Step 3 - Assess Stakeholder Interest in the Dosage Probation Model
Step 3 - Assess Stakeholder Interest in the Dosage Probation Model web_adminFor many jurisdictions, the dosage probation model represents a significant shift away from often long-held policies, practices, and beliefs, such as how case settlements are negotiated, how probation sentences are comprised, or what stakeholders' expectations are regarding the goals and outcomes of probation supervision. Aligning stakeholders around such matters is crucial to implementing dosage probation and to sustaining and strengthening the model's policies and practices.
Effective implementation of the dosage probation model requires critical system stakeholders—policy leaders representing the judiciary, prosecution, defense, probation, law enforcement, people harmed by crime, and possibly other entities—to come together as dosage probation policymakers for the jurisdiction. Establishing and maintaining an effective policy team necessitates stakeholders' willingness and commitment to collaborate; develop policies that adhere to evidence-based standards of community supervision, recidivism reduction, and other successful outcomes; and manage the data-driven performance of the dosage probation model over time.
A critical step in conducting your dosage probation readiness assessment is determining whether system stakeholders are supportive of dosage probation and willing to engage as future members of your jurisdiction's Dosage Probation Policy Team[JM1]. This section guides you in assessing the position of your stakeholders to implement the dosage probation model in your jurisdiction.
TO DO
Conduct a dosage probation orientation session[JM2]
Interview stakeholders
Assess stakeholder support for implementation
Complete the relevant portion of the readiness assessment rating form
Prepare and Conduct Your Stakeholder Orientation
One of the first steps in assessing stakeholder interest is to conduct an orientation to dosage probation. The stakeholders critical to implementation should have already received a preliminary introduction to dosage probation and expressed their initial support as you prepared for your readiness assessment.
The orientation serves several purposes. It is an opportunity for stakeholders to learn about the dosage probation model and what to expect from the implementation process and readiness assessment. It is also an opportunity for stakeholders to come together in one place and time (in person or virtually) to receive accurate and consistent information about dosage probation and why your agency is interested in implementing the model. It also prepares stakeholders to engage in follow-up interviews regarding their support for implementing dosage probation.
Decide Whom to Invite
Invite all stakeholders whose support for your jurisdiction's implementation efforts is vital, who may be interested in learning about dosage probation, or whom you expect to interview as part of your readiness assessment. At a minimum, the following key stakeholders must be invited to the orientation:
Your local chief judge
Your local chief public defender
Your local elected district attorney
Your local chief of probation
Your local chief law enforcement officer (police and/or sheriff)
One or more local representatives of people harmed by crime
Their support for dosage probation and eventual membership on your jurisdiction's policy team are required for implementation; however, depending on your jurisdiction, you may also invite the full bench of judges, state leadership officials, county commissioners, city attorneys, or other local authorities. While not everyone attending the orientation may be involved in future policymaking, their knowledge of dosage probation can make future communication and implementation efforts much easier.
Review and Customize the Orientation Materials
You may start preparing for the orientation by reviewing the Dosage Probation Orientation for Stakeholders Invitation Template (.doc)[JM3]. The letter offers suggested language and resources to acquaint stakeholders with the concept of dosage probation and to invite them to the orientation. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to best suit your needs.
You may also review the Dosage Probation Orientation for Stakeholders Agenda Template (.doc)[JM4]. It includes the recommended meeting goals, topics, and discussion points to be covered and the time frames for each, totaling 90 minutes. You must customize the [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet your needs. For example, you may wish to skip introductions if participants already know each other, or you may need to hold the meeting over an hour-long session instead.
In addition, you may review the Dosage Probation Orientation for Stakeholders Presentation Template (.ppt)[JM5]. The presentation follows and expands on the information in the agenda and contains suggested talking points. You must customize the slides with [bracketed] information and may make further adjustments to meet your needs. The modifications you make to the presentation may require changes to the agenda and vice versa.
The following publications supplement the information in the invitation letter, agenda, and presentation: Dosage Probation: Rethinking the Structure of Probation Sentences (.pdf), Dosage Probation: A Prescription Based on Two Pilot Sites' Experiences (.pdf), Dosage Probation Model Fundamentals (.pdf), and Dosage Probation Implementation Checklist (.pdf)[JM6]. Attach these handouts to your invitation letter or otherwise share them with stakeholders so they can familiarize themselves with the information before the orientation.
