As part of the Effective Intervention strategy, Corrections within New Zealand has been on a significant growth curve in the recruitment of new probation officers. HMA have been a significant contributor to both the development and delivery of the probation officer curriculum. Over the past year we have delivered the following modules to new probation staff:
Working with Offenders - this module is a five-day block which introduces new staff to a number of key areas related to current probation practice. It covers the main theoretical approaches including the psychology of criminal conduct, cognitive behavioural approaches, change theory, boundary setting, and how to engage in work with reluctant clients. Between September 2005 and December 2007 we have delivered this module 29 times.
Core Assessment Skills - a five-day module providing the key background skills to good assessment. This module, based upon assessment from a risk, need, and responsivity perspective, includes coverage of issues such as hypothesis building, narrative assessment, cross-cultural issues in assessment and assessing those victimised by crime, Between September 2005 and December 2007 we have delivered this module 22 times.
Bi-Cultural Practice - this one day module explores how probation officers can work in a bicultural way, increasing cultural safety within their practice. Between September 2005 and December 2007 we have delivered this module 29 times.
Core Sentence Planning and Intervention Skills - this three day training module focuses on what happens post sentencing, particularly when offenders have a sentence of supervision. The module builds skills in the areas of how to engage offenders into a working sentence, problem-solving techniques, how to build post sentencing motivation, and how to support offenders who are attending internal or external programmes. Between September 2005 and December 2007 we have delivered this module 31 times.
Advanced Sentence Management Skills - this three day module teaches the skills of family work for probation officers working with offenders in the areas of home detention, restorative justice processes pre-sentencing, and increasing long-term motivation for change. In addition the module focuses on reflective practice techniques. Between September 2005 and December 2007 we have delivered this module 13 times.
Motivational Techniques – this is a new three day package that HMA has developed specifically for the Department of Corrections in New Zealand. The module teaches the use of motivational techniques to engage offenders with the aim of reducing their propensity to offend. We have developed a DVD of three practitioners delivering motivational techniques at various stages of the change process to augment the training module. This module is about to be rolled-out nationally. We have delivered the training eight times.
Medium Intensity Rehabilitation Program - During 2006 the Department of Corrections undertook redesign of the criminogenic programmes that HMA had been core developers of back in 1999. After having input into the new design, HMA was asked to partner with a Psychological Services member from the Department of Corrections, to run current and new Intervention Services staff through an upskilling programme. Between September 2006 and December 2007 we have delivered this 13-day module nine times.
HMA has also been heavily involved in youth justice residential training in terms of staff training as well as programme development.
Youth Justice Training - HMA has developed 32 short modules for programme work within youth justice residential environments. This suite of modules differentiates programme work for young people on remand (pre-sentence) which is focused on social skills development and motivational work, while the modules developed for sentenced young people is focused on reducing offending.
Non-custodial Parents - one of the challenging areas of practice is how to work with parents who have had children removed through neglect and abuse, encouraging them to develop safe and appropriate parenting strategies. The programme is based upon the ‘Triple P’ framework. This is a piece of work that HMA staff have partnered with a local Christchurch based agency, Methodist Social Services to deliver. This work goes from strength to strength as the team build new and innovative ways to bring about change.
New Zealand-based work