The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is preparing to embark on its latest chapter in a rich history of effective correctional programming.

In January 2010, CSC will pilot its third generation of Correctional Programs by launching three entirely distinct new programs for offenders at each institution and community site in the Pacific Region. These programs include a Multi-Target Program, a Sex-Offender Program, and an Aboriginal-specific Multi-Target Program, all of which include an institutional and community maintenance component. Officially referred to as the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM), these new programs combine the most valuable aspects of our existing interventions with the most promising innovations in correctional programming research.

Simply put, the ICPM is not changing what the Service knows it does well, as CSC’s Correctional Programs have always been designed to address offenders’ criminogenic needs, and they have always operated from a cognitive-behavioural approach that adheres to the principles of Risk, Need and Responsivity – an approach to treatment which has consistently proven to produce the greatest reductions in both violent and general recidivism.

In fact, CSC’s most recent national Correctional Program evaluation reveals that while CSC’s national substance abuse program is responsible for an impressive 63 per cent reduction in violent crime, other Correctional Programs offered by CSC fare similarly well.

Despite these results, CSC has continued to experience challenges in program delivery over the past several years due to a number of longstanding logistical issues, as well as changes in the offender profile.

As Michael Bettman, Director of Reintegration Programs at National Headquarters explains: “right now we’ve got 38 national Correctional Programs, all of which are running independently from one another…replacing that with an integrated program that adds more sessions but delivers the same content…provides economies of scale that are extraordinary and allows us to effectively respond to multiple different needs”.

Bettman adds: “the ICPM pilot provides the Service with an opportunity to look back on the tremendous strides it has made in Correctional Program development and delivery over the past 30 years”.

The evolution of CSC’s Correctional Programs began in the 1980s when CSC developed its first series of Correctional Programs, using the wealth of research that was being produced on effective correctional treatment for direction and guidance.

The development of this first generation of Correctional Programs in the 1980s represented a fundamental shift in the philosophy of Canadian corrections. More specifically, this change broadened the focus of our interventions to include programming that directly addresses the factors that lead to criminal behaviour, to complement the educational and vocational training we were already providing.

In comparing and contrasting the three generations of CSC’s Correctional Programs, Bettman explains that the first generation of programs was relatively short, and designed to teach offenders problem-solving skills, emotions management skills and relapse prevention skills.

The second generation in CSC’s correctional programming history was marked by the development and implementation of a broad range of programs of varying intensity levels, each designed to address specific risk factors related to a specific criminal activity. At the same time, specialized Correctional Programs for Aboriginal and women offenders were being implemented to address their unique correctional needs.

It is an evolution that Bettman describes with pride and conviction: “our programs reduce crime – they are among the many things CSC is recognized as world leaders in”. Considering the long list of correctional jurisdictions that have successfully implemented CSC’s Correctional Programs abroad, Bettman’s statement almost seems modest.

But Bettman reminds us that while evaluations continue to confirm the effectiveness of our current programs, their popularity has created a series of operational difficulties that the Reintegration Programs Division hopes to resolve through the implementation of the ICPM.

“There continues to be demand that we need to meet,” Bettman explains. “The ICPM is our method of solving some problems by taking the best of what we currently deliver and addressing more holistically the varying needs of offenders.”

The idea is to ensure that offenders who require Correctional Programs to change their behaviour can access and benefit from a more complete continuum of CSC programming that spans from the intake stage of incarceration to release. Aside from the greater continuity of care afforded by this new model, the integrated nature of these new programs will help offenders understand the interplay among their various risk factors and increase their ability to generalize the skills they learn to manage more than one risk factor. 

This new approach, while yet to be launched and evaluated, is expected to help the Service respond to the increasingly complex needs of today’s offender population and maximize public safety, for years to come.