A QUALITATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON

PRISON VOLUNTEERS IN CALIFORNIA’S CORRECTIONAL

SYSTEM

Donna Madison-Bell, Ed.DOctober 7, 2014

University of Phoenix

Dissertation Oral Defense

DISSERTATION TEAM

Chair: Leslie Kille, Ed.D.Committee: John C. Sienrukos, Ph.D.

Committee: Theresa Fox, Ed.D.

Outline of Today’s Dissertation Defense Presentation

Researcher’s Background Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Purpose Statement Research Questions Research Gap Significance of the Study Theoretical Framework Method and Design Appropriateness Pilot Study Population and Sampling Data Collection Data Analysis Findings Implications Recommendations Conclusion Questions

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Researcher’s Background

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Background of the Study

O The state of California’s recidivism rate continues to increase (Flamer, 2011; Uniform Crime Report, 2009).O Recidivism is a return to criminal behavior after release.O As of December 31, 2013, the total institution population

revealed 134,339 adult inmates (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2014).

O Correctional facilities rely on volunteers (Tewksbury & Dabney, 2004). O Estimate 4,000 volunteers were active in the Federal

Bureau of Prison in 1993 (Hawk, 1993).O Prison volunteer’s provides tools and resources to inmates.

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General ProblemO Most inmates released from

California prisons did not successfully reenter the community (Haas & DeTardo-Bora, 2009; Zgoba, Haugebrook, & Jenkins, 2008).

O Volunteers experiencing budget cuts that provide services and resources in correctional facilities has shown limited reduction in recidivism (The Pew Center on the States, 2012).

Specific Problem

Statement of the Problem

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Purpose Statement

O Explore and understand the lived experiences of prison volunteers who witnessed the decline of reentry services, educational programs, and prison funding in California and the meaning they ascribed to that experience.

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Research QuestionsRQ: What are the lived experiences of prison volunteers relative to reentry, educational programs, and to budget cuts in California?

SQ 1: What are the motivational factors that inspired leadership roles associated with prison volunteers and prison programs?

SQ 2: What personal motivational factors inspire individuals to volunteer in prisons?

SQ 3: How does the characteristic of transformational and servant leadership influence volunteers to involve others to volunteer in a correctional facility? 8

Research GapO Addressing prison volunteers personal experience in a

correctional facility (Anheier & Salamon, 2001; Morrow-Howell et al., 2009; Tewksbury & Dabney, 2004).

O Evaluating prison programs, specifically reentry and education (Foley & Gao, 2004; Werth & Summer, 2006; Seiter & Kadela, 2003; Tewksbury & Dabney, 2005; United States Department of Education 2011).

O Influential factors of leadership on prison volunteers (Meier, Singletary, & Hill, 2012; Stirling, Kilpatrick, & Orpin, 2011).

O Tracking the success of inmates after released from prison (Duwe & Clark, 2013; Klein, Tolbert, Bugarin, Cataldi, & Tauschek, 2004; Lattimore & Visher, 2009; Zhang, Roberts, & McCollister, 2011).

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Significance of StudyO The significance of the study is that the ultimate goal of

reducing recidivism rates is attainable if experienced volunteers provide effective education and reentry programs to inmates.

Three-Year Recidivism Rates for Felons Released from Prison During FY 2008-09 (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2013). 10

Theoretical FrameworkO Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

O Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology where individuals pursue to meet greater needs in the form of a hierarchy (Maslow, 1943).

O Servant Leadership:O Servant leadership theory Greenleaf (1973) has since been

supported by many leadership practitioners and researchers as a model that focuses on serving others as the main priority of leaders (Hesselbein, Goldsmith, & Beckhard, 2006).

O Transformational Leadership:O The focus of transformational leadership is to positively

transform and change individuals (Northouse, 2001). 11

Method & Design Appropriateness

O Qualitative phenomenological “explores an in-depth understanding about a social construction of reality” (Christensen, Johnson, & Turner, 2010, p. 368).

O Empirical phenomenological requires a protocol to collect descriptive accounts of participants lived experiences (Moustakas, 1994).

