand the development and clinical framework of the IDA.
• Identify the major risk areas of recidivism addressed by the IDA.
• Demonstrate the administration process of the IDA to supervisees.
• Apply the scoring procedure and interpretation of the results of the IDA.
• Employ the results of the IDA for purposes of sentencing and supervision.

Training Activities:Participants will perform several small group exercises and will score a mock DWI IDA assessment.

Presenter

Mark Stodola

INTENSIVE SESSION

It’s a Whole New Ball Game: Motivational Interviewing for Justice Involved Individuals

Friday, June 28 | 8:00am – 12:00pm EST

Community Supervision Reentry Research/Evidence-based Practices

Session Description: Ohio Parole developed an innovative approach to Motivational Interviewing training that enhances officer success in the management of justice involved individuals. Developed specifically for Criminal Justice professionals, this interactive event involves intensive practice. Participants will receive brief periods of instruction followed by opportunities to work with a coach on responding to realistic statements as made by justice involved individuals. Throughout the training a coach will work with participants to build competency at applying Open Questions, Affirmation, Reflection and Summaries (OARS) in the spirt of MI. A trainer will play the role of a justice involved individual to simulate real world practice. Participants receive real time feedback as they engage by responding to realistic statements. Ohio Parole Officers who have successfully completed these events have described it as an engaging and energetic training in a comfortable atmosphere loaded with opportunities to participate. Exercises approximate batting practices. Participants leave energized and equipped with new strategies for behavior change.

Training Objectives:
• Explain Motivational Interviewing concepts in brief microbursts.
• Provide opportunities for students to practice Open Questions, Affirmation, Reflection and Summary with an MI coach.
• Provide a comfortable environment for participants to receive feedback from a Motivational Interviewing coach and person simulating a justice involved individual.
• At the end of the training participants will have an increased ability to apply OARS to realistic statements.
• Participants will expand their understanding of how to apply empathy, acceptance, compassion and evocation to justice involved individuals.

Training Activities:This skill-based course will have three trainers with distinct roles: Lead Trainer, Coach and Offender. The lead trainer will provide microbursts of information on an MI subject area. The coach will then lead participants through batting practices while each participant responds to an offender statement (The pitch) by using an MI strategy. As the participant (batter) responds to the statement, the other participants have a listening assignment. If the batter responds using the MI skill correctly the room responds (Home run cheer…). If the participant struggles the coach patiently guides them through, providing assistance. The trainer playing the offender provides essential feedback about how the statements may be perceived by an offender in the change process.

Presenter

Jacob Popp

Ashley Autry

Troy Miglets

INTENSIVE SESSION

How to Build and Sustain Specialized Mental Health Caseloads: Nuts and Bolts Guidance from NC and GA Community Supervision Agencies

Friday, June 28 | 8:00am – 12:00pm EST

Community Supervision Mental Health Research/Evidence-based Practices

Session Description: Over two thirds of the 5.5 million people supervised in the correctional system are on community supervision caseloads, nearly 1 million of whom have a mental illness. According to a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the American Probation and Parole Association and the Pew Charitable Trusts, less than a third of counties across the country screen for mental health conditions and only 27% of counties had mental health probation supervision. Given the challenges associated with supervising people with severe mental illnesses and their poorer criminal justice outcomes (e.g., revocations, violations), agencies need tailored approaches to supervising people with severe mental illnesses. Guided by results from the aforementioned study, this intensive workshop focuses on the nuts and bolts of implementing specialized mental health supervision in two community supervision agencies – the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision.

Training Objectives:
• Describe the use of mental health supervision caseloads across the country, assess the state and quality of the evidence supporting specialized mental health supervision, and learn about the structure of specialized mental health supervision caseloads and how they were implemented in NC and GA.
• Learn strategies for selecting mental health officers and identify essential components of a mental health training curriculum and consider how training programs should be delivered.
• Identify key considerations for eligibility and caseload prioritization.
• Identify strategies for engaging behavioral health service providers.
• Identify important elements to evaluate and monitor specialized mental health supervision.

Training Activities: Faculty will use a variety of methods to engage participants throughout the session, including:
• Presenting materials via PowerPoints and handouts
• Checklists and self/agency assessments to be completed by participants
• Paired and small group discussion
• Large group discussion

Presenter

Tonya B Van Deinse

Sonya Brown

Kasey Barton

INTENSIVE SESSION

Assessing and Supervising Parolees Who are Incredibly High Risk to Violently Reoffend: The Ohio Strategy to Supervise Justice Involved Individuals with Violent Risk/Need Factors

Friday, June 28 | 12:30pm – 4:30pm EST

Community Supervision Reentry Research/Evidence-based Practices

Session Description: This intensive session will examine Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (ODRC) project to assess and respond to supervisees who are identified as high risk to violently reoffend. ODRC has generated, piloted, and launched the statewide use of a Violence Predictor Risk Assessment (VPRA). It is used as a trailer to the Risk/Need Assessment and is administered by Assessment Parole Officers prior to release from prison. Participants will gain an understanding of the initiation of this work and lessons learned. In the first part of this session, research staff will discuss their involvement and development of the tool and administrators who led the implementation effort. The second part of this session will discuss the supervision strategy to reduce the harm of this population. Parole Officers who work with this special population will discuss supervision strategies. This session will conclude by contrasting Ohio’s supervision response to those identified as high risk those high risk to violence. There will be time for question and answer.

Training Objectives:
• At the end of this session, participants will be able to identify 4 criteria used to identify risk of violence in Ohio populations.
• Participants will see Ohio’s model designed to supervise the harmful behaviors of supervisees assessed as violent.
• Participants will gain an understanding of how Ohio enhances contacts for the special population.
• Participants will understand the contrast between high risk offenders and high risk to violently offend offenders in Ohio.
• Participants will gain insights from researchers involved in this initiative.

Training Activities: Review risk assessment factors which Ohio uses to supplement current risk/need assessment. Participants will be asked to complete a group activity to apply information to score a Violence Predictor Risk Assessment. There will be time for Question and Answers, which may involve discussion of steps Ohio Parole Officers use in supervision strategies. There will be a discussion about the difference between High Risk and Violently High Risk.