Consider the following questions to help you complete a successful orientation. You may need to address other issues specific to your jurisdiction or stakeholders.[JM7]
Who is best suited to deliver the orientation? Does it make sense to have co-presenters? Who best represents the probation agency (or other entity) spearheading the readiness assessment? Who is best suited to field concerns and questions from stakeholders?
If you have co-presenters, which sections will each person cover? What other responsibilities might each person have in preparing for or delivering the orientation (e.g., coordinating the orientation time and logistics, reaching out to participants, preparing materials)?
In addition to the required system stakeholders, are there other system stakeholders who may benefit from attending the orientation? Who else do you foresee needing to be involved in developing future dosage probation policies (e.g., representatives from the fiscal (budgeting) department, the criminal justice coordinating council, or another existing policy team, or those you believe might offer support for or challenge the implementation of dosage probation)?
How will you ensure the best attendance? Will you reach out to anyone by phone or in person to personally invite them to the orientation? What is the orientation's best format (in person or virtual) and timing? Do you want to offer a beverage or light snack if delivered in person? If virtual, will you record the orientation and, if so, do you want to advertise this information or share it only as needed to encourage live attendance? What days of the week work best for stakeholders? Are there any calendar conflicts to avoid? Do you want to "poll" stakeholders for their availability?
Who from your agency will be the point of contact to answer stakeholders' follow-up questions, coordinate interviews, and share additional dosage-related materials (e.g., the person(s) who delivered the orientation or someone else from your agency whom you expect will join your jurisdiction's Dosage Probation Policy Team in the following implementation phases)?
Interview Stakeholders
Following the orientation, you will want to schedule interviews with the stakeholders critical to dosage probation implementation. The interviews will offer insight into their level of support for dosage probation and, for those required (as noted above), their interest in serving on your jurisdiction's Dosage Probation Policy Team.
While individual interviews are recommended, depending on your jurisdiction, you may conduct interviews in small groups or a combination thereof. Personal meetings are advantageous for gathering candid information and perspectives and when speaking with elected officials, who may prefer meeting one-on-one. Small group interviews can be efficient for engaging multiple stakeholders of the same discipline (e.g., meeting with all judges), especially when individual meetings are hard to schedule. While the efficiency of small groups may sound appealing, they often come with natural trade-offs. For instance, small groups usually require participants to set aside more time than they would for individual interviews, can be dominated by a few people's perspectives, and could preclude participants from speaking honestly.
You may review the Readiness Assessment Stakeholder Interview Questions (.doc)[JM8] to help you prepare for your individual or small group interviews. The document contains questions regarding stakeholders' interest in the dosage probation model, experience with collaborative policymaking, and commitment to implementation. You can add or adjust questions to best suit your jurisdiction's or stakeholders' needs.
Most individual interviews can be accomplished in 30–45 minutes, although you may wish to schedule them for longer, depending on the stakeholder. Small group interviews usually take more time as the number of participants increases. However, it is recommended that you schedule these for no more than 60 minutes to maintain participants' engagement and respect for their time.
Consider the following questions to help you approach and complete your stakeholder interviews successfully. You may need to address other issues specific to your jurisdiction or stakeholders.
Who will conduct the interviews? Will the same person conduct all the interviews, or will you divide them among two or more people? If you anticipate reluctance or daunting questions from specific stakeholders, who is best suited to field their concerns or questions?
Were any of the required stakeholders unable to attend? If so, how will you follow up with them to ensure they receive the information and to schedule an interview?
In addition to the required stakeholders, do you plan to interview other stakeholders? If so, why? Were they invited to the dosage probation orientation, and did they attend? If not, how will you follow up with them to ensure they receive the information and to schedule an interview?
How might you adjust the interview questions to fit your or your stakeholders' needs? Are there additional questions you believe are important to ask in general or to specific stakeholders? Did you receive questions or hear concerns during the orientation that you would like to follow up on with stakeholders? Do you want to ask about particular challenges to implementation that you foresee (e.g., issues related to your jurisdiction's legal/statutory authority to grant early termination from probation)?
