Successful Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices Improves Outcomes in Community Supervision by Lowering Recidivism and Increasing Public Safety
Community Corrections and other community-based supervision programs provide alternatives to traditional modes of incarceration, while also improving participant chances at long-term success beyond their involvement in the criminal justice system. Effective programs informed by evidence and research create opportunities for collaboration between the program staff and participants aiding in the development of prosocial behavioral habits, supporting communities and families through skill-building exposure and practice, and restoring communities through the return of self-motivated and productive individuals to society.
The Department's Community Corrections Division provides state aid through the Community Corrections and Justice Reinvestment Funding as an annual grant under IC 11-12, and oversees the Community Transition Program.
In addition to offering funding support to programs, the Department also offers training and technical assistance on a myriad of topics in an effort to assist counties in their use and implementation of evidence-based practices and programming.
Programs receiving funding support are administered locally and overseen by local Community Corrections Advisory Boards. They operate autonomously from the Department, and program staff are not state employees. Likewise, participants sentenced or referred to Community Corrections are not supervised or managed by the Department, nor do we determine who is placed or removed from locally based programs.
Participation in the Community Corrections and Justice Reinvestment grant along with implementation of community-based supervision programs assists in the reduction of cost-prohibitive incarcerations and jail overcrowding.
Learn More About Grant Funding
Community Corrections Division
The Department's Community Corrections Division assists the Indiana Department of Correction in fulfilling its’ mission by providing funding assistance to county agencies for the establishment and operation of community corrections and court supervised recidivism reduction programs, as well as providing support funding to probation, pretrial services, prosecutor’s diversion, and jail treatment programs. The purpose of the grant is to encourage counties to develop coordinated local alternatives to state-level incarceration informed by research and best practices.
The Community Corrections Division oversees an allocation of $72.6 million awarded annually to community supervision agencies and treatment programs across the state by the Indiana Department of Correction.
Programs receiving funding support are administered locally and overseen by local Community Corrections Advisory Boards. They are autonomous from the Department, and local program staff are not employed by the State.
Additionally, participants sentenced or referred to Community Corrections and other grant funded programs are neither supervised nor managed by the Department. Placement or removal from community-based supervision programs is determined entirely by program staff and locally based court officials.
The division’s primary responsibilities include:
- Oversight of the Community Transition Program (CTP)
- Distribution and expenditure of the division’s state-appropriated funding
- Administration of community corrections and justice reinvestment contracts
- Monitoring of financial, programmatic, and operational compliance in grant-funded agencies
- Collection and analysis of performance measure data from grant-funded programs and the division
- Administration of training and technical assistance
- Preparation of reports to the Indiana General Assembly, our criminal justice stakeholders, and the public.
Community Corrections Administration and Advisory Board
The community-based board is comprised of local criminal justice department heads or designees and stakeholders of the local criminal justice departments in addition to a victim, ex-offender, and local treatment/service providers.
The Community Corrections Advisory Board’s primary duties consist of:
- Appointing the Community Corrections Director
- Formulation of a Community Corrections Plan
- Formulation of Eligibility Criteria and Violation Criteria
- Formulation of Program Rules, Policies, and Procedures
- Administration of the Program Budget and Expenses
- Support, Monitoring, and Evaluation on the Effectiveness and Sustainability of the Community Corrections Program
Placement into a Community Corrections Program
The Community Corrections Advisory Board establishes the program’s eligibility criteria to ensure participants are appropriately placed in the program.
Cases are referred through:
- Community Corrections sentence under the Direct Placement statute IC 35-38-2.6-4.2
- As a Condition of a Probation Sentence
- As a Condition of a Parole Sentence
- Community Transition Program
- The IDOC State Work Release Contract
Program Components
- 24/7 Monitoring or Supervision
24/7 Monitoring or Supervision
- GPS/Home Detention monitoring devices track participants whereabouts and alert the Community Corrections program if the participant removes the device, enters a victim zone or any other established restricted zone, or leaves their permitted residence, workplace, or other approved pass location without permission (if movement restricted).
- A Residential Center is a secure facility which allows participants limited access to the community through an approved schedule for job searching, employment, programs, treatments, services, errands, or incentives.
- The Residential program monitors participant compliance with the approved schedule and maintains accountability for all participants both within the facility as well as in the community.
- Public Safety Accountability
Public Safety Accountability
- Programs monitor participants in the community by performing random employment visits, home visits, and random drug screenings in accordance with local policies and procedures.
- Case Management
Case Management
- Risk assessments drive decision making based upon participant supervision level and any programmatic, treatment, or service needs
- Case Plans are collaboratively created with participants assessed as moderate to high risk by the IRAS (Indiana Risk Assessment System).
- Case Plans are comprised of personalized goals to assist participants with behavior change and progress tracking.
- Graduated Sanctions and Incentives
Graduated Sanctions and Incentives
- Disciplinary processes are progressive, with graduated sanctions that allow for cognitive adjustment and behavioral correction through community service, programming, treatment, or cognitive intervention rather than relying on immediate notification to the court of program non-compliance.
- Executed sentences allow for the ability to have credit time earned or lost based on program performance.
- Research shows that incentives for positive behavior are most effective when given after exhibiting prosocial behavior or successfully completing a goal, and when the incentive is meaningful to the individual. Research shows that the optimum ratio of incentives to sanctions is 4:1, allowing for the most effective reduction in criminal behavior without overusing public resources.
What is the Difference Between Community Corrections and Probation?
Community Corrections is a more restrictive supervision environment with options to increase or reduce supervision between case management, electronic monitoring, and work placement. Due to higher risk populations, they need more interventions, programs, and treatments to reduce recidivism. Where as probation is a less restrictive supervision environment involving case management, drug testing, field checks, and sometimes electronic monitoring.
Contemporary research has demonstrated that prison incarceration and supervision alone has little impact on long-term behavior change for offenders. Indiana Community Corrections programs create a more economical and sustainable strategy for combating high costs of incarceration. It provides immediate sentence alternatives and provides long-term results by focusing on evidence-based practices through programming and treatment to support behavioral change.