Profile of: Jessica Gaudette

Award Received: SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters

Awarded for the project: Evaluation of the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM) within the New Brunswick Provincial Correctional Service Environment

Department: Psychology

Supervisor: Dr. Mary Ann Campbell

Federal and provincial correctional services provide rehabilitation programs for incarcerated clients to reduce their criminal risk and mitigate re-occurrence of new criminal acts (i.e., recidivism). Federal corrections use an evidence-based rehabilitation program called the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM). The effectiveness of ICPM in provincial corrections remains unclear. Thus, in collaboration with CSC, the New Brunswick Department of Justice and Public Safety (NB JPS) has made ICPM available to provincial correctional clients. My thesis research will evaluate the impact of this provincially-adopted ICPM.

We hypothesize that the provincially delivered ICPM will benefit the correctional institution and clients by reducing clients’ criminogenic needs, recidivism risk, institutional misconduct, and return-to-custody rates, similar to how it functions in federal institutions. To conduct this evaluation, researchers will access clients' records pertaining to the ICPM and outcome correctional data relevant to the evaluation process, and compare to a matched sample of eligible, but non-ICPM clients.

These findings will clarify whether NB JPS should invest further in the ICPM from a risk reduction perspective, including its capacity to enhance the safety of institutional environments for staff and clients. This study will contribute to the existing literature on research-based correctional interventions in Atlantic Canadian regions and in the Provincial correctional context. Additionally, it will have practical implications for identifying needed improvements in the provincially delivered ICPM implementation, benefiting clients' rehabilitation and enhancing public safety.