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MDOC Master Resilience Training Proposal:

Stress Inoculation Saves Lives and Money.

Submitted by: Christopher Acord

Human Resources Developer

Michigan Department of Corrections

May 4, 2018

The Problem: Stress Related Outcomes

“Correctional agencies are losing money, losing good employees and jeopardizing officer and public safety due to work related stress.” (Helping Probation and Parole Officers Cope with Stress, 2007) Working condition stress exposure is a national corrections industry epidemic. The exposure to acute and chronic stressors in the corrections industry could actually be the greatest threat corrections employees’ face (Carlson & Thomas, 2006). The life expectancy for an average citizen in the United States is between 76 and 78 years of age. The life expectancy for Corrections Officers is between 56 and 59 years of age. The suicide rate is 39% higher for Corrections Officers than for the general public. A National Comorbidity Study established: 61% of men and 51% of women in the general population experience one traumatic event in their lifetime. A Desert Waters Correctional Outreach study revealed that corrections industry professionals experience as many as forty traumatic events during their career (Finn, 1998). Corrections employees have a higher rate of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than firefighters, deployed military and first responders. A 2013 study of corrections officers by the National Institute of Justice found that 31% of corrections professionals suffered from PTSD and 17% suffered from PTSD combined with Depression (Finn, 1998). Even if a person doesn’t meet the full symptomatic, diagnostic requirements of a PTSD diagnosis, functioning in constant proximity to acute, chronic, and traumatic stressors can result in negative mental, emotional, behavioral, and physiological stress-based effects.

Resilience Training: What does it Look Like?

Resilience Training is a highly experiential program that includes a variety of hands-on learning opportunities. Participants “learn by doing”; individual, partner, and small group

exercises facilitate skill mastery by enabling participants to practice the resilience and well-being skills and develop strategies for immediate application in their personal and professional life.

Each program session design would progress as described:

* Program instructors introduce resilience and well-being skills

o Scientific background,

o Why Resilience and each specific skill matters,

o How to use each skill addressed.

* Program instructors demonstrate and role-play the skills.

* Participants have opportunities to practice the skills through exercises:

o Train-the-Trainer programs also have opportunities to instruct,

o Receive personalized feed-forward coaching and instruction.

The skills list identified later in this document could be selected and delivered in a customized manner to fit MDOC acknowledged needs. The course topics selected and the order of delivery can be structured to address the specific needs of the MDOC. The programming itself is recommended to be included in the DeMarse Training Academy – Custody New Employee School curriculum as well as in the Parole/Probation New Agent/FSA Academy Phases; the follow-up would then use In-Service Training requirements to annually address specific “refreshers” identified by MDOC administration as necessary. The initial programming is highly customizable; however, it is recommended to be delivered as at least a 40-hour initial program integrated within the New Employee Schools. There is enough training material to extend the program to 80-hours if necessary, effective and efficient. An alternative design is recommended for delivery to In-Service staff as determined by MDOC Administration. Program details include

three categorical trained skills. The three categorical skill groups are listed for clarification. Trained Skills to Enhance Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being:

* Automatic Thought Conditioning – Self Talk

* Learned Optimism

* Thinking Traps

* Detecting Icebergs

* Problem Solving

* Putting Things in Perspective

* Deliberate Breathing and Relaxation

* Mental Games

* Real-Time Resilience

* Positive Emotions and Savoring

* Gratitude

* Rejuvenation

Trained Skills to Cultivate Strengths of Character:

* Identify and Leverage Character Strengths

* Character Strengths and Challenges

* Character Strengths and Values

* Character Strengths and Leadership

* Use a Signature Strength in a New Way

* Develop a Strength You Value

Trained Skills that Build Strong Relationships:

* High Quality Connections

* Assertive Communication

* Active Constructive Responding

These course topics address empirically validated skills from the fields of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Positive Psychology. There is a large amount of historical evidence-based scientific literature beginning as early as the 1970’s through the present that indicates CBT is an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, and a variety of mental health problems. Resilience Training incorporates strategies from CBT and Positive Psychology into a prevention model. The

Program offered by the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center has a track record of evidence-based expertise that is customizable and proven to create sustainable change.

Resilience Training: What it does – Stress Inoculation.

Resilience Training Programs serve to inoculate corrections employees working in high stress environments against the mental, emotional, behavioral, and physiological effects of acute, chronic, and traumatic stress stimulus events. The two largest corrections audiences (Corrections Officers and Parole/Probation Agents) are faced with the greatest level of overall stress; and, therefore, will be the most positively impacted. Delivering Resilience Training at the beginning of their Corrections career along with follow-up refresher training sessions will result in fewer mental health diagnoses for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and also fewer diagnoses for substance use disorders (alcohol and drugs) as well as fewer stress-related cardiovascular ailments and less incidence of obesity.

