title: Effects of a strategy to improve offender assessment practices: Staff perceptions of implementation outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This implementation study examined the impact of an organizational process improvement intervention (OPII) on a continuum of evidence based practices related to assessment and community reentry of drug-involved offenders: Measurement/Instrumentation, Case Plan Integration, Conveyance/Utility, and Service Activation/Delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  To assess implementation outcomes (staff perceptions of evidence-based assessment practices), a survey was administered to correctional and treatment staff (n=1509) at 21 sites randomly assigned to an Early- or Delayed-Start condition. Hierarchical linear models with repeated measures were used to examine changes in evidence-based assessment practices over time, and organizational characteristics were examined as covariates to control for differences across the 21 research sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results demonstrated significant intervention and sustainability effects for three of the four assessment domains examined, although stronger effects were obtained for intra- than inter-agency outcomes. No significant effects were found for Conveyance/Utility.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implementation interventions such as the OPII represent an important tool to enhance the use of evidence-based assessment practices in large and diverse correctional systems. Intra-agency assessment activities that were more directly under the control of correctional agencies were implemented most effectively. Activities in domains that required cross-systems collaboration were not as successfully implemented, although longer follow-up periods might afford detection of stronger effects.
authors.affiliation: Temple University, United States. Electronic address: wwelsh@temple.edu.
authors.forename: Wayne N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, United States.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: University of South Florida, United States.
authors.forename: Roger H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Temple University, United States.
authors.forename: Gerald J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Stahler
authors.affiliation: Texas Christian University, United States.
authors.forename: Wayne E K
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.affiliation: University of Rhode Island, United States.
authors.forename: Lynda A R
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: University of Delaware, United States.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Monico
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, United States.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eggers
authors.affiliation: West Chester University, United States.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdel-Salam
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, United States.
authors.forename: Joshua C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: University of South Florida, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Connecticut Department of Correction, United States.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, United States.
authors.forename: Linda K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Frisman
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care
keywords: Assessment; Correctional treatment; Evidence-based practice; Implementation