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Abstract: 

Two questions that keep coming up in discussions of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on correctional services concern what policy changes are required by the pandemic and how we should respond to meeting community supervision requirements during this period of lockdowns and stay-at-home requests. With regard to policy changes during the pandemic, Dr. Rose Ricciardelli and colleagues provide a comprehensive policy briefing, “Correctional Services During and Beyond COVID-19,” produced for the Royal Society of Canada. The briefing, adapted and printed here with permission, includes a series of recommendations for policymakers and correctional administrators to consider. In addition to the briefing text, of benefit to those who wish to know more, are the report’s references, which are a goldmine. Two accounts describe the personal experiences of colleagues in the field in meeting community corrections requirements during the pandemic. Cassie Cardwell, a case manager and counsellor at the John Howard Society of Toronto Crossroads Day Reporting Centre, reports on her experience working virtually with clients. She notes that although referrals have increased, her clients often exhibit a surprising resilience in response to the pandemic’s enforced isolation. Jaime Tilston, a mental health support worker, discusses accessible supports and ways to ensure that services remain trauma informed while adjusting to meet virtual service demands during COVID-19. She describes clients’ difficulties accessing and using teletherapy and suggests redirecting funds to make supports available to those who need them most. This issue’s Worth Reading column, by our book editor Russ Immarigeon, once again assembles a helpful collection of reviews of recently released books covering areas of current interest.

Keywords: Correctional services, COVID-19 challenges, virtual case management, virtual counseling

Affiliations:  1: Journal Editor.