ABSTRACT

In the opening chapter we looked at the conclusions of the meta-analysis studies of rehabilitation programmes with delinquents. One of these conclusions was that the most effective programmes have high 'treatment integrity', that is, the intervention with the young offenders is conducted by trained staff alongside management of the programme. It is therefore not enough to devise highly sophisticated and complex programmes; the staff responsible for delivery of the programme have to carry out exactly what is planned. At one level this is a management issue, and management strategies for ensuring integrity at the stages of both assessment and intervention have been discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. At another level, however, this is a matter for staff training and development; it is unrealistic to expect untrained staff to operate treatment programmes that demand knowledge and skills they do not possess. This is particularly pertinent in behavioural treatment. We made the point previously that many people, including the writers of some textbooks, say that behavioural theory and practice are simple and undemanding. Indeed, as trainers ourselves, one problem we frequently encounter is the assumption held by some practitioners that they know all there is to know about behaviourism.