The largest similar organization using Master Resilience Training to inoculate their employees is the United States Army. The Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness model is now an organization-wide practice. The fourth investigative report conducted with the authority of the Under-Secretary of the Army is titled, Evaluation of Resilience Training and Mental and Behavioral Health Outcomes. The report confirmed at statistically significant levels exactly what earlier investigative reports found, that “exposure to Resilience Training increased various aspects of Soldier Resilience and Psychological Health, which, in turn, appeared to be associated with a reduced likelihood of receiving a diagnosis for a mental health problem (i.e., anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder) and a reduced likelihood for diagnosis of a substance use disorder” (Harms, et. al., 2013). The findings in all reports to date have provided evidence that Soldiers exposed to Resilience Training are diagnosed with mental health disorders

and substance use disorders at significantly lower rates than are the soldiers that do not receive the training. The most recent report also accounted for soldiers that were deployed to active duty “combat” areas. The statistical significance holds true when accounting for deployment as well.

Psychological problem diagnoses and substance use disorders result in considerable cost for all Corrections Systems nationwide and the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is no different. Each of the identified diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder issues has the effect of increasing incremental sick leave, extended sick leave, mandatory over-time back fill, and positional turnover; stress-related resulting effects also reduce productivity and effectiveness at the personal as well as the organizational level. Here is an excerpt from the United States Army evaluation of the Master Resilience Training program which is the operational component of the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, report #4:

There are three notable results from the evaluation. First, consistent with previous evaluations (Lester et al., 2011c), resilience training was associated with higher Resilience and Psychological Health (R/PH) scores of soldiers. Specifically, soldiers in the training condition demonstrated higher levels of adaptability, character, coping,

friendship, and optimism than soldiers in the non-training condition. Second, evidence

suggests that optimism and adaptability mediated the relationship between resilience

training and diagnoses for mental health problems. This is an important finding

regarding the potential for Resilience Training to improve the R/PH of soldiers, and to

reduce the incidence of serious mental health problems via improving soldier R/PH. Third, resilience training appears to be associated with statistical significance to a reduced likelihood that a Soldier would receive a diagnosis for a substance abuse problem (Harms, et.al., 2013).

The expressed objective for the Michigan Department of Corrections is to value employee mental health to a degree that allows this organization to shift from a reactive approach (creating, diagnosing, and then treating the pathological outcomes of stress exposure) to a proactive organizational approach focused on preventing the pathological outcome from ever occurring. The MDOC is already a national leader in re-entry initiatives focused on offender success; the introduction of Resilience Training at an organizational level will make the MDOC a national leader and pioneer in promoting employee health and well-being.

A Familiar Tool for the MDOC: the Train-the-Trainer Model

Every proposal that involves a training expenditure has to consider the cost-effectiveness of initiating action. The considerable expenditures associated with sick leave, long term leave, mandatory overtime, and turnover of employees are well known and readily available to MDOC Administration. The unknown factor in this undertaking is the impact that Resilience Training will have on the aforementioned costs, specifically, on the reduction of mandatory overtime caused by the various forms of leave time used as a result of stress related illnesses. It is important to interject here that the best training model to reference is the United States Army delivery model which has conducted no fewer than four research evaluations of program effectiveness over approximately ten-years of program delivery with all reported results showing favorable evidence-based outcomes. The known cost factor is associated with the amount of funds required to train MDOC employees in the Master Resilience Training Programs. The Army uses a “Train-the-Trainer” model similar to what the MDOC has used for the last 30-plus years. The MDOC would be required to select the Professional Trainers appropriate to complete the University of Pennsylvania – Penn Resilience Program Master Skills Train-The-Trainer. This program was created and is guided by the originator of the study of positive psychology and the

creator of the United States Army customized Resilience programming. Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman is the Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center and Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology in the Penn Department of Psychology. He is also Director of the Penn Master of Applied Positive Psychology program (MAPP). He was elected President of the American Psychological Association in 1998, during which one of his presidential initiatives was the promotion of Positive Psychology as a field of scientific study. He is the leading authority in the fields of Positive Psychology, resilience, learned helplessness, depression, optimism and pessimism. He is also a recognized authority on interventions that prevent depression, and build strengths and well-being. He has written more than 300 scholarly publications and 25 books. Dr. Seligman and the Penn Resilience Program created the customized training model for the United States Army and will perform the same service for the Michigan Department of Corrections. Peter Schulman, Executive Director, Positive Psychology Center (Martin Seligman, Director) University of Pennsylvania (schulman@sas.upenn.edu) confirms that they currently only offer customized face-to-face programs for organizations (typically 30-150 people per program) that submit a written proposal request. The initial proposal would be to certify the Training Division workgroup as the Master Trainers in the Resilience Training program qualifying the workgroup to create adjunct trainers as needed. The Training Division workgroup consists of 60 employees. The organizational chart is attached; there is a detailed cost outlay at the end of the proposal.

Research Background Information.