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Pilot StudyO Three participants, (a director of a community-based

organization and two prison volunteers)

O The pilot interviews lasted 45-60 minutes

O Pilot study participants:O reviewed the draft interview questions and provided

feedbackO test the instrument (interview questions) prior to

carrying out the full studyO aided in evaluating the instrument aligned with the

research questionsO participants were not part of the study

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Population & SampleO Sample:

O 47 e-mail invitationsO 20 participants met the sampling criteria O data saturation did occur

O Criteria of Sampling Population:O (a) active prison volunteer, both male and femaleO (b) between the ages 18 and olderO (c) demonstrated more than 6 months volunteer

experience in a prison facilityO (d) California resident

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Data CollectionInterviews

O 35 – 60 minutes face-to-face interview took place in Northern and Southern California.

O Interview were digitally audio-recorded.O Verbatim data was manually transcribed onto

Microsoft Word document.O Codes identified as RP1 through RP20 used to

represent each participant’s responses.

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Data AnalysisO Applied the van Kaam method (Moustakas, 1994)

to achieve a systemic discovery of:O PatternsO ThemesO Meaning in the participants responses

O Used NVivo™ 10 software:O ManageO OrganizeO Analyze O Collected non-numerical O Unstructured data

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Data AnalysisEmergent Themes

OInternal Themes related to lived experiences of prison volunteers:

O key motivational factorsO personal growth and achievementsO benefits of volunteeringO personal challengesO personal perception of leadership characteristics

OExternal Themes related to prison programs and community-based organizations:

O the need for changeO identifying community-based organizations challenges &

issues in in a correctional facilityO critical factors for improving volunteer training 17

FindingsApproximately 7,000 volunteers provide services in a federal

prison (United States Department of Justice, 2010).

Community-based organizations use approximately six million volunteers to deliver various services (Eisner, Grimm,

Maynard, and Washburn, 2009).

ODetermined the impact of community-based organizations’ leaders influence to motivate committed volunteers

Otraining and recruiting

ODiscovered prison volunteer’s effort to help rehabilitate inmates

O motivational factors

ODiscovered prison volunteer’s perspective on the impact of budget cuts in correctional facilities

O impact on funding prison programs 18

FindingsResearch Questions

RQ: What are the lived experiences of prison volunteers relative to reentry, educational programs, and to budget cuts in California?

SQ 1: What are the motivational factors that inspired leadership roles associated with prison volunteers and prison programs?

SQ 2: What personal motivational factors inspire individuals to volunteer in prisons?

SQ 3: How does the characteristic of transformational and servant leadership influence volunteers to involve others to volunteer in a correctional facility? 19

ImplicationsO Considerable strategies toward:

O improving training and recruitingO decrease prison volunteer turnoverO helping an underserved population

O Leaders of community-based organizations promote:O leadership ability to potential prison volunteers

O Adequate funding and reassessing prison programs:O community-based organization's prison programsO tracking system on released inmatesO policies toward the impact of funding

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RecommendationsO Leaders of community-based organizations:

O examine the relationship of leadership role toward prison volunteers

O explore strategies toward funding prison programs

O Prison Volunteers:O explore motivational factorsO explore demonstrating the characteristics of servant and

transformational leadership

O Future Research:O replicate this study in other regions and areas within the

correctional system 21

O The study findings could offer various sources beyond the dissertation:

O a need to explore and understand lived experiences of prison volunteers

O a need to set guidelines of community-based organizations expectations of prison volunteers

O effective methods on improving leadership communication skills with prison volunteers

O become a leader who influences and inspire others O Scholar, Practitioner, Leader Model

Conclusion

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Questions and Comments

Thank you for your support and your participation during this presentation.

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References

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Anheier, H. K., & Salamon, L. M. (2001). Volunteering in cross-national perspective: Initial comparisons. Law and Contemporary Problems, 62(4), 43-65. [Civil Society Working Paper 10]. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29049/1/CSWP_10_web.pdf

California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections [CDCR]. (2013). New reports show California recidivism decline again this year. [Official CDCR blog website]. Retrieved from http://cdcrtoday.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-report-shows-californias-recidivism.html

California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections [CDCR]. (2014). New reports show California recidivism decline again this year. [Official CDCR blog website]. Retrieved from http://cdcrtoday.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-report-shows-californias-recidivism.html

Christensen, L. B., Johnson, R. B., & Turner, L. A. (2010). Research methods, design, and analysis (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

