VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERIC AN PROBA TION AND P AROLE A SSOCIA TION WWW .APP A -NET .ORG THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS2 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 This issue of Perspectives is our final issue for the year. 2020 is a year that has gone by so quickly, but it has been a painful year for many of us. For me, it’s a year I would like to forget. The coronavirus has affected all of us, and all our businesses and organizations, in ways we never expected. It has greatly affected the field of Community Justice. We’ve all developed different ways of doing business to adapt to the “new normal.” Populations in juvenile detention centers and adult jails were drastically reduced to deal with the virus. We have had to learn to deal with staff shortages due to the pandemic. Some agencies went to a “work from home” status, while others did a split work week. Still, many officers and staff have been expected to work their normal shifts as if nothing was even going on. This caused burnout in an already over-worked profession. I have talked to many leaders of criminal justice agencies and we all agree that we’re expected to provide a safe work environment for our staff. However, we have no control over how safe staff are in the community. Many of us have been directly affected by this virus, and some of us have lost loved ones or close friends. The wearing of masks and social distancing used to be a controversial issue but, for many of us, it is now just a way of life. To be honest, I’m old school and I had never really used Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Go-to-Meeting, or other virtual meeting sites, but now I’m used to it. So, getting back to face-to-face meetings may be a little difficult. As I sit here today, I’m looking forward to a Thanksgiving and being with loved ones, but I wonder how you eat turkey with a mask on? I wish everyone a safe Holiday Season. Let’s hope 2021 is a safe and prosperous year. I look forward to getting back to some type of normalcy and hope to see many of you at the APPA annual training institute in Boston in the summer of 2021. president’s message TIM HARDY PRESIDENT 4 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 from the executive director As we draw close to the end of the year, we also approach the one-year anniversary of the emergence of the “novel” coronavirus which has changed our lives so dramatically. I’m sure that, like me, many of you have been reflecting on what your life was like when we were all unmasked, free to gather in groups, and free to shake hands. You may currently be dealing with increased frustration and a sense of loss due to the limitations we all face during this holiday season. I hope you don’t have the added stress of lost income and financial insecurity in your immediate family. I especially hope that you don’t have the deeper, sharper sorrow of having lost a family member or friend. This Perspectives issue, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on community supervision, is certainly timely and of great interest. We include interviews with those working in the field as well as data collected by numerous researchers. Both types of articles allow greater understanding of the new procedures implemented by community corrections agencies when faced with the urgent need to prevent COVID-19 from spreading among personnel and clients. By reading them, you will get a sense of the marked and widespread changes wrought in our “workplace.” As community supervision professionals we can stand tall and take credit for our ability to adapt. Challenge issued; challenge met. Who would have imagined the extent to which front line staff could telecommute and yet keep in contact with those on their caseloads? Using phone calls, texts, and emails has been a boon, and agencies have particularly credited videoconferencing for enabling them to compensate for the strict limitations on face-to-face home and office visits. Some agencies had rarely or never used videoconferencing before and had to scramble to utilize it for both supervision and training. As the authors point out, being forced to rapidly alter supervision strategies in the face of the pandemic has been a complicated process, and we must focus on some serious challenges that remain. How can those under supervision be held accountable when there is more limited access to courts and less ability to process violations? How can we still detect and treat substance use when drug testing is difficult and treatment options are reduced? And how will we deal with the potential of major funding shortfalls? On the other hand, it is gratifying to learn about positive outcomes, such as reducing the reporting barriers faced by individuals on supervision. Some of the procedural changes of 2020, as well as the use of videoconferencing and other technology, may produce greater efficiencies and constructive long-term changes in the way we do our work. What comes next? The coming vaccines are often referred to as the light at the end of the tunnel. However, we are still in the tunnel. We must continue to carry out our mission using our creativity and dedication, trying to not get burned out or overwhelmed. The pandemic will hopefully wane within months in the face of renewed safety practices and vaccine administration. For now, I urge everyone to begin anew and re-commit to following the strictest of precautionary guidelines. Keep yourself and those around you safe! VERONICA CUNNINGHAM APPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 6 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 editor’s notes The last nine months of 2020 have been characterized by terms like “unprecedented,” “trying times,” “new normal,” and “worst pandemic in a century.”1 Just as everyone’s daily life has been upended in a myriad ways, COVID-19 has also critically disrupted the lives of community corrections clients and the professionals responsible for supervising them. In the face of this unique adversity, there have been countless stories of adaptability and dynamic responses that have made it possible to continue to provide for the clients in our care as well as support staff through these long months. In our final Perspectives issue of 2020, we present to you important research as well as testimony from people on the frontlines that may shed some light on the ways in which probation and parole agencies across the United States have pivoted in the face of this worldwide crisis. After conducting some of the first nationwide surveys of agencies regarding adaptation and resiliency in the face of COVID-19, Dr. Debra Koetzle, Dr. Craig Schwalbe, and Dr. Jill Viglione and her colleagues at the University of Central Florida present critical information about how community corrections has handled rapid shifts from in-person to remote supervision, altered responses to violations, and made crucial innovations in policy and technology. These studies are instructive for staff at every level who are coping with and responding to the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic. 1 Faust et al. (2020). Comparison of Estimated Excess Deaths in New York City During the COVID-19 and 1918 Influenza Pandemics. JAMA Netw Open. 2020; 3(8):e2017527. doi:10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2020.17527 JASON STAUFFER ASSESSMENT AND