III. Behavior and Change:
Incentive Tools

With an appropriate deployment of information tools, staff is in a position to know quickly when an offender has and has not complied with his conditions of supervision. The behavior management model demands that offenders receive certain, swift, predictable, and proportionate sanctions and rewards for each and every instance of compliant and noncompliant behavior.

Behavior management views reward and sanction tools as a long ladder or staircase that progressively restricts offenders' liberty. The ladder stretches from the lowest level of restrictions (perhaps administrative status) through more intensive levels of restrictions that involve infringements on daily activities. These restrictions can involve more frequent contacts with supervision staff, involvement with day or evening programming, and ultimately short and long-term incarceration. Offenders should move up and down the ladder according to their compliance with legal conditions of supervision and terms of the behavioral contract. Violations move an offender up; periods of compliance should be rewarded with a shift back down. It is important in this phase to identify the specific behaviors that are to be awarded or sanctioned; clarifying the behaviors helps to identify for the offender expected measures of progress.

By identifying milestones-achievements of progress or behaviors of relapse-and the expected response, the offender is aware of the consequences. The process also identifies the milestones that justify moving the offender up or down a rung on the ladder. Major violations might justify a leap of several steps, perhaps from weekly contacts to weekend incarceration. On the other hand, it may be appropriate to sanction an offender with additional community service hours, but keep the offender at the same level of supervision.