From Data to Change: Building a Supervision Culture That Works

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Becca Ford is an Evidence-Based Solutions Consultant with Empower Community Care and a former classroom teacher, academic associate, and school counselor with over 15 years of experience in education and behavior change. Her current work focuses on helping probation and parole professionals apply evidence-based practices by translating assessment data into actionable, skill-based interventions. With a strong foundation in instructional design and data-informed teaching, Becca brings a unique “teacher mindset” to community supervision, equipping practitioners to move beyond compliance-driven approaches by developing targeted learning objectives, reinforcing cognitive-behavioral skills, and supporting long-term behavior change. She is passionate about offering solutions that provide meaningful outcomes for justice-involved individuals.

Rick Parsons joined Carey Group in 2022 as deputy director after more than 30 years of probation and parole experience across two Pennsylvania counties. In addition to his county-level leadership roles, he served on the Governor’s Advisory Board of Probation, the Executive Board of the County Chief Adult Probation and Parole Officers Association of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Evidence-Based Practices Implementation Team. His expertise includes identifying organizational roadblocks and facilitating meaningful system-wide changes. Rick began his career in the Adult Probation and Parole Department of Montgomery County near Philadelphia, where he became the agency’s first defensive tactics trainer and developed deep expertise in staff safety. He later led the department’s implementation of EBP and retired as deputy chief, before being appointed chief of Carbon County Adult Probation and Parole. In that role, he facilitated rapid organizational modernization, strengthening supervision practices through continuous training, technological innovation, and a commitment to EBP.

David Robinson has more than 40 years of experience conducting research, developing assessments, and carrying out program evaluations in youth and adult justice. A founder of Orbis Partners (2001), he is currently Director of Assessment and CEO. He holds a doctorate in forensic psychology (1990) and a Master’s in Sociology (1982) from Carleton University. He participated in early validation work on tools like LS/CMI and YLS/CMI. After a research career in Canadian federal corrections, Dr. Robinson returned to focusing on developing and implementing innovative risk, needs and strength assessment tools. He directed program evaluations on, substance abuse treatment, cognitive skills, drug courts, boot camps, programs for females, case management models, gang interventions and juvenile diversion. He has expertise in youth assessment and led state-wide implementations of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) in fifteen jurisdictions. This work involved planning, training, quality assurance, and validation of assessment tools developed and implemented with Orbis Partners. He is immersed in an IT team developing and enhancing web-based applications for assessment and case planning. With academic colleagues, Dr. Robinson has been engaged in advancing research on the contribution of strength assessment in predicting outcomes and helping practitioners develop collaborative success plans for justice-involved clients.