To make it easier for staff within an agency to share Carey Guide Tools and BITS, some agencies place the tools in file folders or in a magazine rack and store them in a central area.
Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections has developed some great sharing strategies. In some parts of Wisconsin, staff make photocopies of the Carey Guide tools in advance and store them in metal file boxes in a central location. There are two boxes—one for the Red Guides and one for the Blue Guides—and the tools are stored under the name of the Guide. That way there are always copies on hand. They also store the BITS tablets there. (Remember that you can’t photocopy or scan blank BITS!)
In other parts of Wisconsin, staff have created a "tools wall" as a visual reminder for staff and clients that they have tools to address criminogenic needs and help build skills, and that these tools are meant to be used during office visits and given as take-away assignments. This wall also reinforces for clients that staff are invested in their success and that these tools will be used for skill-building as part of the case plan.
Wisconsin has done something else that’s interesting: they’ve made posters listing the eight most influential criminogenic needs—each with its own color—along with the names of BITS and Guides that address each need. That way it’s easy for staff to know which Guides and BITS to use when they’re working with people who have these needs.
These posters complement Carey Group Publishing’s 8 Keys to Success skills poster and reference guide which list, in strength-based terms, the key behaviors that lead to successful living; identify skills essential to success in each area; and identify strategies and practical tools—including Carey Guides and BITS—that staff can use to help people develop strengths in these criminogenic need areas.
