Abstract
Safe and effective community-based offender supervision forms one of the cornerstones of local probation services in California. Orange County as well as other counties in the State have chosen to implement the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Model Probation Client Classification and Case Management System, uniquely adapting its “risk/needs approach” to California's offender population. After 2.5 years of planning and progressive implementation of this System, Orange County with the assistance of NIC, is well along this rocky road. With both good and bad decisions under its belt they have learned a great deal about putting this complex and comprehensive System into place and from the line to the administrative level they have developed strong feelings of ownership and pride in their accomplishments. This article provides an overview of the System and the implementation process, shares some of the problems encountered and resolved, and describes some of those accomplishments.