References

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Duwe, G., & Clark, V. (2013). Blessed be the social tie that binds the effects of prison visitation on offender recidivism. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 24(3), 271-296. doi: 10.1177/0887403411429724

Eisner, D., Grimm, R. T., Maynard, S., & Washburn, S. (2009, Winter). The new volunteer workforce. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 7(1), 32-37. Retrieved from http://www.hava.org/resources/HR_Summit_-_The_New_Volunteer_Workforce_volunteer_managementchallenge.pdf

Flamer, E. S. (2011). Recidivism, disciplinary history, and institutional Adjustment: A qualitative study examining correctional education programs [Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix]. Available from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Database. (UMI Number: 3529281)

References

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Foley, R. M., & Gao, J. (2004). Correctional education: Characteristics of academic programs serving incarcerated adults. Journal of Correctional Education, 55(1), 6-21.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1973). The servant as leader. Cambridge, MA: Center for Applied Studies.

Haas, S. M., & DeTardo-Bora, K. A. (2009). Inmate reentry and the utility of the LSI-R in case planning. Corrections Compendium, 34(1), 11-16.

Hawk, K. (1993). 4,000 BOP volunteers are committed to working within the federal system. Corrections Today 55(5), 72.

Klein, S., Tolbert, M., Bugarin, R., Cataldi, E. F., & Tauschek, G. (2004). Correctional education: Assessing the status of prison programs and information needs [United States Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Report No. ED-99-CO-0160]. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED543577.pdf

References

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Lattimore, P. K., & Visher, C. A. (2009). The multi-site evaluation of SVORI: Summary and synthesis [U. S. Department of Justice Research Report #230421]. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/230421.pdf

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.

Meier, A., Singletary, L., & Hill, G. (2012). Measuring the impacts of a volunteer-based community development program in developing volunteers' leadership skills. Journal of Extension, 50(2), 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.joe.org

Morrow-Howell, N., Hong, S. I., & Tang, F. (2009). Who benefits from volunteering? Variations in perceived benefits. The Gerontologist, 49(1), 91-102. doi:10.1093/geront/gnp007

References

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Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The Pew Center on the States. (2012). Reducing Recidivism: Corrections directors in five states share lessons learned [Issue Brief]. Retrieved from http://www.doc.ri.gov/documents/reentry/Pew_Reducing_Recidivism.pdf

Seiter, R. P., & Kadela, K. R. (2003). Prisoner reentry: What works, what does not, and what is promising. Crime & Delinquency, 49(3), 360-388. doi:10.1177/0011128703049003002

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Stirling, C., Kilpatrick, S., & Orpin, P. (2011). A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability. Human Resource Development International, 14(3), 321-336. doi:10.1080/13678868.2011.585066

Tewksbury, R., & Dabney, D. (2004). Prison volunteers: Profiles, motivations, satisfaction. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 40(1/2), 173-183. doi:10.1300/J076v40n01-09

Tewksbury, R., & Collins, S.C. (2005). Prison chapel volunteers. Federal Probation, 69(1), 26-30.

Uniform Crime Report. (2011). Statistical overview [Federal Bureau of Investigation Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/ ucr/ucr.htm

References

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United States Department of Education. [USDOE]. (2011). Community-based correctional education [Office of Vocational and Adult Education Research Report]. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/cbce-report-2011.pdf

United States Department of Justice [DOJ]. (2010). State of the Bureau 2010 [Federal Bureau of Prisons Report]. Retrieved from http://301z4m21kc2l2h4qst3x6g1z3kj.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/State-of-the-Bureau.pdf

Werth, R., & Summer, J. (2006). Inside California’s prisons and beyond: A snapshot of in-prison and re-entry programs [Report]. Retrieved from http://ucicorrections.seweb.uci.edu/files/2013/06/WorkingPaperRe-entry_d.pdf

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Zgoba, K. M., Haugebrook, S., & Jenkins, K. (2008). The influence of GED obtainment on inmate release outcome. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(3), 375-387. doi: 10.1177/0093854807311853

Zhang, S. X., Roberts, R. E., & McCollister, K. E. (2011). Therapeutic community in a California prison: Treatment outcomes after 5 years. Crime & Delinquency, 57(1), 82-101. doi: 10.1177/0011128708327035