Effective and Ethical Measures of Predicting Criminal Offenders’ Risk of Recidivism and Treatment Needs on Risk-Need Assessments (original) (raw)

As I reflect on the development of this project over the last year, I realize that it was only possible due to the constant support of my professional and academic mentors. This project would not have been possible without the assistance of my committee members: Andrea Brown and David Holewinski, as well as the chair of my committee, Laurel Bidwell. Andrea was a professor of mine at Gordon College, and works within the criminal justice system in Massachusetts. Her unique input was essential to the successful development of my project. David was an incredible support during the creation of this project. He provided extremely helpful feedback and insight based on his social work background and experience in the Veteran and Drug Courts in Minnesota. He was also instrumental in the data collection process. I am confident that without his assistance, the sample size would not have been nearly as large. Finally, Laurel provided me with insurmountable assistance in the advancement of this project. She spent countless hours editing my numerous drafts, and providing me with the tools I needed to make this project a reality. I am beyond grateful for their help and support, and could not have asked for better committee members. In addition to my committee members, there were also a handful of professionals who graciously took my survey and distributed it to their colleagues. I am beyond thankful for your participation. I also want to thank my professional mentors who instilled in me a passion for criminal justice. That passion was the driving force of this project. Thank you Christine Voss: Deputy Public Defender, Staci Gergely: Deputy Juvenile Probation Officer, and Mary Dickinson: Program Manager at the Volunteers of America Residential Re-entry Center. Without the learning experiences these people, and the individuals within their organizations, provided me, I would not be where I am today. Thank you for your constant support, I am eternally grateful.