Date of Paper/Work

8-2022

Type of Paper/Work

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Department

Occupational Science/Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Jennifer Hutson

Department/School

Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Purpose. Justice-involved women have unique pathways into the criminal justice system, so it is important staff are trained to address their needs. Staff receiving inclusive practice training and using trauma-informed care principles may be more effective when working with justice- involved populations. There is little known about the impact of inclusive practice training on staff knowledge, so this project aims to investigate the impact of a training session on the knowledge of re-entry staff.

Approach. For this capstone project, I used an evidence-based process to create an employee handbook and provide a 4-hour training. I then used surveys containing Likert-type and open- ended questions to understand staff knowledge and the applicability of the work-related training. To examine the survey data, I used descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.

Outcome. Three staff from two residential re-entry centers and four from Amicus Services of Volunteers of America received the handbook and attended a 4-hour training. Training topics included: Person-centered language, cultural humility, trauma-informed care, gender identity and gender expression, self-care, and crisis-de-escalation. Staff reported having little to no previous training on inclusive practices, cultural humility, person-centered language, and policy. Following the inclusive practice training, staff reported an increased desire to implement such practices in their daily work with justice-impacted populations.

Implication. Regular staff training led by outside entities provides tools for addressing vicarious trauma and gender-inclusive practices.

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