< Previous40 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 EVOLVE AND ADAPT KSL Research, Training, and Consultation, LLC, with the NIC to conduct a nationwide survey in 2017 of over 3,000 corrections professionals representing institutions and community corrections on causes of correctional workplace stress. The most notable findings were organizational in nature, rather than stress created by working directly with correctional populations. National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA). NSA has focused on health and wellness for its membership and is planning for the development of webinars and e-learning sessions. • NSA is undergoing development of a psychological services group to make mental health training available to members. • Presentations on topics at the NSA annual conference related to health and wellness have been planned. • A video on officer wellness is being developed. Federal and State Agencies Many agencies provide access to Employee Assistance Program services, often customizing them to meet the needs of their organization. The agencies contacted conducted external searches to access research and see what was available, both proprietary and in the public domain. Based on their outreach, agencies brought some of those resources into their departments and developed internal initiatives. Below is but a sampling of health and wellness initiatives from a number of agencies across the country. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). California officials developed the following resources for staff: • An Employee Health and Wellness internet site has been created contains links to a wide range of health- and wellness-related presentations. • A Health and Well-being Family Resource Guide has been produced that covers a broad range of resources from chaplaincy to physical and emotional health to financial literacy. • S.A.F.E. (Supportive Assistance for Employees) is a newly developed comprehensive curriculum for staff that provides an overview of the profession, the effect that stress and trauma can have on staff and families, and the impact of critical incidents and the aftermath. It also defines various level of stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, grief, and resiliency and provides resources and exposure to models of wellness. • CDCR Health and Wellness offerings include current and ongoing programs that range from behavioral health support, a broad array of training and communication initiatives, healthier food and beverage offerings, and physical health classes. Future offerings will include family outreach and domestic violence education and prevention. CDCR is also exploring the feasibility of onsite childcare. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The Federal Bureau of Prisons offers employees a variety of resources, including: • Dedicated Health and Wellness webpages noting resources and activities throughout BOP, including the Central Office. • Staff fitness centers throughout BOP, including the Central Office. 41 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION EVOLVE AND ADAPT • 2020 Health and Wellness presentations offered through the Behavioral Health Services/Employee Assistance Program. • Frequent e-mail blasts announcing a variety of activities related to staff health and wellness. Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). In 2017, IDOC formed an internal Staff Wellness Response Team (SWRT) and conducted an evaluation of current initiatives, resources, staff needs, and gaps. The results determined the need for a formal protocol that would determine health and wellness program structure and standards. The SWRT recognized the link between the implementation of research- based practices, staff morale, and wellness and established a strategic plan with the following features to further the goal of staff health and wellness: • Internal policy embedded in an administrative directive. • Extended reach of technology in 2020 to all staff throughout the organization, significantly advancing the agency’s health and wellness strategic plan. • Staff wellness portal at each facility. Currently in development, the first phase of the project is an online tab providing links to publications, self-help tools, and information about local providers that can be accessed at home. Access to the staff wellness portal will be possible via a kiosk installed at each facility. The kiosks will be located adjacent to a Higi station (a free-standing station where staff can check their weight, body mass index, pulse, and blood pressure, which are all important measurements to help detect treatable health conditions). • Development of a highly trained SWRT for all facilities, with ongoing training provided to team members. • Expansion of services to staff involved in critical incidents to include peer-led programs staffed by knowledgeable and respected individuals. • Building and enhancing communication across the IDOC staff and between key stakeholder groups, with incorporation of the family experience into wellness initiatives. IDOC also recently rolled out a staff wellness podcast that will be a weekly feature from the agency’s wellness team. