Occupational Therapy in a Justice-Based Setting

This course will discuss the basics of community occupational therapy in the carceral system in addition to outlining how a thematic coding method was created to track data for a local occupational therapy transition program. By the end of the presentation, you will be able to 1) be able to articulate the role of a community occupational therapist in justice-based settings, 2) understand how the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) was utilized to create a method for thematically coding client initial evaluations, and 3) understand the importance of tracking client data and outcomes for continued research and promotion of evidence-based practice. This course will detail the role of community occupational therapy in a justice-based setting, including relevant interventions and approaches that may be utilized. It will also describe how a qualitative coding method was created to track data for the program’s population of juveniles sentenced to life without the option of parole (JLWOP). This course will teach you why occupational therapy is needed in carceral settings, and why it is important to efficiently track program data. This course was designed to give occupational therapy and criminal justice students and professionals a detailed look into community therapists’ roles and qualitative research design.