All those who engage in criminal behavior are not cut from the same cloth. As such, it is important for our criminal justice system to make every effort to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to treating offenders. Fortunately, there are innovative programs—such as the one described in the following article from the Hartford Courant—that are taking a different and decidedly more humanistic approach to working with those who have run afoul of the law, in this case female offenders:

A New Approach Is Tried For Women On Probation

Female offenders and probationers face complex issues, but the way most states usually respond to them is simple: They treat the women as they would men.

But the number of women in prison has increased a staggering 700 percent since the 1970s. Now states and the federal government recognize the lack of research on these women, mostly abuse victims, and a need for practices that better assist them.

In a new federal pilot program being tested in Connecticut, a group of specially trained probation officers will handle female-only caseloads and manage them using a new approach that, among other strategies, draws on the women’s strengths instead of their weaknesses.

Using a $400,000 grant the state won from the National Institute of Corrections, staff at the court support services division will follow the progress of the roughly 300 female probationers over time to determine how effective the new approach is compared with the existing probation model.

Because in many cases female criminal behavior is linked to unhealthy relationships with men, women on probation “need to be built up more,” said Heather Cato, one of eight probation officers who volunteered to take on one of the female-only caseloads. Experts estimate that between 70 and 90 percent of female probationers have suffered some kind of abuse that affects their daily decision-making.

“With a man I’m not worried about his self-esteem, that’s not what I’m focusing on. With the women I have to build them up because they’re used to being torn down,” Cato said.

The little research that exists on women involved in the criminal justice system suggests that their mental framework, including their basis for self-worth, differs greatly from that of men.

Women, the experts say, see themselves through their relationships and make decisions based on those relationships. Men are more focused on achievement. Women tend to be single parents, poor and under-educated, and tend to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with stress and trauma.

The designers of the pilot program, called the Women Offender Case Management Model, want probation officers to begin relationships with clients by assessing their needs and discussing their life situations and past experiences instead of immediately focusing on their court-ordered restrictions and areas that may trip them up.

The model also calls for the probationer to play a direct role in establishing a plan to achieve goals and improve her life. The officers maintain a caseload of 35, as much as a third lower than that of a typical probation officer. [full text]