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS). The agency has developed a number of internal initiatives as well as engaging external resources to build its health and wellness offerings. • The agency has a current partnership with GALLUP employee engagement. Results of a recent survey, with responses from a majority of staff, are being analyzed and will be shared with staff with the goal of building a healthier and more effective workplace. Emerging from this process have been opportunities to look for strengths within the organization and explore innovations in scheduling and staffing. • SERVES (Staff Empowerment & Resiliency/Victim Education & Support) provides staff and their families experiencing the effects of corrections fatigue with peer-to-peer support and referrals to community resources. SERVE team members go through a rigorous selection and training process. They receive monthly training and are available at each institution, now extending to community corrections. • As part of peer support, NDCS has made cards available to staff that provide five 42 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 EVOLVE AND ADAPT action steps to follow if they believe a peer is suicidal. The card includes the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number. An additional document provides more detail and information for each step. • NDCS has provided staff information on grounding techniques that can be applied in the present during times of stress and anxiety. • Administrative regulations have been developed that address Critical Incident Stress Management. • NDCS has partnered with Desert Waters Correctional Outreach (DWCO) for services and distributes the eZine, Correctional OASIS, throughout the organization. North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (NDDCR). Drawing from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/GAINS (SAMHSA/GAINS) Trauma-Informed Justice System Health and Wellness Initiative, NDDCR incorporated elements into its strategic plan that will inform policy, core correctional practices, professional development, and increase internal agency capacity in promoting agency health and wellness. The following programs are examples of the plan in action: • NDDCR has extended use of a CIRT (Crisis Intervention Response Team) for use across the agency. By expanding this team, staff are being provided confidential opportunities to discuss their thoughts and feelings about critical events affecting the work environment. • The agency has contracted with psychologists familiar with the correctional environment and known to staff to provide additional support. • Learning Passport is a multi-phased staff development process that incorporates wellness with a goal to reduce turnover. The model incorporates training, partnering with Field Training Officers (FTO), On-the- Job Training (OJT) and mentoring, and it reaches beyond correctional officer basics to help staff develop leadership skills and enhance opportunities for promotion. • NDDCR plans to launch an initiative of learning components to build and strengthen internal capacity with health and wellness initiatives focused on new staff and recently promoted supervisors. • Recent partnerships with two universities were used to assess the correctional experience of applicants for correctional jobs and provide credits for work experience that can be applied to toward the promotion process. It is ideal for staff who may not have had the opportunity to pursue additional education. Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC). The Oregon DOC has long been a leader in implementing health and wellness initiatives for staff through extensive national and international outreach, ongoing partnerships with universities, and incorporating work-life balance best practices. They have built an agency infrastructure around health and wellness, developing and disseminating resources to address the challenges experienced by staff in their daily roles. Some recent highlights include: • Manager toolkits for engaging staff about personal wellness (Note: The resources are not yet final; however, there is a goal to train 100 managers on their use once they are complete). The toolkits are being developed in partnership with the agency’s three health insurance providers. • Mindfulness and emotional intelligence training delivered to over 700 staff along with development of powerful videos depicting positive program effects on work 43 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION EVOLVE AND ADAPT and home life to encourage further staff engagement. Development of The Oregon Way—a culture change strategy that prioritizes employee health as the means to improving outcomes for incarcerated people. OR DOC partnered with the AMEND program drawing upon AMEND’s mission to transform correctional culture and reduce the debilitating health effects of prisons and jails. AMEND developed a Resource Team Model in two Oregon facility Behavioral Health Units that offers new ways of operating that are yielding documented improvements to staff work and home lives. Integrating trauma-informed care and staff wellness training by coupling SAMHSA’s Trauma Training for Criminal Justice Professionals with easy-to-incorporate personal stress regulation and communication skills to support staff with their own primary and secondary trauma exposure. (All DOC staff will be trained by end of 2021.) In process is a 10-month diabetes prevention/ intervention effort between OR DOC, the public employee benefit board, and health care carriers. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC). PA DOC embraced staff health and wellness with a robust and multifaceted approach to supporting staff and strengthening the agency. An emphasis on “soft skills” such as communication and building trust has been key to their efforts. • Dr. Christian Conte, a nationally known Level 5 anger management specialist, developed an enhanced communication program Yield Theory which is being delivered to correctional professionals via a trainer program at the PA DOC training academy. Results show improved interactions at state correctional institutions where this has been implemented. • Outreach and engagement with Desert Waters Correctional Outreach and Christian Conte, who developed the Yield Theory Anger Management Program. • Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams provide internal onsite peer and psychological support to staff during critical incidents, e.g., inmate/ staff suicide and various staff losses. A day-long staff retreat to incorporate practices to regenerate and rejuvenate was