Taking the Leap: From Pilot Project to Wide-Scale Implementation of the Strategic Training Initiative in Community Supervision (STICS)

Abstract

Meta-analytic reviews of the offender rehabilitation literature have consistently demonstrated that treatment can reduce recidivism. The majority of the treatment programs in these reviews consist of small-scale demonstration projects (N < 100). Larger interventions, although effective in reducing recidivism, do not produce as robust effects as the smaller demonstration projects. The reasons for this may have to do more with quality implementation issues rather than with the treatment itself. This article describes the implementation plans for a previously validated probation officer training intervention that is being introduced across a large jurisdiction. The steps taken to ensure quality implementation are outlined and obstacles that arose are discussed.