Brad Bogue has a well-deserved reputation as a dynamic thinker and groundbreaking researcher in community corrections.  So when Brad turned his thoughts to the question of what makes a high-quality risk assessment interview, we were all ears and we bet you will be too.  Risk Assessments are a big part of setting the right path for our clients and working towards community safety. We at CorrectTech support this through our Assessment module.  Because your assessments are scored and part of every client’s electronic record, we create more time for practitioners to conduct the interview, interpret the results and create a risk reducing case plan using evidence-based practices.  We love that we support community corrections practitioners in having fewer scoring errors and less time focused on calculations – helping you focus on what matters most.

This is the first installment of the blog series, Setting the Stage for EBP Practice Models with Brad Bogue, Evan C. Crist, Psy.D., Matt Moore and Tom O’Connor.

You may be wondering, “what the heck is a ‘Practice Model’?” 

 Or if you have been exposed to the term somewhere previously might be thinking, “Yeah, I’d like to see how all this works, or how it turns out to benefit me?”

And for those of you still struggling to make sense of even one evidence-based practice (e.g., cognitive skill-building, Motivational Interviewing, role clarification, relapse prevention, etc.), you probably have conflicted feelings about seriously committing to mastering that particular EBP, this thought piece may offer a key.

First, let’s define what a practice model is:

A practice model describes in detail the practices that line staff should follow to prevent more crime and promote the social and human capital (rehabilitation) of people under supervision.

A practice model is an integrated set of evidence-based practices and principles (EBP) that, when implemented with fidelity by the agency and its officers, will result in desirable public safety outcomes.

If this is new information to you, don’t be alarmed.

This is New 

Practice models (PMs) haven’t been around the fields of community supervision or corrections very long.