provided to support this team with the goal of future offerings. The PA DOC is pursuing the addition of comfort dogs that can be assigned to CISM teams, and in furtherance of this goal it will work with K9 First Responders, a national organization that will provide training and guidance to key staff at no cost. Also, crowdsourcing campaigns to raise funds for those in need are always promoted and supported when staff experience tragic losses. • Corrections Outreach for Veterans and Employee Restoration and the Parole Outreach for Wellness and Employee Restoration (COVER/POWER) joint peer support initiative was established out of the wellness committee. A steering committee has been developed to support this initiative, providing guidance and resources with the goal of replicating best practices agencywide. • PA DOC has implemented many staff- submitted ideas through successful BetaGov randomized controlled trials (RCT) which measure the effect of the idea in order to justify expenditures and replication agencywide. Measuring is key to support all initiatives for the PA DOC. BetaGov is housed at New York University and is a grant-funded organization providing RCTs at no cost. • A number of internal wellness BetaGov RCTs occurred that examine use of 44 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 EVOLVE AND ADAPT standing desks, anti-fatigue mats, and virtual reality (VR) for seriously mentally ill inmates. The VR for seriously mentally ill inmates showed a reduction in anxiety, an outcome that has led to a larger scale trial. Anecdotally, staff experienced a calmer unit as the participating inmates worked to improve their behavior so they would be able to experience the weekly adventure VR—beach or car racing. Wellness worked with an institution to develop research-based changes to the officer dining room. BetaGov will provide data based upon staff input. South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). As part of its commitment to a healthy work force, the SCDC has invested in support for staff through a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Program. • New state funding in 2017 provided resources for the program, including three full-time employee positions. • The program provides direct services for staff who have been assaulted or have otherwise experienced trauma at work or in their personal lives. It is also providing support to address the cumulative effects of working in corrections over time. • The program relies on a network of peers certified in the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation model. Peers have continued to expand throughout all levels of the agency, with representation across staff levels and positions, as well as through all operating shifts. • SCDX has added a specially trained trauma dog to the CISM team that can recognize stress, anxiety, and trauma, and provides support to relieve stress and other anxiety-related issues. • In 2018, SCDC began offering Post- Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) events dedicated to correctional employees who are experiencing PTSD, anxiety, depression or other ongoing trauma- related issues. These events are part of a national research project studying PCIS on law enforcement and correctional employees. • The SCDC implemented a policy in 2019 making the CISM Program “official.” • SCDC facilitated a “Warden’s Retreat” in 2020 that was essentially a PCIS dedicated to fit their unique needs and intended to build resiliency and address ongoing trauma/stress related to working in corrections. U.S. Probation Office – Middle District of North Carolina (USPO MDNC). The United States Probation Office for the Middle District of North Carolina is a public agency within the federal judiciary providing community supervision functions for approximately two dozen counties within middle North Carolina. The district adopted The Eight Dimensions of Wellness (emotional, financial, social, spiritual, occupational, physical, intellectual and environmental), a comprehensive and proactive health and wellness model developed by Peggy Swarbrick at Rutgers University, as the foundation of its health and wellness initiative. From the Eight Dimensions, the district identified three elements (education, self-care/ peer support, and the more traditional crisis intervention) and used that as a model to organize the initiatives listed below: • Education - The agency offers workshops/ events quarterly on each of the topics covered under the umbrella of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. Self-Care and Peer Support - The agency contracted to have the stress first aid (SFA) 45 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION EVOLVE AND ADAPT model translated to probation officer work. Originally developed by the Department of Defense for Marines, SFA was adapted for use with law enforcement and firefighters. The agency has held a Training of Trainers workshop and is now preparing to offer this again. SFA staff have also been resources for peers who have had experiences that triggered feelings of extreme stress. Critical Incident Stress Management and SFA are crisis management tools and are part of the agency’s initiative regarding staff health and wellness. The district is interested in developing a variety of measures to determine what is best to use in developing community corrections health and wellness initiatives. In addition, it is working toward a national Training for Trainers in the SFA probation model. Conclusion The interviews, research, and reading that contributed to this article demonstrate the prioritization being given to correctional staff health and wellness across the country, yet this was a very small snapshot of what is available. Groundbreaking work is being done across the nation on addressing the needs of correctional staff. It was quite moving to hear agency representatives provide examples of tragic