Will you interview stakeholders individually, or does it make sense to interview some in small groups? How much time will you set aside? Do some stakeholders prefer to get right to the point or have more time for discussion?
Do you anticipate hearing specific concerns from stakeholders about the dosage probation model, committing to the policy team, or something else? If so, how do you plan to address, alleviate, or resolve those concerns during the interviews?
Where will you keep all interview notes for later reference? Where will you document any outstanding problems that stakeholders share to ensure they are addressed before and/or during implementation?
Assess Your Stakeholders' Support
Once you complete the stakeholder interviews, you will want to gather and review your notes to consider what you learned and what the implications are for your jurisdiction's Dosage Probation Policy Team and future implementation efforts. Use the questions below to help you assess the level of support for dosage probation and commitment to implementation that stakeholders demonstrated during the readiness assessment. You may need to follow up with stakeholders to address outstanding concerns, issues, or questions.
All key stakeholders are essential to successfully implementing dosage probation and must agree to serve on the policy team. If a critical stakeholder (e.g., chief judge, elected district attorney, etc.) expresses opposition to implementation or unwillingness to serve on the policy team, you will want to talk with them to understand the reason for their hesitation, address their concerns, and secure their support and commitment. It is strongly recommended that you implement dosage probation only if all key stakeholders agree to participate on the policy team.
TIP
Some key stakeholders may wish to refrain from participating as policy team members and, instead, to appoint a designee. While using designees should not be considered a deal breaker, you will want to try to secure the participation of the stakeholders themselves to avoid the possible future backtracking of policy decisions and related confusion. Elected officials are strongly recommended to serve on the policy team themselves, given the nature of their position in the criminal justice system and the critical policy decisions made through implementation.
Consider the following questions to help you assess the position of stakeholders with respect to implementation of dosage probation. You may need to address other issues specific to your jurisdiction or stakeholders.
How was stakeholders’ attendance at the orientation? Who, if anyone, was missing and why? How would you describe the level of participation among those who attended? What do their attendance and participation say about their interest in dosage probation?
Do you get the sense that stakeholders understand the concept of dosage probation and its goals? If needed, how might you follow up with stakeholders to ensure they understand the essential elements?
Do all stakeholders (including state leadership officials, if applicable) support implementing dosage probation? If not, who is unsupportive and why? How will you gain their support? Might a respected stakeholder or another authority supportive of dosage probation speak to them?
Have all key stakeholders agreed to serve on your jurisdiction's policy team? If not, what is their hesitation? How will you follow up to secure their commitment? How might you impart the essential nature of their participation in moving forward your jurisdiction's dosage probation initiative? Might a respected stakeholder or another authority supporting dosage probation sway their mind? Can a key stakeholder in a Dosage Probation pilot site help ease the person’s hesitation or concern?
Do any stakeholders stand out as possible project champions and/or a policy team chair or co-chair? What do they bring to the table?
What areas of common ground do stakeholders have regarding the dosage probation model or implementation? What areas of difference are there? How might these areas support or challenge your jurisdiction's policy team or future implementation efforts?
Does your jurisdiction have experience leading or engaging in collaborative initiatives that result in policy and practice changes? How did stakeholders react to those initiatives and changes? What supports or challenges to collaborative policymaking did stakeholders identify in their interviews?
Are there particular strengths that key stakeholders bring to the policy team (e.g., knowledge or willingness to learn about evidence-based practices, open-mindedness to change policy and practice, enthusiasm for Dosage Probation)? How might these strengths be leveraged to address the potential challenges you identified above?
Complete the Readiness Assessment Rating Form
Once the above-described activities have been accomplished, complete Part 2 of the Dosage Probation Readiness Assessment: Jurisdiction Rating Form (.doc)[JM9]. Use your assessment of the information gathered during the stakeholder orientation and interviews to help you determine whether stakeholder support is an area of strength, an area for improvement, or a significant challenge to implementing dosage probation in your jurisdiction.
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[JM2] NIC: We suggest using different colored backgrounds (that match the dosage branding) and possibly even icons for the various types of callouts (i.e., To Do, Quote, Tip, etc.).
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[JM7] NIC: We suggest the accordion shows the header and the introductory sentences when collapsed. Same for all accordions unless otherwise noted.
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