Collateral and Employer Contacts

• Fieldwork is a surveillance mechanism that helps verify a client’s compliance with their programming and supervision conditions. It can include home visits, collateral contacts, and employer contacts.
• Collateral contacts occur when an officer contacts and collects information from a client’s family and/or other social supports. This can include family, friends, caseworkers, social workers, etc.
• Employer contacts occur when an officer makes contact (phone call, email, in-person) with a client’s employer or with the client at work

• Collateral contacts
  • Family contacts happen most often over the phone or during home visits.
    • During a home visit, contact information can be exchanged, and the officer can introduce themselves as a resource for the family member.
    • Officers should develop rapport with the family or social support through the mutual goal of the client’s success.
  • Relationships with social workers, case managers, or treatment counselors are important to remain up-to-date on a client’s progress in programming.
    • Contacts with caseworkers or social workers can be done by phone or through in-person meetings with all three parties (officer, caseworker, and client) present.
• Employer contacts
  • Employer contacts can be conducted over the phone or in-person at a client’s place of employment.
  • Employer contacts have the potential to jeopardize a client’s employment. This is especially true if in-person contacts are conducted in uniform with bulletproof vest and gun.

• Both collateral contacts and employer contacts can be used as a tool that adds a level of accountability for clients.
• The added level of accountability can serve as motivation for clients to remain compliant between office visits.

• Collateral and employer contacts can either reinforce an officer as a change agent or as an authoritative law enforcement agent depending on the officer’s approach when making the contact.
  • Officers should use rapport-building techniques when conducting contacts.
• An officer being up-to-date and aware of the client’s progress in programming reinforces that they are invested in their client’s change.
• Coordinating with counselors/caseworkers can help the officer understand what areas a client might need additional support, so this can inform topics and skills to work on during office visits.
• Establishing open lines of communication with family and other social supports can serve to alert the officer when their client struggles with supervision.

• There are no financial costs for these contacts. The main cost attached to collateral and employer contacts for the officer is time.
• There may be a negative cost to a client by highlighting their criminal record during employer contacts.

• Supervision staff report that collateral contacts are
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • always appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.
• Supervision staff report that employer contacts are
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.

What Should You Expect When Using Collateral and Employer Contacts?

• There are no empirical evaluations focused on identifying the effects of collateral or employer contacts on client outcomes.
• Evaluations that include collateral and employer contacts do not isolate the effects of those practices.

Is the Use of Collateral and Employer Contacts an Evidence-Based Practice?

• No.

What Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About Collateral and Employer Contacts?

• People with lived experience in the criminal legal system (the “criminal justice” or “legal” system is referred to as the criminal legal system in this document) report that collateral contacts are
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.
• People with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that employer contacts are
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients, except for those in a general violence special population, for whom they are never appropriate

Communication That Strengthens the Officer-Client Relationship (Messaging)

• Officers should be aware of potential tension when conducting an in-person home visit or employer visit.
  • Officers should be aware that showing up at a client’s home or workplace can be embarrassing and stigmatizing.
  • This tension can be dissipated by a positive and encouraging tone and the use of active listening skills when communicating.
• Officers should explain their intention of making collateral contacts in the client’s life. This is especially important with spouses or other family members who may feel nervous around officers.
• Officers should discuss employer contacts with clients to avoid embarrassment,  damaging rapport, or jeopardizing employment.
• Information gathered through collateral and employer contacts should be discussed with the client.
  • Information received through collateral/employer contacts should be shared with the client.
  • Officers shouldn’t automatically trust the information received during collateral/employer contact over that given by a client.
  • If concerning information about a client is communicated during collateral/employer contact, this information needs to be discussed with the client.