events that had affected their staff and to gain insight into the culture of various agencies and the ways they struggled to support staff while still attending to the responsibilities of managing a correctional organization. Common themes included a strong need to reach out and learn from each other as well as a desire on the part of agencies to share what they have learned, developed, and implemented. Improving staff health and wellness is a significant undertaking— and there is no one right way to carry this out. However, the return on investment for our staff, their families, our agencies, and our communities certainly makes such efforts worthwhile. Disclaimer: Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References Executive Session on Community Corrections. (2017), Toward an approach to community corrections for the 21st century: Consensus document of the Executive Session on Community Corrections. Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School. Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults; The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258. Figley, C. (n.d.), The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project. Tulane Traumatology Institution, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. Finney, C., Stergiopoulos, E., Hensel, J., Bonato, S., & Dewa, C. S. (2013). Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a systematic review. BMC public health, 13(1), 1-13. Herrenkohl, T., Jung, H., Kim, M. H., & Lee, J. O. (2017). Effects of child maltreatment, cumulative victimization experiences, and proximal life stress on adult crime and antisocial behavior. National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from: 46 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 EVOLVE AND ADAPT Klinoff, V. A., Van Hasselt, V. B., Black, R. A., Masias, E. V., & Couwels, J. (2018). The assessment of resilience and burnout in correctional officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(8), 1213-1233. Lewis, K. & Lewis, L. (2019). Corrections stress needs assessment; Final summary report. National Institute of Corrections. McCann, I. L. and Pearlman, L. A. 1990. Vicarious traumatization: A framework understanding the psychological effects of working with victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 131-149 McGonigal, K., (2015). The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at It. New York, NY: Penguin Random House. Rhineberger-Dunn, G., Mack, K. Y., & Baker, K. M. (2016). Secondary trauma among community corrections staff: An exploratory study. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 55(5), 293-307. Rhineberger-Dunn, G., Mack, K. Y., & Baker, K. M. (2017). Comparing demographic factors, background characteristics, and workplace perceptions as predictors of burnout among community corrections officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(2), 205-225. Spinaris, C., (2016). Corrections fatigue & corrections fulfillment: In a nutshell. Correctional Oasis, 13(6), 1-3. Retrieved from: pdf World Health Organization (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases [Departmental news release]. Retrieved Author Bio: Maureen Buell most recently was a Correctional Program Specialist with the National Institute of Corrections, managing NIC’s Justice-Involved Women’s initiative and a compassion fatigue and secondary trauma initiative. She has provided training and technical assistance nationally to federal, state, local, and community corrections agencies and various organizations. Prior to NIC, Ms. Buell served as a probation and parole officer, casework supervisor, manager of a community-based sex offender supervision and treatment unit, and regional program services manager. She assisted in the design and placement of a community residential program as well as design and program planning of a women’s prison.47 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION EVOLVE AND ADAPT BY ERIN (KATHERINE) EPIFANIO LGBTQ YOUTHS’ RESPONSIVITY NEEDS UNDER THE RISK-NEED- RESPONSIVITY MODEL 48 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 EVOLVE AND ADAPT Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth have a disproportionately high rate of contact with the United States’ juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. LGBTQ youth also experience disproportionately negative justice outcomes in comparison to their peers. Youth who identify as LGBTQ experience higher rates of expulsion from school, arrest, and conviction than youth who do not identify as LGBTQ (Center for American Progress [CAP], Movement Advancement Project, & Youth First, 2017). LGBTQ youth are also overrepresented among youth that are under the supervision of either the juvenile justice system or the criminal justice system. While LGBTQ youth make up less 10% of the youth population at large, they represent at least 13% of justice-involved youth (Development Services Group, 2014). Surveys of incarcerated youth find that as much as 20% of the incarcerated juvenile population identifies as “LGBT or gender non-conforming” (CAP et al., 2017, p. 3). The population of LGBTQ youth is growing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (as cited in Murez, 2021), 8.3% of 15- to 17-year-olds identified as LGBTQ in 2015. By 2019, that figure rose to 11.7% (Murez, 2021). There are now an estimated two million youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender in the United States alone (Conron, 2020). With more youth identifying as LGBTQ every day, correctional practitioners must recognize how these youths’ identities tie into their experiences with justice institutions. To that end, this paper contextualizes youth identity and justice experiences within the framework of the Risk- Need-Responsivity (RNR) model of correctional assessment and treatment. The “responsivity” component of the RNR model is of special interest here. The