Transitions to Better Lives

The last two decades have seen significant investment and support in the development and delivery of offender rehabilitation programmes across the western world. However, the value of offender rehabilitation is not universally recognised and it is now more important than ever that rehabilitation providers can demonstrate that their efforts are effective in reducing rates of offending or, at the very least, consistent with those practices that have been shown to be effective in other settings.

The aim of this book is to describe, collate and summarise a body of recent research, both theoretical and empirical, that explores the issue of treatment readiness in offender programming, one of the most important recent developments in the theory and practice of offender rehabilitation.

The book is divided into three sections: the first section reviews a model of treatment readiness and how it has been operationalised; the second section discusses how the construct has been applied to the treatment of different offender groups; and in the final section, some of the practice appraoches that have been identified as holding promise in addressing low levels of offender readiness are discussed.

This book will be essential reading for those who work or study in the criminal justice system and are interested, or involved, with the delivery of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for offenders. This includes psychologists, social workers, probation and parole officers, managers and policy makers, and prison officers.