---
title: Environmental Restructuring
description: "\tEnvironmental Restructuring – Evidence-based practice\r\n\r\n\r\nSummary of the Evidence\r\n\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring is an evidence-based practice.\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring involves working to change the people clients associate with and the places they frequent.\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring relies on the officer-client relationship to be most effective.\r\n•\tSupervision staff and people involved in the criminal legal system are generally favorable toward environmental restructuring. (The “criminal justice” or “legal” system is referred to as the criminal legal system in this document.)\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat Is Environmental Restructuring?\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring is defined as “changing the physical or social context”1 of an individual.\r\no\tExamples of physical context include place of residence, work, or leisure activities.\r\n\tPhysical context includes the places a client frequents and the characteristics of such places (dangerous vs. peaceful, dirty vs. clean, etc.).\r\no\tExamples of social context include family members, friend(s), and recreational activities a client engages with or is around.\r\n\r\nHow Is Environmental Restructuring Used?\r\n•\tSince officers have limited ability to modify the environment that a client resides in (for example, lower the crime rate, provide better recreational facilities, or even improve street lighting), environmental restructuring in community supervision typically requires officers to make clients aware of the risks associated with their environment so that they make changes to it or move to a new one.\r\n•\tTraditionally, environmental restructuring in community supervision often involves mandates prohibiting clients from frequenting certain areas (physical contexts) or associating with certain friends and family members (social contexts) via curfews, electronic monitoring, etc.\r\no\tThese mandates can be accompanied by a sanction if the person is unable to make the changes immediately or at all.\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring is best achieved by building and relying on the officer-client relationship.\r\n\r\nHow Can It Be Used to Monitor Compliance?\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring should not be used to monitor compliance.\r\n\r\nHow Can It Be Used as a Supervision Tool?\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring is an effective way to help clients find positive and supportive physical and social contexts.\r\no\tThis can help an individual change behavior and comply with supervision conditions.\r\n\r\nWhat Are the Costs of Environmental Restructuring?\r\n•\tLarge-scale environmental restructuring (e.g., changing a housing complex so that it is safer) is very expensive and often beyond the abilities of probation officers.\r\n•\tIncreasing a client’s awareness of the risks posed by their environment so that they are motivated to change it in realistic ways (i.e., no drastic changes; the client must be ready and able to make a change) is inexpensive as it can be done during regular office and field visits.\r\no\tThreats of sanction cannot “convince” a person to change their environment.\r\no\tOfficers should work on persuasion approaches to help clients consider the value of changing contexts. \r\no\tThis can raise the costs of environmental restructuring if sanctions involve electronic monitoring, jail stays, etc.\r\n\r\nWhat Do Supervision Staff Think About Environmental Restructuring?\r\nSupervision staff report that environmental restructuring is\r\n•\tsometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\n•\talways appropriate for medium-/high-risk clients, except those who have committed general violence offenses, for whom it is sometimes appropriate.\r\n\r\nWhat Should You Expect When Using Environmental Restructuring?\r\nClient Outcomes\r\n•\tChanging a client’s environment can make it easier to address antisocial or self-harming (e.g., drug use) behaviors and develop/maintain prosocial or self-supporting behaviors.\r\no\tIt can be difficult to address an antisocial behavior (e.g., drug use) if there are not realistically obtainable prosocial behaviors (e.g., attractive work and/or leisure opportunities) in the surrounding environment.\r\n•\tClients who associate with friends and family members who support positive behavior changes may be better able to follow supervision requirements than those with friends and family members who encourage them to continue offending or harmful behavior.\r\n\r\nIs Environmental Restructuring an Evidence-Based Practice?\r\n•\tYes. Environmental restructuring is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to reduce participation in criminal and/or problem behaviors and improve mental health, physical health, and life satisfaction.\r\n\r\nWhat Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About Environmental Restructuring?\r\n•\tEnvironmental restructuring is sometimes appropriate for all low-, medium-, and high-risk clients.\r\n\r\nCommunication That Strengthens the Officer-Client Relationship (Messaging)\r\n•\tOfficers should explain that environmental restructuring can create circumstances that support the client in changing their behavior and leading a better life.\r\n•\tOfficers should ask the client for feedback regarding what types of restructuring are feasible to undertake.\r\no\tIt may be unrealistic to expect a client to completely change who they associate with and where they live. \r\n\tClients may be unable to make these environmental changes due to cost, longstanding relationships/connections, etc.\r\n•\tOfficers should be aware that the places a client frequents and the people they associate with are rarely either positive or negative. They can be both, and part of an officer’s  effort is to help others see the positive and negative aspects of the client’s environment.\r\no\tSome friends may continue to use drugs themselves but actively encourage the client to stop and support other aspects of behavior change.\r\no\tSome places may be violence-prone but still offer valuable friend groups and prosocial activities for the client.\r\n•\tDiscuss the pros and cons of changing their environment with the client to help them determine whether they should do so.\r\n\r\nSpecial Considerations When Using Environmental Restructuring with Subpopulations\r\n\r\nGang-Involved\tMay help clients distance themselves from gang-involved peers, although this may remove the client from valuable support systems offered by these peers.\r\nGeneral Violence\tMay remove clients from violence-prone environments that can serve as triggers for aggression and violence.\r\nIntimate Partner Violence\tEnvironmental restructuring designed to separate clients with a history of IPV from their partners is not always effective, and it is easy for clients to violate protective orders if they do not accept that the order benefits them and the victim. \r\nSerious Mental Illness\tClients with serious mental illness often are unemployed and live in unsafe and inadequate housing.\r\nSubstance Use Disorder\tHelp clients with substance use disorder engage with non-substance users and structure their time to avoid use."
url: "https://www.gmuace.org/appropriateness-statement-package/additional-components/environmental-restructuring/"
updated: "2023-06-14"
category: Additional Components
tags:
  - Additional Components
  - Community Work
  - "Evidence-Based Practices"
---

# Environmental Restructuring

***Environmental Restructuring – Evidence-based practice***

Summary of the Evidence

- Environmental restructuring is an evidence-based practice.
- Environmental restructuring involves working to change the people clients associate with and the places they frequent.
- Environmental restructuring relies on the officer-client relationship to be most effective.
- Supervision staff and people involved in the criminal legal system are generally favorable toward environmental restructuring. (The “criminal justice” or “legal” system is referred to as the criminal legal system in this document.)

 

What Is Environmental Restructuring?

How Is Environmental Restructuring Used?

What Do Supervision Staff Think About Environmental Restructuring?

What Should You Expect When Using Environmental Restructuring?

Special Considerations When Using Environmental Restructuring with Subpopulations

 

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