County Probation’s Research Director Honored for Study
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County Probation’s Dr. Natalie Pearl has been honored by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) for her study on a tool our Probation Department uses to help predict juvenile offenders’ risk of further trouble.
Dr. Pearl, Probation’s Director of Research, received the 2011 “Sam Houston State University” award at the professional association’s annual conference, held in San Diego last week.
The award goes to one person who publishes an article that enlightens the profession with “new information and insight into the operation, effectiveness or future of,” community corrections, according to APPA.
Dr. Pearl’s research on the “San Diego Risk and Resiliency Checkup” was published in the industry publication Federal Probation, so it may indeed influence juvenile supervision nationwide.
The study has certainly already influenced our Probation Department. Based on Dr. Pearl’s research, the department has refined the way it uses the Risk and Resiliency Checkup to decide what level of “community supervision” a particular teen on probation needs.
The Checkup is 60-item survey of the risk factors and the positive influences in a young person’s life. Pearl’s research confirmed that the assessment is effective in predicting a juvenile’s risk of reoffending. But it also found that certain items on the survey were even more predictive than others.
“Delinquency factors,” as a group, turn out to be particularly powerful predictors of whether or not a youth will commit another crime.
Delinquency factors include things like prior arrests, whether there is significant crime in the child’s neighborhood, whether the latest offense came while the youngster was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a history of fights or assaults and a lack of community support, positive adult relationships and structured activities.
The research was so compelling, the Probation Department decided to use just the delinquency score to determine what level of supervision a young person should get in the community. Other items on the Risk and Resiliency Checkup are used to make a case plan to fit each individual youth.
The study wasn’t the first time Dr. Pearl has shaped the way the Probation does things. Departmental leaders say that, in her five years with the Probation, she’s been “indispensible” in steering the department towards evidence-based practices.