“We're the CHATS old‐heads”: Engaging with evidence‐based practice in a reentry agency

Abstract

Philadelphia has one of the country's largest populations re‐entering society after incarceration. Reentry services have been critiqued for their ineffectiveness. Scholars note the lack of evidence‐based practices (EBPs) in the field, and the challenges of translating them. Through a case study of one reentry agency implementing an EBP, we examine engagement with the intervention by clients and service providers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with clients and staff (n = 35). A grounded theory using sensitizing concepts approach was used to analyze the data. Productive engagement with the intervention was facilitated by: (1) translatability of the core EBP elements so that they addressed client and staff needs, (2) accessibility to the intervention by enhancing subjective ownership and successfully navigating logistical barriers, and (3) collectivity among participants and staff that helped them address societal and structural barriers. Productive engagement with an EBP can resist carceral processes in reentry service‐provision.