The research team at U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services was developed to better integrate evidence-based practices into the day-to-day and strategic processes of the organization. The research team provides the probation office with information on what research evidence says about what works, what doesn’t work, and what is promising. This is especially important for the Western District of Washington, as research that is conducted specifically for the district can inform probation and pretrial services staff what is and is not working in the district.

Common Tasks

The most common tasks of the research team in the district includes:

• Review of open-source research topics to provide immediately applicable information to district staff
• Conduct on-going program evaluations of the programs offered in the district to defendants and offenders.
• Make informed recommendations to leadership for change (or no change) to processes, protocols, and policies of the district based on evidence-based research conducted internally or gathered from external entities

On-going Research

In addition to new concepts, policies, and practice that develops in the future, currently the research team in the district will continue to conduct evaluations and validations on:

• Moral Reconation Therapy
• The Drug Reentry Alternative Model
• Varied Mental Health Programs
• Risk Assessment of Defendants/Clients