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Justice Services Calendar

2024 Justice Services Webinar Series


Risk Assessment

Please log in to INcite for dates and registration links for Risk Assessment training.


SAVE THE DATE - 2025 Justice Services Conference - April 15-17, 2025 on the second floor of the Indiana Convention Center.


2024 Calendar

Date Event Location Court Program(s)
December 2Carey Guides/BITSVirtualA&D/Probation/PSC/Pretrial
December 3 Permanency Roundtable Orientation Virtual Probation (Juvenile)
December 5 CSAMS and PO Exam 251 N. Illinois Street, 7th Floor
Indianapolis, IN  46204
A&D/Probation
December 5-6 Case ManagementVirtualA&D/Probation/PSC/Pretrial

The Indiana Office of Court Services offers several additional trainings to increase staff knowledge and skills while providing evidence-based tools to improve client engagement. A description of each training is listed below. To request training, please click this Request for Training link. 

  • Carey Guides/BITS Training Description (1 day): We are currently only providing electronic licenses to probation officers and IDOC will provide electronic licenses for community corrections staff that attend the training.
    A skills-based training for line staff and supervisors on the use of Carey Group Publishing’s Carey Guides and BITS (Brief Intervention Tools) to effectively address offender skill deficits, criminogenic needs, and enhance case management through these interventions. The objectives include becoming familiar with the Carey Guides and BITS, understanding how to use the tools effectively, and developing skills to use the Carey Guides and BITS as interventions in one-on-one sessions.

Case Management Training Description (2 days):
The case management training is designed to give probation officers the skills necessary to develop high-quality, assessment-driven offender case plans. The specific topics covered in this training include: reviewing the foundational case management skills, developing an effective case plan, engaging an offender in the case planning process, and making use of community resources. All participants will be provided with workbooks, have the opportunity to practice each of the skills, and receive feedback on their performance.

EPICS Training Description (2 days + 5 coaching sessions): *pre-requisition - Case Management Training

The EPICS model is designed to teach probation officers how to apply the principles of effective intervention and core correctional practices within the context of their one-on-one contact sessions with offenders. The EPICS model is designed to use a combination of monitoring, referrals, and face-to-face interactions to provide the offender with a sufficient dosage of treatment interventions and make the best possible use of time to develop a collaborative working relationship. Furthermore, the model helps translate the risk, need, and responsivity principles into practice. Probation officers are taught to increase the dosage of services to higher-risk offenders, stay focused on criminogenic needs (especially the thought-behavior link), and use a social learning, cognitive-behavioral approach in their interactions with offenders. With the EPICs model, officers are taught to follow a structured approach to their interactions with offenders.

EPICS Coaching Sessions
Five coaching sessions will occur after the initial EPICS training at a rate of approximately one every 4-6 weeks. Each coaching session has two components:

(1) a pre-coaching conference call for supervisors; and
(2) a video conference call for officers and supervisors.

Interviewing Skills Training (4 hours):

This training will provide education regarding the skills necessary to collect information during an interview in order to score any actuarial assessment correctly for the purpose of developing and implementing a plan to reduce the risk of recidivism. This training will address risk, the importance of interviewing without bias, troubleshooting common challenges associated with administering assessments, and learning and practicing skills throughout an interview in order to elicit accurate information.

Motivational Interviewing (2 days):

Motivational Interviewing is a technique that provides correctional professionals a means to address the responsivity variable of motivation, applying skills to promote positive behavior change. IOCS offers a 2-day end-user course in Motivational Interviewing. This training is designed to provide a framework for Motivational Interviewing and define the key characteristics of MI, and how to lower resistance and increase motivation for engagement in programming. The emphasis is on foundational skill development in engagement and creating a collaborative relationship. Participants learn the traps that interfere with a productive partnership and lower offender investment.

Real Colors® (2 hours):

Real Colors® is a dynamic workshop experience using a personality type test. The goal is to provide participants with the skills to: understand human behavior, uncover motivators specific to each temperament, and improve communication with others. The basis of this workshop is the Real Colors® Personality Type Test: a user-friendly, intuitive tool that identifies four personality types common to all people—Gold, Green, Blue, and Orange. Participants will gain an understanding of the four colors (each corresponding to a personality type), discover where they fall as an individual on the Real Colors spectrum, learn to recognize characteristics of each of the four colors, and discuss with fellow workshop participants what it’s like to be each color.

A separate training form is required for each training requested.

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