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In the seven articles contained in this issue I trust that you will find something of use in supporting your efforts to assist offenders to establish themselves as prosocial members of our communities and to lead law-abiding lives. [1]What’s Working in Missouri: A Look at the Show-Me State’s Recovery Support Services System. The first article, by Daphne Walker-Thoth and her colleagues, looks at Missouri’s recovery support services system. This is an informative report on the state’s efforts to use faith-based organizations in the delivery of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery support services. In keeping with Hans Toch’s admonition, this article notes that the offender being served is not isolated simply as a “risky” person but is viewed with a more holistic gaze and dealt with in terms of the spirituality in his or her life. [2] Client-Centered Thinking: Keys for Effective Interaction With Offenders. The next article, by Randy Shively, offers some very helpful ways to interact effectively with offenders and assist them in their recovery efforts. He makes two clear points: it is important for staff both to help an offender set goals that are doable and motivating and to demonstrate social skills as a background to positive thinking. [3]Twenty-Year Recidivism Results for MRT-Treated Offenders—A Preliminary Analysis. Gregory Little and his colleagues report on a 20-year recidivism study of Moral Reconation Therapy. Their article is a contribution to efforts to build a body of knowledge of what works and what is effective in managing and assisting offenders. Their report also contains a useful discussion of issues regarding recidivism. [4]Veterans’ Treatment Courts and the Criminal Justice System. In the fourth article, Bradley J. Schaffer addresses a serious issue that has been emerging increasingly in the last decade or so. It relates to the critical problem of veterans returning from conflict zones whose problems related to their military service contributed to their criminal behavior. Connected to this issue are the problems of posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. The author develops his argument by noting the growth of therapeutic jurisprudence that informs the creation of treatment courts for veterans. [5]Prisoners With Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders. As community correctional organizations and practitioners continue to move forward in their efforts to provide reentry services to offenders coming out of our prisons, the major issue of offenders with both substance abuse and mental disorders presents a unique and difficult challenge. Eugenia Curet and her colleagues give us a comprehensive overview of the problem of prisoners with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders. The authors discuss challenges to effective treatment, transition planning for reentry, strategies for transition planning, and model programs. The reader should find this a very useful overview. [6]Why Business Should Care About Florida’s Criminal Justice System. In September 2009, at the International Community Corrections Association Conference in Orlando, Florida, Barney Bishop gave a speech that addressed the question: Why should business care about Florida’s criminal justice system? The speech was a report on efforts to address expenditures in Florida’s correctional system, especially the high incarceration rate and the proposal to build more prisons. Bishop discussed the efforts to form a coalition with other organizations that would host a Justice Summit to look at alternatives to more prisons. The business owners are interested in a more efficient and effective justice system and more value for the tax dollars expended. Community correctional leaders should be forming alliances and partnerships with groups such as that represented by Mr. Bishop that will move the reentry agenda forward and divert from the prison gate offenders who could be better served and supervised in community settings. [7]Worth Reading. Finally, our book review editor, Russ Immarigeon, has once again contributed reviews covering books dealing with critical issues such as managing high-risk sex offenders and the statements of condemned prisoners and their co-victims.

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Affiliations:  1: Journal Editor.