III. Behavior and Change:
Service Tools

While sanction tools generally ought to be applied in a standardized fashion among all offenders, service tools must be matched to the specific needs and deficits of individual offenders.

The appropriate mix of service tools should be revealed during the initial assessment and revised as necessary throughout the period of supervision. As with sanction tools, offenders must be moved up and down a continuum of service tools as they progress or fail. Drug-addicted offenders, for instance, should participate in treatment for sufficient duration to sustain a substance free lifestyle; essentially this involves a minimum of two levels of substance abuse treatment followed by social supports. Those who begin in a residential setting must be seamlessly connected to an outpatient program when they complete the residential program. Offenders doing poorly in a standard outpatient program must be placed in an intensive outpatient program or residential program. Service tools should not be regarded simply in terms of treatment programs provided by staff to offenders. They also vitally include offenders' family, peers and communities at large. The corrections field has traditionally perceived these informal social controls as insignificant relative to the control exerted by official authorities such as judges, probation/parole officials, and police officers. But despite this historical reliance on formal social control, research shows that families and communities exert more effective influence on offender behavior and thus are critical to both and short- and long-term changes. Whether they are structured, curriculum-driven, high quality treatment programs, faith-based self-help groups or a network of caring friends and family, these natural service tools are a critical component of supervision. They can provide the springboard to engage offenders in the process of behavior change, reinforce positive changes, disapprove backsliding, and stabilize the offender in the community. Just the same, anti-social family members, friends and environments can reinforce criminal behavior.

Perhaps the best service staff can provide offenders is to help them identify and foster any and all valuable influences and eliminate those influences that are negative. With strong natural support systems in place, offenders are far less likely to return to drug use and crime once the supervision period ends and staff moves on to other challenges.