CLASSIFICATION SERVICES SUPERVISOR, TREATMENT SERVICES DIVISION, BUREAU OF REENTRY COORDINATION, PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS KIMBERLY R. KRAS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY7 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION editorial committee JASON STAUFFER Assessment and Classification Services Supervisor, Treatment Services Division, Bureau of Reentry Coordination Pennsylvania Department of Corrections 1920 Technology Parkway Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 Phone: (717) 361-4300 KIMBERLY R. KRAS, PH.D. San Diego State University Department of Criminal Justice School of Public Affairs 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182 Phone: (619) 594-1158 ARTHUR J. LURIGIO, PH.D. Dept. of Criminal Justice Loyola University of Chicago 820 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: (312) 915-7564 SUSAN V. BURKE SUSAN BLACKBURN Juvenile Court Consultant PA Juvenile Court Judges Commission 1871 Old Main Drive Shippensburg, PA 17257-2299 Phone: (717) 277-1411 JASON DUDISH-POULSEN, PH.D. Executive Assistant to the Director Cook County Social Services Department 2650 South California, 9th Floor Chicago, IL 60612 Phone: (773) 674-6041 Similarly, in a survey of frontline staff and administrators across adult and juvenile Texas county probation agencies, Dr. Kelli Martin and Dr. Zoe Hettler have gathered information on how officers have been impacted by COVID-19 changes and have adapted their practices to suit the needs of their clients in the face of ongoing challenges. They also discuss how administrators are approaching the financial shortfall presented by the economic downturn. This issue of Perspectives also benefits from the expertise of two contributors who engaged in APPA’s COVID-19 roundtable discussions. First, in an interview with Dr. Beth Skinner, the Director of the Iowa Department of Corrections, we discuss how shifts to remote supervision have resulted in innovations in telehealth and supervision practice, as well as reductions in technical revocations. In an interview with Alicia Hitt, a Juvenile Field Probation Officer in Harris County, Texas, the discussion centers on the realities of youth probation supervision in the face of school closures. We learn how Ms. Hitt and her colleagues have transformed virtual supervision into a space that helps young supervisees be more successful academically, comply with programs, and become more engaged in their communities. These interviews offer a glimpse behind the curtain to uncover the real work of probation and parole at this critical time. We hope the realities, innovations, and resilience of community supervision staff demonstrated in this issue will resonate with you as we end this unconventional year and enter into 2021 with hope and optimism for the continued health, safety, and wellness of professionals and clients alike.8 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 instructions to authors Perspectives disseminates information to the American Probation and Parole Association’s members on relevant policy and program issues and provides updates on activities of the Association. The membership represents adult and juvenile probation, parole, and community corrections agencies throughout the United States and abroad. Articles submitted for publication are screened by an editorial committee and, on occasion, selected reviewers, to determine acceptability based on relevance to the field of criminal justice, clarity of presentation, or research methodology. Perspectives does not reflect unsupported personal opinions. Articles must be emailed to deadlines: Unless previously discussed with the editors, submissions should not exceed 12 typed pages, numbered consecutively, and double-spaced. All charts, graphs, tables, and photographs must be of reproduction quality. Optional titles may be submitted and selected after review with the editors. All submissions must be in English and in American Psychological Association (APA) Style. Authors should provide a one-paragraph biography, along with contact information. Notes should be used only for clarification or substantive comments, and should appear at the end of the text. References to source documents should appear in the body of the text with the author’s surname and the year of publication in parentheses, e.g., to (Mattson, 2015, p. 73). Alphabetize each reference at the end of the text using the following format: Mattson, B. (2015). Technology supports decision making in health and justice. Perspectives , 39 (4), 70-79. Hanser, R. D. (2014). Community corrections (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. While the editors of Perspectives reserve the right to suggest modifications to any contribution, all authors will be responsible for, and given credit for, final versions of articles selected for publication. Submissions will not be returned to contributors. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences American Correctional Association Association of Paroling Authorities International Association of Women Executives in Corrections AZ Chief Probation Officers Association AZ Probation Parole and Corrections Association Chief Probation Officers of CA Confederation of European Probation Crime Prevention Coalition of America / National Crime Prevention Council Dismas Charities, Inc. IJIS Institute IN Association of Community Correction Act Counties International Community Corrections Association Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision MN Association of Community Corrections Act Counties MN Association of County Probation Officers MN Corrections Association National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies National Association of Probation Executives New England Council on Crime and Delinquency New York State Probation Officers Association New Zealand Association of Probation Officers NY State Council of Probation Administrators OH Chief Probation Officers Association OR Juvenile Dept. Directors’ Assn. PA Association of Probation, Parole and Corrections Probation and Community Corrections Officers Association Probation Association of New Jersey Probation Officers Association of Wielkopolska Probation Officers Professional Association of IN VA Probation and Parole Association WV Association of Probation Officers appa affiliate members9 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION table of contents PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE AMONG COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AGENCIES BY: HOLLY SWAN, PH.D., WALTER CAMPBELL, PH.D., NATHAN LOWE, PH.D. A CORRECTIONS DIRECTOR’S EXPERIENCE WITH THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE COVID-19 IMPACT SURVEY FOR ADULT AND JUVENILE PROBATION IN TEXAS BY: KELLI D. MARTIN, PH.D. AND HALEY ZETTLER, PH.D. IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES BY: JILL VIGLIONE, PH.D., LUCAS M. ALWARD, AND ASHLEY V. LOCKWOOD A JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICER’S EXPERIENCE WITH THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC COVID-19 AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS: STABILITY AND CHANGE IN SUPERVISION PRACTICES BY: DEBORAH KOETZLE, PH.D AND CRAIG S. J. SCHWALBE, PH.D 14 22 28 40 54 58 departments 10 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 12 APPA CORPORATE MEMBERS featuresNext >