Closing the EBP Gap in
Community Corrections

A Bridge to Better Program and Client Outcomes

Despite a multitude of barriers that corrections departments may face, studies show that probation and parole officers are increasingly open to adopting evidence-based practices into their programs.

Reduce Recidivism by Automating Corrections Program Placement

With caseloads commonly ranging from fifty to several hundred probationers, officers may struggle to find time to perform all of their duties while simultaneously managing each individual client. Because of this, low- and high-risk clients may be placed in the same treatment programs, which can have a negative effect on their success and ultimately increase recidivism.

But emerging technology and software, like SCRAM Nexus, can help streamline case management by automatically calculating each individual client’s risk- and need-levels based on their demographics, criminal history, program progress, and more, and provide officers with automated recommendations on supervision regimens and program adjustments. SCRAM Nexus also keeps all client data—program attendance, monitoring compliance data, drug test results, and more—in one place for all officers and external service providers to access at any time, removing the need for disparate case management systems.

Increase Client Success with Suggested Rewards and Sanctions

While educational and training programs can be effective at teaching EBP to corrections officers, knowledge acquisition degrades rapidly and rarely translates into real-world application. SCRAM Nexus takes the “guesswork” and bias out of decision making, by automatically providing pertinent responses to a client’s behaviors. Using algorithms that combine EBP with existing departmental policies, appropriate rewards and sanctions are generated for officers to swiftly act on to create the most impactful client outcomes. 

Improve Program Performance and Effectiveness

SCRAM Nexus is also able to help community corrections departments analyze their program’s performance by aggregating information from various sources including program data (e.g., units of service delivered, frequency of drug testing) and client outcomes (e.g., drug test results, counseling attendance, technical violations) and create actionable KPIs to use to increase program effectiveness.

Community corrections departments and officers face the challenge of shifting their way of thinking and managing their caseloads to follow EBP principles. Failing to apply evidence-based principles faithfully and appropriately can increase criminal recidivism, waste precious resources, and worsen other psychosocial outcomes. But decision support software platforms, such as SCRAM Nexus, are specifically programmed to monitor client performance continuously and automatically recommend ongoing service adjustments where indicated, closing the gap for corrections departments to successfully implement EBP into their programs.

Next: EBP Resources