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Stress response is natural, normal and necessary; and is the result of evolutionary demands. Stress response is an organism’s response to a demand placed on it by an external stimuli or the human body’s reaction to a perceived threat or challenge. It is a universal

adaptive reaction shared by all living things. Corrections employees experience stressful events throughout their careers. They receive hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of training on how to protect themselves and each other from various types of danger in the form of use of force, defensive tactics, weapons, CPR, emergency health care, and pathogens to name a few things. Corrections employees expect to see violence, injury and death. How we train and mentally prepare can greatly affect our success at handling traumatic events. Resilience Training can have significant impact for inoculating corrections employees against all forms of stressful stimulus in the corrections industry. Corrections employees receiving and internalizing departmental Resilience Training, taking personal responsibility to develop the skills taught, and being mentally prepared are imperative to eliminate feelings of helplessness and horror associated with PTSD and the cumulative effects of recurring acute and chronic stress stimuli. Acute and chronic stress stimulus events produce countless negative effects on brain chemistry and hormones as well as on a person’s mental and emotional health. It is important to not overlook the long-term negative impact that a constant state of hypervigilance frame of mind can have on employee overall well-being and ultimately their behavior. The hypervigilant frame of mind is created in a profession that requires its employees to view everyone in their proximity as a potential threat; and, the mindset is exhausting due to the multiple detrimental behavioral outcomes:

* Procrastination.

* A desire to remain safely isolated at home alone a lot of the time.

* An unwillingness to engage in activities or conversations that are not work related.

* Socializing only with like-minded people (corrections, military, or law enforcement)

* Non-involvement in family needs/activities.

* Stop engaging in activities that used to bring pleasure to the employee

These behaviors result in possible mental health diagnoses, substance use disorders, and poor work performance resulting in employee discipline. The behaviors can also result in poor self-care, weight gain, and a pessimistic world view. The behaviors will also inevitably lead to poor family relationships. These are all measurements associated with the qualitative analysis of employee behavioral health. This training proposal is seeking to mitigate the effects that acute, chronic, and traumatic stress events have on Corrections Professionals working for the Michigan Department of Corrections. This is not just a Michigan Department of Corrections problem. It is a national corrections industry epidemic. This proposal moves us toward becoming the first State Corrections organization to address the issue full scale. If we improve the health and well-being of our employees they will flourish. If we treat our employees like they make a difference, they will make a difference by promoting offender success.

Estimated Costs submitted by the Positive Psychology Center to Initiate Training.

The Train the Trainer session can be delivered in 7-10 days dependent upon MDOC identified needs. Each participant that attends will cost between $300-$500 per day depending on program logistics (location, environment, technology requirements, course material, etc.). Program delivery can accommodate 30-150 participants. The MDOC Training Division has roughly 60 FTEs that make the most sense to attend the initial TTT session. This would position the entire Training Division as qualified to disseminate the training information to the ultimate end-user audience. There is also a fee associated with the customization and continued use of material produced by the University of Pennsylvania, Positive Psychology Center. This cost is unknown until MDOC needs are established. It is recommended that grant proposals are submitted to multiple organizations as in the past: Michigan Counsel on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) may have or be aware of funding opportunities for projects of this nature. Regardless of whether we are able to secure grant monies, there is still value in assembling talented, knowledgeable MDOC employees to author our own original material.

This writer has researched and located a probable fund source for the proposed training. A representative from the funding agency provided details for the application process with the National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) within the Bureau of Justice Assistance | U.S. Department of Justice. According to Zachary Drake, NTTAC Specialist, during a conference call May 3rd at approximately 1400 hours, NTTAC is a good starting point to acquire funding for the MDOC Resilience Training proposal. The NTTAC process may serve MDOC needs better as it is different from the traditional grant process. The contractual obligation to fund the training is provided for and managed by NTTAC. The Master Resilience Training is customized for the MDOC and provided by the University of Pennsylvania, Positive Psychology Center. The MDOC will only have the obligation of providing written confirmation to provide 40-60 Training Professionals to attend the 10 day Train-the-Trainer provided by the Positive Psychology Center during the 2019 fiscal/training year; and, will also be required to provide written confirmation that the training will be incorporated in department training (new employee schools and in-service training) requirements beginning in the 2020 training year. There is more information about the services provided by NTTAC on their website. The link provided offers details for what NTTAC does and how it operates. To review the information of the application process, please see: https://www.bjatraining.org/working-with-nttac/requestors

References:

Carlson, J. R., & Thomas, G. (2006). Burnout Among Prison Caseworkers and Corrections Officers. Journal Of Offender Rehabilitation, 43(3), 19-34. doi:10.1300/J076v43n03_02

Finn, P. (1998). Correctional officer stress: A cause for concern and additional help[a]. Federal Probation, 62(2), 65.

Harms, P., Herian, M., Krasikova, D., Vanhove, A., & Lester, P. (2013) The Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program Evaluation Report #4: Evaluation of Resilience Training and Mental and Behavioral Health Outcomes. Research Facilitation Team. Office of the Deputy Under-Secretary of the Army. Monterey, CA.

Helping Probation and Parole Officers Cope with Stress. (2007). Corrections Today, 69(1), 70-71.

Kaluza, G. (2000). Changing unbalanced coping profiles—A prospective controlled intervention trial in worksite health promotion. Psychology & Health, 15(3), 423-433. doi:10.1080/08870440008402003

STRESSED OUT? (2017). Scholastic Scope, 65(6), 30-31.