As part of fulfilling its mission, DWCO conducts research in the area of correctional staff wellness, performing its own studies, and also performing studies requested by correctional employers as well as studies requested by correctional employees.
DWCO’s research team has a broad range of technical experience ranging from multi-million-dollar published research to internal quality improvement efforts. With substantive knowledge in corrections, psychology, and public health, we can help you develop sophisticated research plans that fit your capacities and directly inform your work.
Research is an important component of any organization’s operating procedures. Research helps organizations better understand their current needs, implement evidence-informed action plans, evaluate the effectiveness of those action plans, and make immediate adjustments in an ongoing cycle of improvement.
To be effective, your research needs to use current best practices and be designed to provide actionable results.
DWCO offers a suite of customizable research services tailored to your agency’s individual needs, including:
- Surveys
- Interviewing
- Measure design
- Program design
- Program evaluation
- Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
- And more
Contact us or call 719-784-4727 to learn more about DWCO’s research services and to request a proposal. We will work with you to develop a set of research activities that efficiently answers your research questions and yields practical results that make sense for your organization.
Studies/Papers
Mission Critical: Correctional Employee Health and Wellness
Spinaris, C. G., & Brocato, N. Descriptive study of Michigan Department of Corrections Staff Well-being
Prevalence of Trauma-related Health Conditions in Correctional Officers
Depression, PTSD, and Comorbidity in United States Corrections Professionals
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in United States Corrections Professionals
Corrections Fatigue Assessment™
This original measure of Corrections Fatigue for correctional employees was developed by DWCO. It is the intellectual property of DWCO, and items cannot be used or administered without the express permission of DWCO, in writing. (To request permission to use, please contact us at admin@desertwaters.com.)
There are two versions of the Corrections Fatigue Assessment™ (CFA), one for employees working in institutions, and one for employees working in probation and/or parole settings.
The CFA is designed to be administered to groups of correctional employees, not to individuals, in order to examine the levels and areas of Corrections Fatigue in the workforce of correctional agencies.
