With growing demands to address complex needs and reduce recidivism, justice and behavioral health professionals require innovative tools that drive long-term, meaningful change. The Carey Guides, a resource rooted in evidence-based practice implementation, empower practitioners to help individuals recognize their strengths, reframe harmful behaviors, and take actionable steps toward positive outcomes.
By leveraging cognitive-behavioral principles and strength-based interventions, these tools provide a structured pathway to address criminogenic needs, foster accountability, and build essential life skills.
The Carey Guides represent a paradigm shift in intervention philosophy, replacing a deficit-focused approach with strength-based principles that emphasize individuals' abilities, interests, and positive attributes. This shift aligns with contemporary theories of well-being, which assert that leveraging strengths fosters growth and resilience.
At their core, the Carey Guides embody the belief that every individual has inherent potential and the capacity for change. By focusing on what clients can do rather than what they cannot, the guides help practitioners create an environment that nurtures hope and self-efficacy. This approach to evidence-based practice implementation has tangible psychological benefits. Studies show that strength-based interventions enhance emotional well-being and boost self-esteem. Clients who engage with these tools report feeling more optimistic and empowered, which increases their commitment to the change process.
One of the tools, "Maximizing Strengths," exemplifies this philosophy. It helps clients identify their unique capabilities and understand how to leverage their strengths to achieve their goals. For instance, a supervision agent shared how "it is amazing to watch a [client's] face change as she identifies her strengths. By the time we are done with the guide, I can see a change in her thinking, feelings, and behavior. I can see hope in her." Such experiences illustrate how evidence-based practice implementation of strength-based interventions can shift perspectives and drive real behavioral change.
When implementing evidence-based practices, it's important to tailor interventions to effectively meet each client's unique needs. The Carey Guides offer flexibility to accommodate clients' varying needs with varying learning styles, social backgrounds, gender needs, and abilities. This adaptability guarantees that interventions are effective and applicable across different populations.
By helping clients identify and build on their strengths, the Carey Guides foster a sense of belonging, improve social relationships, and enhance overall well-being. Clients are more likely to view themselves as capable and valued, which reduces resistance and promotes sustained engagement. Research indicates these outcomes have ripple effects beyond individual behaviors, improving community safety and interpersonal family connections.
The Carey Guides' emphasis on strengths transforms the intervention process into a truly collaborative experience. The guides address the immediate goals of reducing recidivism and promoting prosocial behaviors while contributing to long-term personal growth and successful reintegration.
The Carey Guides facilitate cognitive restructuring and skill-building, which are essential pillars of evidence-based practice implementation. These tools address the cognitive underpinnings of behavior to help reframe thinking.
In the "Antisocial Thinking" guide, clients work through exercises like the Thought-Feeling-Action (TFA) model to understand how emotions influence behavior. The TFA framework equips individuals to recognize triggers and respond with intentional, prosocial actions. Skills such as problem-solving and emotional regulation are introduced through practical exercises that build confidence and resilience. For instance, the Problem-Solving tool guides clients through identifying challenges, brainstorming solutions, and evaluating potential outcomes. This hands-on approach ensures that clients understand concepts and can apply them in real-life situations.
Programs like Iowa's Four Oaks have reported significant success using these interventions. An officer reported, "We have been using Carey Guides for over six years and have seen many positive changes in the youth we work with. We see a decrease in negative behaviors after introducing the guides to them, whether it is anger, aggression management, peer relationships, or antisocial thinking."
Integrating Technology for Accessibility and Efficiency
Technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the effectiveness of evidence-based practice implementation. Tools on Devices (TOD), a digital platform for Carey Guides, expands accessibility and streamlines intervention strategies.
TOD meets clients where they are. It allows them to complete assignments via smartphones, tablets, or computers, removing common barriers such as misplaced materials or logistical challenges. This flexibility empowers clients to engage with interventions on their own terms. Clients can progress at their own speed, revisit materials, and reflect on their responses. This autonomy enhances understanding and contributes to a sense of ownership throughout the learning process.
TOD also offers real-time tracking capabilities that enable justice professionals to monitor engagement, track assignment completion, and adjust strategies as needed. Features like the Tool Navigator and Dosage Meter allow staff to track and personalize interventions by selecting the most relevant guides for each client's risks, needs, and strengths.
TOD reduces administrative burdens by giving professionals more time to focus on delivering interventions that genuinely work. This combination of technology, flexibility, and data-driven insights enhances client outcomes and the operational efficiency of evidence-based practice implementation.
The success of any intervention hinges on measurable impact and continuous quality improvement—the Carey Guides excel in delivering tangible, data-driven results. Rooted in evidence-based practice implementation, the guides enable justice professionals to assess progress and refine strategies to achieve long-term outcomes.
Behavioral changes and skill acquisition are tracked through statistical analysis. This analysis offers clear insights into each intervention's effectiveness. Leaders can evaluate completion rates, measure progress, and identify areas that can drive continuous quality improvement across their operations. Precision is key to evidence-based practice implementation, and TOD ensures that interventions remain targeted and effective.
And the measurable results speak for themselves. Research indicates structured worksheets like the Carey Guide tools can significantly reduce recidivism rates. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety found that clients that are high risk who completed three or more structured worksheets were 40% less likely to commit a new crime during the first six months of supervision compared to those who did not.
Integrating cognitive-behavioral tools like the Carey Guides has been associated with reductions in recidivism rates by up to 26%. To further enhance our understanding of success outcomes and continuous quality improvement, a new Case Closure feature is being added to TOD. This feature allows staff to record closure details when a client's case is concluded, whether due to inactivation or deletion. These details include success rates and reasons for closure, providing agencies with valuable data to assess the effectiveness of the tools, and making informed decisions to improve client support.
Grounded in evidence-based practice implementation, the Carey Guides help individuals understand their behaviors, develop essential life skills, and take ownership of personal change. By addressing criminogenic needs and promoting emotional regulation, the guides offer a structured yet flexible framework for transformation.
At the same time, the Carey Guides modernize justice and behavioral health systems. They emphasize measurable outcomes, reduce administrative burdens, and promote continuous quality improvement.
The Carey Guides are a go-to option for those seeking an effective solution for evidence-based practice implementation. They change lives, strengthen systems, and offer justice professionals an unparalleled resource for achieving real results. Explore the Carey Guides to learn how to improve your practices and unlock the immense potential in every client you serve.
Carey Group's evidence-based online training and consulting services address the needs of the justice system and behavioral health professionals. Training is an essential tool for keeping staff, supervisors, leadership, and stakeholders up to date with emerging knowledge and expectations for improved outcomes. Working closely with Carey Group professionals, agencies are better able to offer a mixture of in-person, online, and self-directed courses on evidence-based practices, motivational interviewing, core professional competencies, case planning and management, continuous quality improvement, coaching, and the use of behavior-change tools and supervisor resources. Talk to a Carey Group consultant today to get started on evidence-based practice implementation!