Doctoral Dissertation Research: Evaluating Models of Rehabilitation and Probation in the Criminal Justice System

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Many communities in the United States increasingly have turned to alternative correction programs, such as probation and other forms of rehabilitation, to deal with high rates of incarceration. These various programs attempt to reduce prison costs and overcrowding, while better integrating offenders into society. This project will examine the utility of some rehabilitative programs as probation officers make decisions about high risk offenders. Consequently, the project will evaluate new case management tools in the criminal justice system with respect to decision making, recidivism, and public safety.The project will examine various models of rehabilitation used during the probation phase of criminal justice. It does so by incorporating and integrating theories and models from the disciplines of rehabilitation, social psychology, and criminology. The result of the evaluation will be an integrated model of rehabilitation reform that provides high risk offenders and their probation officers with motivating goals to influence behavior and reduce recidivism. Evaluation will take place first through a field study of archival data from the Nebraska Office of Probation Administration, and then via an experimental design employing nearly 300 probation officers, in order to ascertain how probation officers use various rehabilitative tools and programs. Predictions of recidivism will be examined through the lens of various theories and models.