Staff Quality and Treatment Effectiveness: An Examination of the Relationship between Staff Factors and the Effectiveness of Correctional Programs

Abstract

Although a growing body of research has focused on identifying the characteristics of effective interventions, relatively little research has looked at the impact that staff factors have on treatment effectiveness. The current research conceptualizes staff quality via three domains: staff characteristics, staff training, and staff supervision. Process and outcome evaluations of 54 community correctional facilities are used to examine the relationship between staff quality and reduced recidivism of program participants. The results suggest that measures of all three domains maintain substantively meaningful relationships with program effectiveness.

Keywords:

• staff quality
• treatment effectiveness
• evidenced-based corrections

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew Makarios

Matthew Makarios is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Iowa. He received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati.

Lori Lovins

Lori Lovins is the director of Residential and Special Services at the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. She received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati.

Edward Latessa

Edward Latessa is a full professor and director of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He received his PhD from Ohio State University.

Paula Smith

Paula Smith is an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati. She received her PhD from the University of New Brunswick.