The people who interact regularly with individuals released from prison or jails are likely to be the best resource for observing and encouraging progress toward reintegration of those individuals. Informal social controls exerted by family, peers, and community have been shown in some studies to have a more direct effect on offender behavior than formal controls, such as supervision or law enforcement. ^[1]   Families may also take the place of long-term involvement with social service systems and are likely to have historical information and perceptions gleaned from a lifetime of involvement with the family member who is under supervision. Community corrections officers should seek to capitalize on these influential ties in implementing the supervision strategy and determining whether it is working.

Community corrections officers should discern when it is appropriate to engage family or community members and learn which family or community members are interested in or willing to participate in the reintegration process. These individuals could most easily be tapped to provide input on the community supervision phase if they have previously been engaged on the transition planning team or worked with the community supervision officer. Selected relatives and community members should be involved in periodic reviews of the individual's behavior and the success or failure of the reintegration process, in addition to being invited to provide information to the supervising officer on an informal, at-will basis.

Example: La Bodega de La Familia, Family Justice (NY)

Family Justice's direct service arm, La Bodega de la Familia, has developed a system of family case management that brings together the individual under supervision, family members, the supervision officer, and one of La Bodega's case managers. The team works together to identify the family's strengths and resources and to develop an action plan that includes goals and objectives for each team member to support successful re-entry. The team reviews the action plan periodically and may modify it as the circumstances of supervision change. Participating community corrections officers receive specialized training from Family Justice in family case management and in working with families.

Physically situating officers in the neighborhoods in which people they supervise live can promote these relationships and create opportunities for interaction and problem-solving. (See Recommendation c, above, for more on supporting the supervision strategy through strategically decentralizing offices and points of contact.) Additionally, community corrections administrators should support the participation of field officers on appropriate local community boards and task forces-such as neighborhood watch groups, neighborhood revitalization projects, drug prevention task forces, and nonprofit boards-to participate in problem identification as well as decision-making about the neighborhood where individuals they supervise reside.

Communities may also be defined by cultural, social, or professional boundaries. Community corrections agents should seek to recognize and tap these communities for insight, support, service, and supervision. For example, individuals on supervision may be involved in faith communities that exercise influence on many aspects of their lives but are located outside of their neighborhoods. Communicating with faith leaders and others who interact with the individuals on supervision can help community corrections officers to recognize strengths and assets that these individuals can draw upon to comply with conditions of release and achieve supervision goals.

In addition, community corrections officers should maintain good communication with service providers who have regularly scheduled interactions with individuals on supervision. To the extent possible, field officers should coordinate appointments with these providers and the individual to limit the amount of travel and resources that the individual on supervision must expend to adhere to the supervision strategy.

Example: Victim advocate, Special Management Unit, Connecticut Parole and Community Services

A full-time victim advocate is a member of Connecticut's corrections-based intensive supervision unit for individuals convicted of a sex offense. The advocate is included in announced field visits (with probation and treatment providers), group therapy sessions, weekly case reviews, and work with the offender's family.

For individuals with substance abuse concerns or mental illness, connection with a peer support group can offer both a mechanism for averting behavior that could result in a violation of the conditions of release and a means of reinforcing behavior that will lead to long term success in reintegration. In some cases, it may be appropriate for individuals to maintain participation after release in a group they first encountered in prison or jail. Transition planners or community corrections officers should consider engaging peer support groups as an adjunct to treatment programs, though never as a surrogate for treatment.

Example: Trauma, Addiction, Mental Health, and Recovery Project, Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration Division

The Trauma, Addiction, Mental Health, and Recovery (TAMAR) Project, which provides support to female offenders with histories of mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse while in jail in Maryland, also provides a support group for those women when they return to the community.

Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, while they may provide excellent peer support, typically do not have the capacity to address the mental health needs of someone with a co-occurring disorder and may not welcome recently released offenders.

Community corrections officers should also receive training to understand the influence of the community environment on individual residents and to understand that positive changes in the community will have a positive impact on those they are supervising. Officers should learn to recognize forces and factors that pose challenges to a community's sense of security and well-being and should be empowered to develop the skills and authority to help bring about positive change. Cross-training between community corrections officers and service providers or other agencies can promote understanding of mutual goals and strategies to achieve them.