Skills for Offender Assessment and Responsivity in New Goals

This program is funded under both the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-8), the Byrne Competitive Program helps local communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. The JAG Program (42 U.S.C. 3751 (a)) is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, and JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system. The JAG Program authorization also states that the Attorney General may reserve not more than 5 percent, to be granted to 1 or more States or units of local government, for 1 or more of the purposes specified in section 3751 of this title, pursuant to his determination that the same is necessary-(1) to combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime(42 U.S.C. 3756 (b)). The Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Programs is designed to strengthen the criminal justice system by challenging those in the field to identify and define emerging or chronic systemic issues faced by one or more components of the criminal justice continuum (includes but not limited to law enforcement, corrections, courts, and community collaborations) and to propose innovative solutions to address these issues. The George Mason University will implement the "Skills for Offender Assessment and Responsivity in New Goals" (SOARING-2) project to create a suite of web-based tools that can facilitate development of knowledge and skills to sustain evidence-based practices (EBPs). The goal is to provide SOARING-2 tools that supplement traditional correctional and judicial academies. George Mason University will provide technical assistance in skill development for individual staff and agencies to facilitate the sustainability of evidence-based practices. It will provide innovative tools to assist staff in managing offender reentry. This project is designed to do the following: increase declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and strategic knowledge of professionals in a manner that involves cognitive, interpersonal, and psychomotor skills or tasks and to evaluate impacts on outcomes in select probation settings. NCA/NCF

The purpose of the SOARING-2 (Skills for Offender Assessment and Responsivity in New Goals) for Native Americans is to create a suite of web based tools that facilitate and enhance the quality of practice to improve the use of evidence-based practices. SOARING-2 is designed to provide in-office skill development for individual staff and agencies to facilitate the sustainability of evidence-based practices and to provide innovative tools to assist staff in using EBPs. This virtual learning platform uses case vignettes to engage users and fosters skill development within the agency. This project is designed to increase the following for professionals: declarative knowledge; procedural knowledge; and strategic knowledge. The delivery introduces complex skills or tasks and allows the agency to evaluate its impact on outcomes in select correctional settings. The purpose of this initiative is to modify the SOARING-2 curriculum to make it culturally sensitive for the Native American population. Using input from experts in Native American culture, the existing curriculum will be modified to allow for a culturally competent curriculum for Native American adults and Native American young adults. The emphasis will be on creating an E-Learning tool to train Tribal probation officers in evidence-based supervision. NCA/NCF