responsivity principle outlines how individuals can reap maximum gains from correctional rehabilitation. Responsivity or stabilization needs include those factors that impact individuals’ commitment to rehabilitation (Marlowe, 2018). While responsivity needs do not cause crime, this paper clarifies how responsivity needs make LGBTQ youth vulnerable to disproportionate and recurrent contact with justice institutions. The RNR Model in Juvenile Justice Literature The Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model advocates for a risk- and need-centric approach to recidivism reduction. The first core principle of the model, risk, specifically suggests that the intensity of recidivism reduction programming should align with clients’ risk of reoffending (Bonta & Andrews, 2007). The need and responsivity principles, on the other hand, highlight where services should be targeted and how service delivery should occur. Criminogenic needs or changeable factors that raise individuals’ risk of recidivism are the main concern of the RNR model. According to the need and responsivity principles of the model, correctional services should target criminogenic needs using a delivery approach that maximizes participants’ capacity for participation in rehabilitation (Andrews, 2012). Moreover, correctional services should only target non-criminogenic needs before criminogenic needs when the former would interfere with treatment of the latter (Marlowe, 2018). Per the above, non- criminogenic needs that hamper clients’ commitment to rehabilitation are known as responsivity or stabilization needs. Research on the RNR model has largely tested the applications of the above principles with adult correctional clients (Brogan, Haney- Caron, NeMoyer, & DeMatteo, 2015). However, there is evidence to suggest that the model has enduring relevance in youth-oriented correctional settings. For example, Lipsey’s 2009 meta-analysis of recidivism reduction programs 49 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION EVOLVE AND ADAPT for justice-involved youth validates the risk principle for use in juvenile rehabilitation. In his analysis of 548 study samples involving program participants between the ages of 12 and 21, Lipsey found that programs’ target population, therapeutic foundation, and integrity related to their overall efficacy. Therapeutically oriented programs that targeted youth at high risk of recidivism reduced recidivism by 10-13% on average. Additionally, some individual programs reduced recidivism by up to 26% (Lipsey, 2009). For the referenced programs, participants’ overall risk of recidivism predicted the direction of programs’ recidivism reduction effects. Earlier research by Dowden and Andrews (1999) provides similar support for use of the need principle with juvenile offenders. Although this Dowden and Andrews meta-analysis of 134 studies is more than two decades old, it provides some of the most “convincing evidence” (Oudekerk & Reppuci, 2012, p. 205) available on the subject. Dowden and Andrews found that programs which focused on criminogenic needs reduced recidivism by 22% on average, while programs that did not target criminogenic needs failed to consistently reduce recidivism. Programs that included an element of general responsivity, or an appropriate therapeutic focus, also had a much higher (24%) recidivism reduction effect than programs that did not (4%) (Dowden & Andrews, 1999). Collectively, these findings suggest that RNR-aligned juvenile rehabilitation programs have a greater impact on juvenile recidivism than programs that do not incorporate the risk, need, and responsivity principles. Several more recent studies have explored the relevance of responsivity to juveniles in greater depth. As touched on above, the responsivity component of the RNR model details the importance of maximizing offenders’ engagement with rehabilitative programming through use of offender-responsive treatment strategies (Bonta & Andrews, 2007). Additionally, it also emphasizes the importance of working with individuals’ strengths and addressing factors that affect their participation in rehabilitation. Once again, these factors represent offenders’ responsivity or stabilization needs. In their study on the relationship between mental health and recidivism among juvenile offenders, McCormick, Peterson-Badali, and Skilling (2017) identified mental health variables such as anxiety-related symptoms or traumatic histories as potential responsivity factors. McCormick et al. studied 232 youth under community supervision and found no direct relationship between mental health needs and recidivism, implying that such needs are not explicitly criminogenic. However, their study did find that participants who received treatment for both their mental health needs and their criminogenic needs reoffended at much lower rates (41.7%) compared to participants who did not receive both treatments (76.9%). These findings suggest that parallel treatment of responsivity needs, and criminogenic needs promotes improved treatment outcomes. Vitopoulos, Peterson-Badali, Brown, & Skilling (2019) revisited the relationships between mental health, criminogenic needs, and responsivity needs among juvenile offenders in their review of pre-sentencing mental health assessments. The authors analyzed the assessment results of 100 13- to 19-year-olds, examined their experiences with childhood maltreatment, and clarified how those experiences related to recidivism within the sample population. Childhood maltreatment was associated with high criminogenic need scores and thus a higher risk of recidivism. However, post-traumatic stress symptoms–which the authors describe as being linked to maltreatment–did not predict recidivism. According to Vitopoulos et al., these findings imply that experiential disturbances like childhood maltreatment could shape youths’ criminogenic and responsivity needs.Next >