One promising approach to lowering the rate of reoffending among probationers and parolees involves partnering with individuals with lived experience with the justice system. This report describes findings from a workshop that explored challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating these individuals into the community supervision process, focusing on such categories as overcoming resistance, implementation issues, and hiring barriers.

Incorporating Those with Lived Experience to Improve Community Supervision Outcomes

Joe Russo, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Dulani Woods, Brian A. Jackson

ResearchPublished Aug 13, 2024

The majority of individuals under correctional control in the United States are on probation or parole supervision. Despite efforts by community supervision agencies to implement evidence-based practices and interventions known to reduce reoffending, nearly one-third of those exiting probation and parole annually fail to successfully complete their term of supervision. One promising approach to lowering this number that is gaining traction among community supervision agencies involves partnering with individuals with lived experience with the justice system to better support supervisees and improve outcomes. To explore the challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating lived experience into the community supervision process, the University of Denver and RAND hosted a workshop on behalf of the National Institute of Justice. Participants in the workshop identified and prioritized 28 needs, with nine ranked as high-priority, falling into such categories as overcoming resistance, implementation issues, hiring barriers, research and evaluation, capacity-building, and training and standards. Themes that emerged included the perceived underutilization of lived experience initiatives, the need for guidance and support for community supervision agencies, the need for appropriate metrics to evaluate effectiveness, the need to understand barriers to hiring individuals with lived experience, the need to address differential needs of those with lived experience, the need for a sustainable pipeline of individuals with lived experience, and the need for standards and best practices for lived experience roles. Overall, the workshop highlighted the potential of lived experience initiatives and the importance of addressing the identified needs to promote broader adoption and improve outcomes.

Key Findings

  • Individuals with lived experience are not integrated into the supervision process because of such factors as unsupportive organizational cultures, paternalism, adversarial attitudes, not valuing lived experience, risk aversion, liability concerns, and perceptions of being "soft on crime."
  • Supervision agencies lack guidance on how to effectively plan, implement, and operationalize lived experience initiatives.
  • Stakeholder acceptance of lived experience initiatives can depend heavily on the proper vetting of individuals for suitability and readiness to serve, as well as for whether they are fit for the role; however, there is little guidance available.
  • There is great variation in both (1) the mechanisms that supervision agencies use to access and partner with individuals with lived experience and (2) how agencies use this expertise in support of the supervision process.
  • Administrative and structural barriers (e.g., civil service rules, statutes, background checks, restricted access to Criminal Justice Information Services, political considerations) can impede supervision agencies from hiring individuals with lived experience, particularly those with a felony conviction.
  • It can be challenging to develop a sustainable pipeline of individuals with lived experience to work with supervision agencies and organizations (e.g., no or low compensation, dangerous or traumatic work, lack of professional development and advancement opportunities, lack of trust, limited demand).
  • Individuals working in lived experience roles can face danger, stress, trauma, and triggering events as they are navigating their desistance journeys. Organizations and agencies struggle to provide the support needed.
  • It is challenging to isolate and measure the impact of lived experience initiatives on key supervision outcomes.

Recommendations

  • Identify the factors that support or inhibit the integration of individuals with lived experience and develop strategies to leverage or mitigate these factors, as appropriate.
  • Develop targeted strategies to create opportunities for education and dialog among stakeholders that highlight the value of initiatives; success stories; and the positive impact on supervisees, those in lived experience roles, the supervision agency, and public safety overall.
  • Develop a technical assistance capacity (which should include leveraging the expertise of those with lived experience) to provide support, coaching, and guidance to help agencies successfully implement initiatives.
  • Develop model guidance, toolkits, and best practices for selecting and vetting individuals for various roles.
  • Develop case studies and guidance resources to help agencies understand and evaluate the options for accessing expertise (e.g., volunteers, contracts with community-based organizations, direct hires), identify effective strategies for getting started, and demonstrate how lived experience roles can be successfully and meaningfully integrated into the supervision process.
  • Identify successful models, strategies, and practices that support an infrastructure that agencies and community-based organizations can leverage to attract, recruit, retain, and develop individuals to serve in paid, well-defined, lived experience roles.
  • Develop and disseminate strategies, such as logic models, to identify the most-appropriate measures (e.g., engagement in treatment and supervision, relationships with officers, school and work attendance, family relationships, quality of life, compliance, desistance from crime) to evaluate lived experience initiatives in general and specific to particular roles and objectives.

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Citation

RAND Style Manual
Russo, Joe, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Dulani Woods, and Brian A. Jackson, Incorporating Those with Lived Experience to Improve Community Supervision Outcomes, RAND Corporation, RR-A108-24, 2024. As of September 4, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA108-24.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Russo, Joe, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Dulani Woods, and Brian A. Jackson, Incorporating Those with Lived Experience to Improve Community Supervision Outcomes. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA108-24.html.
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This research was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and conducted in the Justice Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

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