CRJS 491: Offender Rehabilitation will focus on current issues in offender rehabilitation from both a Canadian and international perspective. You will have the opportunity to examine the theoretical literature about offender rehabilitation and the practical application of that literature as we explore “what works.” Rehabilitation will be considered across a variety of areas that contribute to offender recidivism, including interventions for people who have drug addictions and those who perpetrate property offences, sexual crimes, and domestic violence. This course will also consider offender rehabilitation with men and women of different ages and ethnic/cultural background and relevant professional ethics issues.
Outline
CRJS 491 is divided into two parts comprising twelve units in total:
PART 1 Introduction
Unit 1 Historical Overview
Unit 2 Public Perceptions
Unit 3 The Good Lives Model & The Risk-Need-Responsivity Model
Unit 4 Cultural Factors in Treatment
PART 2 Special Populations
Unit 5 Treatment for Psychopathic Offenders
Unit 6 Interventions to Stop Intimate Partner Violence
Unit 7 Sexual Offender Treatment
Unit 8 Interventions for Juvenile Offenders
Unit 9 Treatment for Anger-Based Offending
Unit 10 Treatment for Substance Abuse-Related Offending
Unit 11 Interventions for Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities
Unit 12 Interventions for Mentally Ill Offenders
Learning outcomes
After completing CRJS 491, you will have achieved several important learning outcomes. Specifically, you should understand and be able to describe:
Historical trends in offender rehabilitation.
The dominant treatment models in contemporary correctional services
How interventions strategies for offenders are evaluated and deemed to be “empirically validated.”
The treatment needs of specific offender groups.
Evaluation
To receive credit for CRJS 491, students must complete each assignment satisfactorily, pass the final exam, and achieve an overall course grade of at least “D” 50 percent. Please note that the passing grade for the final exam is 50%.
The weight of the composite grade is as follows:
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1 Compare and Contrast Review
30%
Assignment 2 Compare and Contrast Review
30%
Final Exam
40%
Total
100%
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Craig, L.A., Dixon, L., & Gannon, T.A., (2013). What Works in Offender Rehabilitation: An Evidence Based Approach to Assessment and Treatment. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. (eText)
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.