ABSTRACT People with acquired brain injury (ABI) are overrepresented in prison populations across many countries. An effective service response to reduce this trend requires collaboration between the ABI and criminal justice (CJ) sectors. The Building Bridges project piloted a novel professional development model designed to increase cross-sectoral knowledge and collaboration between the ABI and CJ sectors. A total of 178 service providers from Victoria, Australia, participated in six professional development forums that included content about ABI, policing, disability and legal supports, and correctional/post-release services. Participants came from the disability, criminal justice, and health and community service sectors. Using a pre-test–post-test design with 6-month follow-up, data were obtained via a project-specific questionnaire evaluating knowledge and behaviour change among participants. Statistically significant gains in knowledge were shown at post-test and maintained at follow-up. Work-related behaviours addressing ABI/CJ issues had increased significantly within both sectors at follow-up compared to the 6 months prior to the forum. Carefully constructed professional forums improved cross-silo collaboration in the ABI/CJ sectors. This pilot project illustrates effective use of existing service resources, and highlights training as an important part of a raft of initiatives needed to address the overrepresentation of people with ABI in the CJ system.

中文翻译：

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The Building Bridges 项目：在获得性脑损伤和刑事司法中连接断开的服务网络

摘要 在许多国家的监狱人口中，获得性脑损伤 (ABI) 的人数过多。减少这种趋势的有效服务响应需要 ABI 和刑事司法 (CJ) 部门之间的合作。Building Bridges 项目试行了一种新颖的专业发展模式，旨在增加 ABI 和 CJ 部门之间的跨部门知识和合作。共有来自澳大利亚维多利亚州的 178 家服务提供商参加了六个专业发展论坛，其中包括有关 ABI、警务、残疾和法律支持以及惩戒/释放后服务的内容。参与者来自残疾、刑事司法、卫生和社区服务部门。使用带有 6 个月随访的前测-后测设计，数据是通过评估参与者知识和行为变化的特定项目问卷获得的。在测试后显示出统计学上显着的知识增长，并在后续跟踪中保持不变。与论坛召开前的 6 个月相比，在后续的两个部门中，解决 ABI/CJ 问题的工作相关行为显着增加。精心构建的专业论坛改善了 ABI/CJ 领域的跨孤岛协作。该试点项目说明了现有服务资源的有效利用，并强调培训是解决 CJ 系统中 ABI 患者人数过多所需的一系列举措的重要组成部分。与论坛召开前的 6 个月相比，在后续的两个部门中，解决 ABI/CJ 问题的工作相关行为显着增加。精心构建的专业论坛改善了 ABI/CJ 领域的跨孤岛协作。该试点项目说明了现有服务资源的有效利用，并强调培训是解决 CJ 系统中 ABI 患者人数过多所需的一系列举措的重要组成部分。与论坛召开前的 6 个月相比，在后续的两个部门中，解决 ABI/CJ 问题的与工作相关的行为都显着增加。精心构建的专业论坛改善了 ABI/CJ 领域的跨孤岛协作。该试点项目说明了现有服务资源的有效利用，并强调培训是解决 CJ 系统中 ABI 患者人数过多所需的一系列举措的重要组成部分。