ICARE: Automated Probation Reminders System to Reduce Negative Sanctions

Using the Interactive Computer-Assisted Recovery Enabler (ICARE) tool to notify people involved with the criminal legal system about probation-mandated care management appointments in Eastern NC

Reducing Supervision Violations with Automated Probation Reminders

The criminal legal system can be confusing, especially for individuals who are navigating the challenges of court-imposed sanctions. A misunderstanding of an individual’s legal obligations could lead to more extensive consequences. For example, if someone misses a parole or probation appointment, court date, or treatment session, the consequences can be serious, up to and including incarceration. One simple way to help people stay on track is by reminding them about their legal system obligations—specifically, through automated text message appointment notifications. 

For those on community supervision, these notifications can make a big difference in their engagement with their probation-mandated care management. Community supervision involves following court-mandated conditions. Missing appointments or failing to meet requirements can result in serious setbacks. In the U.S., around 3,745,000 adults were under community supervision at yearend 2021. In 2020, 42% of prison admissions resulted from supervision violations, including roughly 98,000 people admitted to prison for technical violations. This backdrop highlights the need for better strategies to help people comply with their conditions, receive the treatment they have been assessed to need, and avoid imposing additional community supervision sanctions, such as technical violations, revocations, or incarceration. 

ICARE probation reminders system tool  for reducing missed parole or probation appointments 

To reduce unintentional technical violations of court-imposed sanctions and missed appointments, RTI partnered with Coastal Horizon with funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop a tool for sending automated appointment notifications via text messages. The Interactive Computer-Assisted Recovery Enabler (ICARE) tool has the potential to benefit the experience of all parties involved with probation-mandated behavioral health care management. Probation and parole officers could spend less time following up with or attempting to locate clients, developing violation or revocation reports, or re-referring people to care management. Care managers could also spend less time attempting to contact clients to remind them of their appointments and rescheduling care management meetings.

The ICARE text notifications provide recipients with the date, time, physical address of the appointment, and contact information of the agency or office scheduling the appointment. It is a simple and brief nudge that allows them to plan accordingly. Unlike emails or letters that can get overlooked or delayed, text notifications are immediate and easy to access. However, this technology assumes that all appointment and client contact information is up to date, which may not always be the case. 

Implementing ICARE in Eastern North Carolina Setting

RTI’s partner Coastal Horizons operates Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities (TASC) in the eastern half of North Carolina. Coastal Horizons partners with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NC DAC) to provide nonclinical care management to people on probation with substance use or mental health issues. 

As part of typical business practices, TASC care managers may notify clients about their care management appointments ahead of time via phone call. ICARE extended TASC care manager reminder efforts by automating the process and sending text message reminders. Using a randomized controlled trial with over 1,000 participants across 47 TASC offices, this study confirmed that ICARE notifications significantly improved care management intake appointment attendance and successful discharge rates, and reduced probation violation rates compared to individuals who did not receive such reminders.

Benefits of automated probation reminders within the criminal legal system

While the current research shows promise, we need more development and evaluation of automated appointment notification tools in the criminal legal system. Previous research has found that text message notifications can be effective in promoting court attendance and community supervision outcomes. Future research could also explore the use and impact of these tools for youth who participate in substance use or mental health treatment or reminding people about their probation appointments more generally. Additionally, this technology might be useful for providing justice-involved people with more information about expectations about their appointment and additional resources for navigating the criminal legal system.